ACM Telecom Monitor: mobile-data consumption continues to increase
In 2018, mobile-data consumption rose by 59% compared with 2017. Total consumption was 537 billion MB compared with 337 billion MB in 2017. This is one of the conclusions of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in its Telecom Monitor of the third and fourth quarters of 2018.
Transition from traditional to digital services
In the fixed-telephony segment, a transition from traditional services to digital services can be observed. For example, the number of traditional telephony connections such as PSTN and ISDN continues to decrease. Telecom provider KPN’s intention not to offer ISDN2/PSTN any longer, starting in 2020, fits in with this trend.
Increase in bundles of fixed and mobile services
More and more consumers use bundles that combine mobile plans with fixed services, for example television + fixed telephony + broadband access + mobile plans. Providers offer various extras to seduce consumers to take out these bundles. The number of bundles that consists solely of the fixed services internet, fixed telephony and/or television is decreasing.
Stable market shares in the fixed broadband market
Telecom providers KPN and VodafoneZiggo remain the largest providers of broadband internet, with stable market shares of 45 to 50 percent. Market shares of other providers, such as Tele2, amounted to between zero and five percent in 2018. The number of cable connections and fiber-optic connections continues to increase slightly at the expense of copper connections.
Few new fiber-optic connections installed
In 2018, the number of new fiber-optic connections was comparable to that in 2017, with an average of 30,000 new connections per quarter. This is substantially lower than in the previous years, when, on average, between 40,000 and 55,000 homes were connected to fiber-optic. ACM wishes to gain more insight into how telecom companies and investors determine where to roll out fiber-optic, and what problems they encounter in that process. ACM has therefore launched an exploratory study into the roll-out of fiber-optic in the Netherlands. ACM expects to publish the results of the market study after the summer. Based on those results, the necessity of any further steps will be determined.
About the Telecom Monitor
Every six months, 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 in mobile services, fixed telephony, broadband, television, business network services, and bundles.
- See the Telecom Monitor for Q3 and Q4 (in Dutch)