The Dutch mobile operators KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone have agreed to share networks in the event of a major service disruption in the country. Affected customers will be able to call and SMS on other networks, without incurring additional costs. The emergency system will be deployed if at least 500,000 customers are affected for more than three days. It will not apply to data services, as the costs were considered too high to implement such a system.
The agreement was reached following an extensive disruption to services on the Vodafone network in 2012, which affected over 1 million customers. The government called on the operators to develop a solution in the event it happened again. The ministry of economic affairs contributed research and financing for developing the infrastructure required for the regional roaming. The government congratulated the operators on the agreement, calling it a world premier for the Dutch economy.
