Mobile-data traffic and the number of households with access to fiber-optic went up considerably in 2023
The number of households with access to fiber-optic has considerably increased over the past year, by approximately 25 percent. That is one of the conclusions of the 2023 annual review of the Telecom Monitor (external website) of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Mobile-data consumption also increased considerably in 2023, by over 25 percent. At the same time, the popularity of voice calling is declining, both over landlines and mobile. Over a timespan of ten years, the number of voice minutes over landlines has dropped by 75 percent. The number of issued mobile phone numbers stabilized, while the number of issued premium-rate and subscriber numbers decreased in 2023.
The number of households with a fiber-optic network right in front of their homes was 7.13 million in 2023. The number of actual fiber-optic plans (where homes have activated connections) went up from 300,000 to 2.64 million households. That means that, today, over a third of households with access to fiber-optic also have an active plan. The number of households that also watches TV using fiber-optic went up from approximately 200,000 to 1.92 million over the past year. Meanwhile, the number of copper-based connections is declining, as these facilities have started to be shut down in areas where fiber-optic is available.
Manon Leijten, Member of the Board of ACM, adds: “It’s good that the roll-out of fiber-optic is progressing well. It has therefore become more important that consumers are able to benefit from this development. Over the next few months, ACM will continue to keep a close watch on the market, and, by the end of the year, ACM will publish a market analysis with special attention to the functioning of KPN’s commitment decision, particularly to the rates and conditions that they use for access to their fiber-optic networks.”
More and more Dutch these days have access to broadband over fiber-optic or cable. Where in 2013 just 9.3 percent of Dutch had broadband plans with download speeds of 100 megabits per second or higher, this was 81.7 percent in 2023. This means that the European goal of full availability of over 100 megabits per second by 2025 is progressing well. Approximately 7.3 percent of Dutch have broadband plans with download speeds of 1 gigabit per second or higher.
Mobile-data consumption increased considerably over the past year, by approximately 25 percent in comparison with 2022. Over 2023, this was slightly over 2 billion gigabytes. Compared with five years ago, mobile-data consumption has nearly quadrupled.
Popularity of voice calling has dropped considerably over the years
Popularity of voice calling has been in a downward trend over the past few years. In 2020 (the first year of the pandemic), the number of calls spiked for a brief period, both over landlines and mobile. After 2020, the number of voice minutes over landlines started to decrease again. In the years since, voice calling has continued to lose popularity. In 2023, the Dutch called over 4 billion minutes less over mobile and over 1.38 billion minutes less over landlines than in 2022.
Although the Netherlands still has 4.26 million fixed connections, the number of voice minutes over landlines has decreased by more than 75 percent in comparison with 2013. In 2023, there were only 4.9 billion voice minutes over landlines, whereas, in 2013, this was still 19.5 billion minutes. Compared with ten years ago, considerably fewer texts are sent as well, but this is less steep a decline than that in the number of voice minutes.
Number issuance
Like in previous years, 2023 saw a slight decrease in the number of issued premium-rate numbers. This is particularly reflected in the number of issued premium-rate subscriber numbers. At the end of 2022, 32 premium-rate subscriber numbers were in use, while, at the end of 2023, only 16 such numbers were. ACM has also encouraged holders of 090x-numbers to return premium-rate numbers following changes to the rules for premium-rate subscriber services and directory assistance services. In addition, ACM has withdrawn several 090x-numbers. The use of these numbers was not in accordance with their intended use.
The number of issued mobile numbers was virtually the same as in 2022. The issuance percentage, which was 88.5 percent in 2023, has been relatively stable for several years. If the issuance percentage exceeds 90 percent, ACM will monitor its trajectory more closely.
Also, demand for 0970-numbers is growing each year, but, in 2023, the issuance of 0970-numbers increased less strongly than in 2022. In 2022, there was an increase of 37 percent, while, in 2023, the increase was considerably lower, only 2 percent. 0970-numbers are used for, among other purposes, Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications such as smart appliances. As the digital economy continues to evolve, ACM expects that demand for these numbers will continue to grow in the future as well. ACM will keep a close watch.