Dutch operators are preparing to connect around 1.36 million more households to FTTH, according to research by Telecompaper. While KPN remains the biggest operator and is actively expanding, several other operators are also actively planning expansion on the Dutch fibre market.
KPN accelerated its roll-out at the start of 2019 with plans to cover 1 million more homes in three years. The operator has announced multiple new projects, including in December plans to cover much of Amsterdam and to start rolling out 1 Gbps services across the country.
Of the planned 1 million new homes passed, KPN realised around 160,000 in 2019. Other announced projects should see around 550,000 more premises connected, and KPN is expected to make further announcements in the coming months.
Delta Fiber targets 120,000 households
Delta Fiber, the second-largest operator on the market, is just as busy. It will start later this month with converting its coax network in Zeeland to fibre in certain cities. The company also has numerous fibre projects underway in rural parts of the Netherlands. These should lead to around 120,000 homes passed based on the projects announced to date.
Looking at the other players on the market, E-Fiber plans to connect around 20,000 households and is active in several other cities with demand aggregation campaigns or marketing preparations. If it goes ahead with roll-out in all the towns where campaigns are underway (Amstelveen, Etten-Leur, Oss, Zeist and Zundert), its network would pass another 120,000 homes. The company has further ambitions to cover large parts of Limburg, which could add another 250,000 homes.
Many small players active
Telecompaper's FTTH Database shows that network operators such as L2 Fiber, GlasDraad and Digitale Stad also will connect tens of thousands of homes this year. We also expect T-Mobile, working with PrimeVest Capital and VolkerWessels, to announce more expansion plans.
While not all the projects will be completed in 2020, or even in 2021, a total of almost 900,000 households are in various stages of planning for a fibre connection. Another 475,000 are expected to be subject to demand aggregation campaigns. This means that in total around 1.36 million more Dutch households may be able to connect to fibre broadband. That is more than four times more than the coverage planned at the end of 2018 and a 45 percent increase from June 2019.
