Independent MVNOs have fallen to just 12.5 percent of customers on the Dutch mobile market as of March 2021, down 4.4 percent points from a year earlier, according to the latest research from Telecompaper. The decline in market share was due mainly to the largest MVNO Simpel being acquired by T-Mobile at the end of 2020 and becoming a second brand at that operator. Excluding Simpel, the number of customers at MVNOs rose over 5 percent in the past year, led by the 'no-frills', low-cost providers.
With the sale of Simpel, the number of mobile customers at independent MVNOs fell by around 1 million, according to Telecompaper’s semi-annual Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators report for Q1 2021. Excluding Simpel, the other MVNOs continued to grow, adding around 128,000 Sims in the year to March 2021 and 77,000 in the six months since September 2020, for a total of 2.63 million.
Simpel is the latest in a series of takeovers that has significantly reduced the size of the MVNO market. The number of virtual operators, including both independent MVNOs and second brands owned by the mobile network operators, has fallen from a peak of over 60 in 2013 to roughly half that in early 2021. The independent MVNOs now have just 12.5 percent of mobile Sims, while the market share of second brands has risen to 19.2 percent from 15.1 percent in the past year. The MNOs account for over 68 percent of mobile customers, up from 60 percent two years ago.
"It has become difficult for many MVNOs to compete in the saturated mobile market, especially given the growing importance of data deals and fixed-mobile bundles," said Alejandra van de Roer, Telecompaper senior research analyst for the mobile market and co-author of the Virtual Operators report. "The remaining big players are either part of larger international groups, like Lycamobile and Lebara, or active also in the fixed market, like Youfone."
The main growth area in the virtual operators market remains the ‘no-frills’ segment, where Simpel, Youfone and several others are active in offering sharply priced plans with mainly online customer service and few extras. Including both MVNOs and second brands, the no-frills segment counted almost 3.2 million customers at the end of March 2021, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier. While Simpel’s growth has slowed somewhat in the past year, Vodafone’s Hollandsnieuwe, KPN brand Simyo and independent MVNO Youfone all continue to add new customers in this segment.
The Telecompaper report 'Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators' provides a comprehensive view of the VO market, with detailed figures on subscriber numbers and revenues of the biggest independent MVNOs and second brands. It includes an overview of the latest market trends and news for the past six months, a breakdown of the market by the most important customer segments, and a five-year market forecast. For more information on the report or to receive a customised market analysis, please contact research@telecompaper.com.
