ACM Telecom Monitor: availability of fiber-optic is unequally distributed across the Netherlands

The availability of fiber-optic is unequally distributed across the Netherlands. In relatively sparsely-populated regions such as the southern province of Zeeland, the northeast of the northern province of Groningen, and the southernmost area of the southern province of Limburg, as well as in densely-populated parts of the western part of the Netherlands (called Randstad), there are still many postcode areas without fiber-optic. This is perfectly illustrated by the new interactive fiber-optic map, which, starting today, is part of the revamped Telecom Monitor of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The map is meant to provide insight into the availability of fiber-optic.

“For each postcode area, the fiber-optic map shows where fiber-optic has been rolled out. That helps everyone keep perfect track of the roll-out of fiber-optic across the Netherlands,” says Member of the Board of ACM Manon Leijten. “That process is progressing steadily, and the number of active connections also keeps on growing. That is a welcome development, considering the ever-growing consumption of data.”

One of the reasons for the differences per region is that the construction of a fiber-optic network requires major investments. Network companies roll out fiber-optic in areas where they expect to be able to recoup such investments. The fact that, so far, they have not yet fully rolled out fiber-optic in the Randstad region is most likely caused by the many copper and cable networks that are already in place there, which also allow fast broadband access. That has mitigated demand for fast broadband over fiber-optic. As data consumption is growing, fiber-optic companies are expected to accelerate their roll-out plans for the Randstad region over the next few years. The region represents a major market for them, and experience has shown that the first provider will obtain the best competitive position.

5 million fiber-optic connections

In the second quarter of 2022, there were 5 million fiber-optic connections in the Netherlands, which is 300,000 more than in the first quarter. Of those new connections, KPN has realized between 65 and 70 percent, and Delta Fiber between 15 and 20 percent. The market share of Open Dutch Fiber, which in the second quarter acquired fiber-optic provider E-Fiber, has risen to between 5 and 10 percent, while its market share in the previous quarter was still below 5 percent. At the moment, there are sporadic instances where two fiber-optic connections have been realized at the same address. In general, only one market participant will roll out fiber-optic in each region. In the second quarter, almost 2.3 million fiber-optic connections were active (as part of plans), which is an increase of 79,000.

In the second quarter, there were still 5.8 million copper connections, of which over 2.3 million were active (a drop of 90,000). Of the almost 8 million cable connections, 3.9 million were active, which is 20,000 fewer connections than in the previous quarter.

Mobile-data consumption

In the second quarter, mobile-data consumption totaled 403 million gigabytes, which was an increase of 15 percent over the previous quarter. One of the reasons is the increase in devices that exchange information using mobile-broadband connections such as smart smoke detectors, alarm systems, and smart energy meters. The number of sim cards used for such applications went up 570,000 to over 14 million. Mobile-data consumption also increases because of the shift towards voice and text apps that use broadband data. More and more people have stopped using voice calls and texts altogether, and are opting for data-only plans, of which there were 895,000, which is 20,000 more than in the previous quarter.

This trend has also been observed in the consumption of mobile-phone services. The number of mobile voice minutes in the second quarter dropped 9 percent to 10.4 billion minutes, and the number of texts dropped 5 percent to 577 million. The total number of mobile plans in the second quarter stood at 21.3 million.

The shift towards data can also be observed in the fixed-network market. In the second quarter, there were 4.9 million fixed-telephony plans, which is 84,000 fewer plans than in the first quarter. The number of voice minutes over landlines dropped 11 percent to 1.5 billion minutes.

Television services

The cable network has the most television connections at almost 4 million, which is virtually the same as in the previous quarter. The number of television connections over fiber-optic went up 45,000 to 1.7 million, while that over copper went down 77,000 to 1.4 million.

About the Telecom Monitor

Each quarter, ACM publishes the market figures for the telecommunication sector in its Telecom Monitor. Based on data from the most important market participants in the telecom industry, the Telecom Monitor gives an overview of the trends and developments in mobile services, fixed telephony, broadband, television, business network services, and bundles in the form of an interactive dashboard.

See also

• 02-11-2022 ACM Telecom Monitor Q2 2022 with new interactive fiber-optic map (in Dutch)
• Telecom Monitor Dashboard (in Dutch)