T-Mobile took the lead again in growth on the Dutch mobile market in the second quarter. The operator gained a net 55,000 new retail mobile customers, cementing its lead on the market, according to figures compiled by Telecompaper. KPN and Vodafone also added more customers, as the market showed a recovery from some of the negative effects of the pandemic.
T-Mobile ended the period with a total 6.85 million retail mobile customers. The company also passed the milestone of 1 million subscribers for its unlimited data plan, which contributed to the 70,000 new postpaid customers added in the three months.
T-Mobile said the postpaid growth was roughly equally divided between business and consumer customers. According to T-Mobile CEO Soren Abildgaard, the company largely matched Vodafone’s reported performance in the consumer postpaid market in Q2 and KPN’s customer growth in the business postpaid segment.
Vodafone slower, KPN growing faster
Vodafone’s growth slowed somewhat compared to recent quarters, with a total 56,000 new postpaid subscribers, of which 37,000 in the consumer market. It remains in third place with a total 5.27 million retail customers at the end of June, up by 37,000 from the end of March and 3.3 percent more than in June 2020.
KPN meanwhile showed a steady improvement in customer numbers. The company added a net 36,000 new retail mobile customers in the three months, its best performance in several years. The growth included 16,000 consumer postpaid subscribers and 31,000 business postpaid contracts, offset by the loss of another 11,000 prepaid Sims. On an annual basis, KPN’s mobile base is up 0.4 percent to almost 6.48 million retail customers.
"T-Mobile shows it still has room to grow, likely helped by growing consumer interest in unlimited and its takeover of Simpel at the end of 2020," said Alejandra van de Roer, Telecompaper senior analyst for the mobile market. "In the coming year T-Mobile will need to decide on its branding strategy, as its second brand Tele2 is starting to lose ground and Simpel overlaps with its other brand Ben in the lower end of the market."
For a full analysis of the mobile market, see Telecompaper’s quarterly Dutch Mobile Operators report. This report includes detailed figures on customers and revenues by operator and market segments, as well as an overview of market trends and a five-year forecast. The next edition of the DMO report for Q2 2021 will be published in early September; contact research@telecompaper.com for more details.
