KPN ISP Het Net is slated to become the fifth largest broadband ISP in the Netherlands, adding more than 73,000 new customers in the first quarter this year, according to telecom research firm Telecompaper. The Dutch broadband market as a whole grew by 6.4 percent during the first quarter, compared with 8.9 percent growth in the first quarter of 2005, to reach a total of 4.39 million broadband connections, compared with 3.44 million at the end of Q1 2005, Telecompaper's quarterly broadband report finds.
Broadband penetration per household increased to 61.5 percent during the first quarter of 2006, compared with 58.2 percent on 31 December 2005. Penetration per 100 inhabitants increased to 26.9 percent on 31 March 2006; however this was mostly due to flat population growth while the broadband market continued its growth pattern.
The ISP of Dutch cable network operator UPC, chello, joined the 500,000 broadband customer club, following Wanadoo, @home and Planet Internet, as Chello ended the year with 503,500 users. Planet Internet is still the largest broadband ISP of the Netherlands, although it saw a low net addition of 6,000 ADSL customers in Q1, ending the quarter 581,000 customers. @home, Essent Kabelcom's ISP, almost closed the gap with Planet Internet, ending the quarter with 575,000 customers, while Wanadoo consolidated its place as third largest ISP with 511,000 cable and ADSL customers.
Het Net is ended the quarter with 495,000 customers; its quarterly growth of 73,000 new customers is the second largest quarterly growth of the broadband market, only Direct ADSL added more new customers this quarter: 79,000. KPN's share of the Dutch broadband market has increased to 37.5 percent, the group's ADSL ISPs, as well as acquisitions, drove the number of KPN ADSL customers to 1.65 million in the quarter.
"The Dutch broadband market will continue to grow, driven by VoIP and IPTV services, at an average of around five percent per quarter and will reach the 4.5 million customer mark during the second quarter of 2006." says Telecompaper researcher Kamiel Albrecht.
