Increase in bundles and Internet telephony in electronic communication markets

In its market monitor for 2005, the Commission of OPTA, the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority, notes that there was a substantial increase in the sale of bundled communications services to consumers. This has become possible thanks to the convergence of technologies which used to be offered separately in the past, such as television, voice telephony and broadband Internet access. In addition, OPTA notes that a growing number of people are switching to Internet and cable telephony. The Netherlands boasts the highest tariff of broadband penetration in the European Union. Spam sent from the Netherlands has stabilised at a low level.

Commission Chairman, Chris Fonteijn, has this to say: We can see healthy dynamics at play in the various markets. We are very satisfied with this, because technological innovation and healthy competition will increasingly yield greater benefits for consumers. The companies that are active in the telecommunications sector deserve a resounding complement for this. At the same time we can note that, as such, we are benefiting from the manner in which regulation has occurred in recent years.

For instance, consumers are benefiting from the growing competition between infrastructures, in particular those of the fixed telephone and cable networks. The number of households which are purchase fixed telephony services and broadband Internet access from a single provider has doubled to 20%. Now that 5% of households have a ‘triple-play subscription’ for television, broadband Internet and telephony.

At present a growing number of alternatives are becoming available for fixed telephone connections. Fixed cable telephony has grown strongly to 450,000 subscribers, while Internet telephony (voice over IP) has come within reach of a wider range of end users. The number of households without a fixed telephone subscription rose to 14%. These people frequently only make calls using a mobile phone, for which 16 million subscriptions have now been sold. The charges for calls from landline to mobile phones have dropped by a further 13% this year. In 2005 OPTA decided to ensure that this downward trend also continues in the years ahead.

Of all Dutch households, 75% have broadband Internet connections. This represents an increase of 12% over 2004 and is the highest percentage in the European Union. At the end of 2005 there were 2.5 million xDSL connections and 1.6 million cable subscriptions for broadband Internet access.

Problems relating to security on the Internet continue to demand OPTA’s attention, including, for instance, viruses and spyware. The fight against spam is bearing fruit, because the quantity of Dutch spam has clearly declined since OPTA acquired the power to act in May 2004. The fight against illegal automatic dialling programmes (diallers), which result in high telephone bills for subcribers, is a problem which is being tackled, in particular, at the international level. In 2005 OPTA started publishing a blacklist of telephone numbers (international and otherwise) associated with these problems.

Competition is continuing to grow in the commercial sector of the postal market, Selektmail and Sandd showing themselves to be major competitors to TPG Post.