Simpel already passed Lebara to become the largest independent MVNO in Q1 2019. Its growth has slowed since then, but it’s still one of the few providers to be adding customers in the Dutch VO market, Telecompaper’s report Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators Q3 2019 shows. The company is on track to pass 1 million customers by the end of 2019.
"With mobile services increasingly seen as a commodity, VOs are finding it more and more difficult to compete," said Alejandra van de Roer, Telecompaper’s mobile market analyst and co-author of the report. "Simpel has managed to make a name for itself with sharply priced promotions, but it’s marketing activity slowed considerably in the past six months and it may need to try something new in 2020 to maintain its growth."
In addition to an overall difficult mobile market, the VO segment has been affected by KPN’s decision to discontinue some of its second brands. Telfort stopped selling new subscriptions in May and the brand will be withdrawn entirely from January 2020. The KPN brands Yes Telecom and XS4All are expected to follow, and T-Mobile may also decide to consolidate its brands after 2022, when it’s no longer required to maintain the Tele2 offer.
Second brands account for over half VO market
The second brands of mobile network operators accounted for nearly 55 percent of subscribers and over 63 percent of revenues on the VO market in Q3 2019. The drop in customers at Telfort and Tele2 led to a small decline in these market shares compared to Q1 2019, while Vodafone’s Hollandsnieuwe and T-Mobile’s other brand Ben showed modest growth in the period.
Telecompaper expects a continued fall in customer numbers at the second brands will lead to a further contraction in the VO market in the coming years. The number of subscribers at virtual providers is expected to show a CAGR of -4.6 percent over the period 2019-2023, as growth at the independent MVNOs is offset by the losses at MNO virtual brands.
At the end of Q3 2019, there were a total of 38 MVNOs and virtual providers on the Dutch mobile market, unchanged from a year earlier but down from a peak of over 60 in 2013. The VOs accounted for over 38 percent of subscribers on the Dutch mobile market.
The above figures are based on Telecompaper’s continuous research into the Dutch communications market. Detailed figures on the VO market are available in the just published Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators Q3 2019, which is available for purchase on the Telecompaper website. For more details on the report or to receive a customised market analysis, please contact research@telecompaper.com.
