The Netherlands Is Global Number One in Broadband

According to a yearly report by OPTA (the Independent Post and Telecommunication Authority), the Netherlands holds the number one position in the world in broadband Internet connections. The Netherlands established its sixth millionth broadband connection in 2009. As a result, the Netherlands has taken the lead from Denmark regarding broadband penetration. There are 38.1 broadband connections for every 100 residents in the Netherlands, as a result, in part, from active encouragement by the government. The OECD average for countries with broadband is 22.8 connections per 100 residents.

Another clear trend that emerged from the report was the dominance of mobile telephony, with 28 percent of the Dutch owning a second mobile phone. The report concluded that this was probably due, in part, to low subscriber and calling fees. Compared to other countries, the average caller in the Netherlands pays the lowest fees, according to an OECD study.

In the area of fixed-line telephony, digitization continues to expand at a rapid rate. The number of households with a digital telephone connection rose by 6.8 percentage points from 36.5 percent to 43.3 percent. While cable and copper growth remains constant in their contribution to digital telephony, fiber optic telephony is growing exponentially, growing from 47,000 to 87,000 connections.

The television and cable market is also digitizing at a rapid pace, and the market is becoming more competitive and less concentrated to specific carriers. Many of the traditional cable companies’ customers are switching to digital television, from 45 percent of households to 55 percent. It is anticipated that the turnover of television distributors will have grown in 2009 as a result of an increase in additional packages such as video on demand.

Additionally, the trend is clearly growing in the area of “bundles”: dual- or triple-play providers that provide television, fixed telephony and/or broadband services. Triple-play providers grew the most in household penetration from mid-2008 to mid-2009: from 21.6 to 26.2 percent.

This report, entitled “Market Monitor 2009” is partly based on external public sources and partly on public information sourced from OPTA’s Structural Monitoring Markets.

Source: OPTA, 1 June 2010