ACM Telecom Monitor: Dutch call more during coronavirus crisis

In the second quarter of 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis had noticeable effects on telephony and data consumption in the Netherlands. This is one of the conclusions of the Telecom Monitor that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) published today. People in the Netherlands called more, both over mobile phones as well as over fixed phones. Data consumption increased less than usual, probably because many people were at home and used Wi-Fi instead of mobile data on-the-go.

The volume of mobile voice minutes increased by 23 percent in the first six months of 2020. With regard to fixed telephony, the volume of voice minutes increased by 19 percent in that same period. That is remarkable, because, prior to that, the volume of voice minutes actually decreased. Mobile-data consumption slightly increased, but considerably less than in previous quarters and years. Mobile-data consumption increased by 6 percent in the first six months of 2020. In total, Dutch consumed 219 billion MB of data. Compared with the first quarter of 2020 (214 billion MB), this is an increase of just 2.5 percent, whereas the increase over the same period in 2019 was a hefty 18 percent.

Broadband connections of households

In total, 7.45 million households have broadband connections. Of those households, 92 percent have a broadband connection of 30 Mbps (Megabit per second) or higher. Of all households, 47 percent have cable connections, 33 percent have copper connections, and 20 percent have fiber-optic connections.

Bundles of fixed and mobile services

More and more consumers take out bundles that combine mobile plans with fixed services, for example a combination of fixed services such as telephony, television, or internet with a mobile plan. In the first six months of 2020, the number of bundles that were taken out reached 7 million for the first time.

Machine-to-machine

Machine-to-machine (M2M) applications become more and more important. Think of cars or devices (such as smoke detectors, alarm systems, and smart energy meters) that exchange information, using an internet connection, with the digital systems of the operators of those devices. In the first six months of 2020, the number of M2M (machine-to-machine) connections increased by 40,000 to 7.1 million.

Market shares of mobile operators

The three largest providers in the Netherlands each have a market share of between 20 and 30 percent on the mobile-connections market. Based on mobile-data consumption, the market share of mobile operator T-Mobile (including Tele2) was nearly half of all data in the first quarter of 2020. KPN's market share was between 25 and 30 percent, and VodafoneZiggo's market share was between 15 and 20 percent. VodafoneZiggo is the largest provider on the broadband market with a market share of between 45 and 50 percent. Next comes KPN with a market share of between 40 and 45 percent. T-Mobile has a market share of between 5 and 10 percent, and Delta Fiber Nederland has a market share of less than 5 percent.

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.