ACM Telecom Monitor Q4 2020: considerable increase in fixed and mobile telephony

The Telecom Monitor that  the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) published today shows a notable increase in the volume of voice minutes in 2020 compared with previous years. The cause of this considerable increase can presumably be attributed to the effects of the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The volume of mobile voice minutes in 2020 was 43 billion minutes, which is an increase of 42 percent compared with 2019. Between 2016 and 2019, the volume of mobile voice minutes was approximately 30 billion minutes. The volume of voice minutes for fixed telephony, too, increased last year for the first time in five years by 5.5 percent to 9.4 billion minutes. In the previous five years, the volume of voice minutes for fixed telephony decreased by, on average, 14 percent. In 2020, call minutes over traditional telephony, such as ISDN and PSTN, dropped by 30 percent, whereas call minutes over digital telephony increased by 15 percent.

Mobile telephony

In 2020, consumption of mobile data in the Netherlands reached almost one trillion MB for the first time ever, which is an increase of 25 percent compared with 2019. The number of text messages that were sent decreased by 15 percent. The number of mobile connections slightly increased in 2020. The number of connections increased by 133,000 to 22.3 million mobile connections in total. Telecom operator T-Mobile’s market share went up, and is now 30 to 35 percent, compared with 25 to 30 percent in Q4 2019. This increase can in part be explained by the acquisition of Dutch telecom operator Simpel. Telecom operator KPN’s market share was between 25 and 30 percent, and VodafoneZiggo’s market share was between 20 and 25 percent. The market shares of KPN and VodafoneZiggo have remained stable compared with 2019.

More households are connected to fiber-optic networks

In the Netherlands, 3.33 million households are connected to the fiber-optic networks of KPN and DELTA Fiber Netherlands. Other providers, such as E-Fiber and Primevest/T-Mobile, have 340,000 fiber-optic connections. In total, 3.67 million households have a fiber-optic connection.

ACM keeps a close watch on the roll-out of fiber-optic, and identifies what potential problems may occur in that process. ACM will soon publish an update of its market study into the roll-out of fiber-optic.

Increase in bundling of fixed and mobile services

The use of bundles, plans that combine mobile services with fixed services (such as television, fixed telephony and/ or broadband access), is growing. In 2020, the number of fixed-mobile bundles has increased to 2.9 million. ACM also sees that, for the first time ever, there are more bundles that combine two fixed services than bundles that combine three fixed services. This is because fixed telephony is taken out increasingly less. In 2020, 2.1 million dual-play bundles were taken out, and 2 million triple-play bundles.

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.