The iconic Danish directory assistance service 118 will shut down in early 2026. Its website, 118.dk, will follow shortly after. Telecommunications company Nuuday, which operates the service, announced the decision. It cited a dramatic drop in usage and upcoming regulatory changes as the primary reasons.
Call volume has collapsed from approximately 18.5 million inquiries in 2006 to just 200,000 in recent times. This represents a decline of over 99%. The service, established in 1992, was once a staple in Danish homes and businesses. Its digital portal launched in 2010 but failed to reverse the downward trend.
A key factor is new legislation expected next year. It will require explicit user consent before personal information can be shared in directories. Nuuday stated this will likely reduce the number of registered numbers significantly. The company said this would degrade the quality of the 118 service. Continuing operations is no longer sustainable on a commercial basis, the firm concluded.
Nuuday was the legally mandated provider of a nationwide directory service until late 2022. That universal service obligation was then lifted. The company continued the service under purely commercial terms before deciding to terminate it. Nuuday owns several major Danish telecom brands, including YouSee, TDC Erhverv, Telmore, and Hiper.
The closure highlights a massive digital shift in how Danes access information. A long list of online alternatives now dominate. Services like deGulesider.dk and Krak.dk provide instant, free searches. Smartphones and search engines have made manual directory assistance nearly obsolete. This trend mirrors similar declines across the Nordic region and globally.
For Copenhagen's business community and the wider Ăresund region, the move is symbolic. It marks the end of a pre-digital era utility. While the direct economic impact is limited to Nuuday's operations, it signals broader changes. Danish companies in telecom and information services must constantly adapt to survive. The story is one of digital disruption rendering a once-essential service redundant. It is a straightforward case of technology and consumer behavior making a business model obsolete.
What does this mean for Danish consumers and businesses? Very little in practical terms. The service had become a niche product. Most users had already migrated to digital platforms years ago. The few remaining users, often elderly or without internet access, will need to find alternatives. The market has already provided them. This closure is not a failure but a natural conclusion to a service that has served its purpose. The digital economy waits for no one, not even a national institution like 118.