The VO market is divided roughly equally between independent MVNOs and second brands run by the mobile operators, with respectively 3.4 and 3.3 million customers. Both segments grew by 2.9 percent in the six-month period, with especially 'no-frills', low-cost brands and the fixed providers doing well.
The low-cost segment remains the largest in the VO market, accounting for 50 percent of customers. It grew by 4.9 percent compared to March, thanks mainly to Simpel, Hollandsnieuwe and Ben.
The ethinc/international segment comes second, led by Lebara. This segment is stable, with around a third of the VO market. The much smaller fixed segment grew by 15.5 percent over the six months, thanks largely to Ziggo's expansion.
Since Tele2 become a network operator, the rankings of the largest VOs have changed somewhat. KPN's brand Telfort remains market leader, followed by Lebara, Lycamobile, Hollandsnieuwe and Simyo. Together these five providers account for 61.7 percent of the VO market, down slightly from 62.8 percent at the end of Q1, due mainly to fewer customers at Telfort.
Since the last edition of Telecompaper's MVNO report, six brands left the market, and there were no new entrants, leaving a total 47 brands active. Departures include the football MVNO Club Mobiel, cable operator Delta stopping its mobile service, and OpenMobile going bankrupt. The business segment is the one area where new brands are still launching, mainly ICT service providers adding mobile to their product mix.
Looking ahead to 2017, the big change will be Ziggo no longer being a MVNO and having its own mobile network after its merger with Vodafone Netherlands. Telecompaper expects both brands to remain in the market for the time being. Simpel is also expected to continue its growth, after receiving a capital injection from the investor Parcom. Other small business players will likely also enter the market, while more consumer brands could disappear due to the continued pressure on mobile prices from OTT competition as well as regulation.
