Competition in the Dutch FTTH market is intensifying, driving a record 533,000 new fibre connections built in 2020, according to the FTTH in the Netherlands 2021 report from Telecompaper. Never before have so many households been connected in a single year. At the end of 2020, a total of 3.68 million households had access to a FTTH connection, making up almost half (46%) of all households in the Netherlands. This record will likely be beaten this year, Telecompaper expects. Consolidation is also starting, as large players on the market bought more than 50,000 FTTH lines from smaller parties in the past year.
Competition increased last year in the FTTH market among the four largest players. KPN NetwerkNL, Delta Fiber Network, E-Fiber and Primevest/T-Mobile all grew faster than in the previous year and their ambitions for this year are higher again.
KPN NetwerkNL remains market leader
There are four parties in the Netherlands that are rolling out new networks throughout the country and which plan to continue expanding in the coming years. In addition, more than 30 small operators are active at local or regional level.
KPN NetwerkNL is the largest with more than 75 percent of the homes passed in the market. In 2020, the company was able to expand its total by 319,000 homes passed, and it wants to grow this to half a million per year in the coming years. In time, KPN will further increase its market share, but this was not the case in 2020. In 2019, KPN's share was over 78 percent. Number two Delta Fiber Network (14%), number three E-Fiber (3%) and number four Primevest/T-Mobile (2%) all managed to expand their market shares in 2020 by growing faster.
Consolidation not over yet
Including the first months of this year, the large players bought a total of over 50,000 FTTH lines from smaller parties in the past year. In addition, Delta Fiber bought out a number of joint venture partners, bringing more than 100,000 lines into full ownership of the company.
The FTTH market started in the Netherlands over 15 years ago and has grown to over 30 parties installing fibre networks. Since last year, it has become clear that small parties cannot always sustain the maintenance and services, leading often to a sale. With still a lot of active local networks and the pressure to create scale among the large parties, Telecompaper expects further consolidation over the coming years.
Expectations for 2021 and beyond
If the big four parties achieve their goals for 2021, nearly 900,000 homes passed will be added this year. In addition, a number of smaller parties are also actively deploying fibre. The goal says a lot about the fierce competition and the current acceleration in the Netherlands. However, Telecompaper expects the market to not quite hit its targets, and rather increase this year by just over 700,000 homes passed. Not all parties will be able to fully achieve the objectives. In addition, part of the growth will be based on acquisitions, so the total will not increase.
Growth will undeniably continue, also in the years after 2021. Telecompaper expects the country to have 7 million homes passed by the end of 2025. This means that about 84 percent of Dutch households will have access to fibre at that time.
Deep dive FTTH in the Netherlands
On 7 April, Telecompaper will organise a deep-dive webinar on FTTH in the Netherlands. The English-language event will discuss the developments that took place in the Dutch FTTH market in 2020, using the FTTH in the Netherlands 2021 report as a basis. Interested participants can sign up here.
