The number of Dutch mobile customers with independent MVNOs rose in the past year to reach nearly 3.6 million at the end of September 2020, according to the latest research from Telecompaper. MVNOs are growing faster than the overall mobile market: they accounted for a third of net new subscribers in the 12 months, compared to a 17 percent share of total mobile Sims on the Dutch market.
The MVNOs acquired 110,000 new customers in the 12 months to September, compared to 335,000 Sims added in the total market, the latest edition of Telecompaper’s Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators report shows. The MVNOs showing the most growth are low-cost provider Simpel, which passed 1 million customers in Q3 2020; the small, but quickly growing alternative operator Youfone; and Voiceworks, which targets the growing number of SMEs adopting unified communications.
The rest of the growth in the total mobile market went to the three mobile operators’ main brands KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone, which account for just over 68 percent of total Sims on the market. The mobile operators’ second brands lost over 1.3 million customers in the 12-month period, mainly due to KPN’s decision to discontinue Telfort. In the most recent six-month period covered by the semi-annual research, the operator brands continued to lose customers, dropping to less than 3.1 million Sims or just under 15 percent of the total market at the end of September 2020.
The decline in the brands is led by Tele2, which remains the largest virtual brand on the market with almost 1.3 million customers. Tele2 has been losing customers slowly since it was acquired by T-Mobile at the start of 2019 and its future is in doubt since T-Mobile bought in December the largest MVNO Simpel.
"The market shares will change more significantly in 2021 as Simpel becomes a second brand and T-Mobile’s three-year commitment to the Tele2 brand comes to an end," said Marion ter Welle, Telecompaper senior research analyst and co-author of the Virtual Operators report. "We expect T-Mobile will decide to drop at least one of the three brands it now has in the low end of the market (Simpel, Tele2, Ben), as growth in the ‘no-frills’ segment is starting to slow and the market focus is more on premium brands with higher revenue potential."
After Tele2 and Simpel, Lebara is the third-largest virtual brand on the Dutch market, with a slowly declining customer base. Lycamobile comes fourth with a stable customer base in the past year, and Vodafone’s brand Hollandsnieuwe is in fifth place. Together these five account for two-thirds of the VO market.
For a comprehensive view of the virtual operators market, the Q3 2020 edition of the Dutch Mobile Virtual operators report is available to purchase on Telecompaper's website. The report includes the latest KPIs on subscriber numbers, revenues and market shares for MVNOs, virtual brands and the various market segments, as well as a market forecast. For more information or a customised market analysis, please contact research@telecompaper.com.
