BPN 1427 Dutch fiber connections doubled

No less than 1,2 million glass fiber connections will linked in The Netherlands by 2012. In the past year the connections already doubled, but the execution of future plans is delayed. In 20 years time every household will have a fiber connection. Those are the conclusions of Stratix Consulting in their annual inventory and analysis of glass fiber in The Netherlands.

On 1 April 2009 218.000 households were linked up to the glass fiber network. One year later there were 451.000 link ups, a raise of 108 per cent. The statistics indicate the availability of glass fiber to the house holds. It does not mean that all house holds have subscribed. In the Netherlands the glass fiber link is laid up to the meter cupboard, but only connected when an application for a subscription has been made. In 2009 there were 139.000 subscribers and in 2010 only 217.000; only a raise of 56 percent.

Differences show up geographically. The roll out of glass fiber networks takes place under the free market system and makes the networks primarily available in strong social-economic areas. Money of market parties is invested mainly outside the big cities and in municipalities with a strong social cohesion, growth municipalities and new communities.

Top of the list is the province Flevoland, where almost half of the households (50,7 per cent) have a glass fiber link in their meter cupboard. The province of Brabant where the first commercial glass fiber network was introduced, has the highest number of subscribers.

Despite the raise of glass fiber house holds, Stratix notice a delay in the fiber plans, especially in Amsterdam. There the explosive growth has slowed down to a more gradual execution. In Amsterdam 47.000 households have glass fiber to the door; 15.000 households have been linked to the meter cupboard. Only 8676 households have taken out a subscription for fast internet, telecom and television.

In Almere almost 80 pct of the households have been provided with glass fiber to the door. But sofar only 7500 households have taken out subscription. In Almere KPN has technical and administrative problems, delaying the subscription conversion.

Recently the Australian research bureau Budde Comm critisized the Dutch incumbent telco KPN for the slow implementation of glass fiber. In Almere almost 80 pct of the households have been provided with glass fiber to the door. But sofar only 7500 households have taken out subscription. In Almere KPN has technical and administrative problems, delaying the subscription conversion. And people start noticing it and getting less enthusiastic to take out a subscription. Last year, March 2009, fiber was laid in Almere’s neighbourhood Tussen de Vaarten. Only in June 2010 the glass fiber was in the meter cupboards of the people. So the hunt for subscriptions started, but not for the apartment buildings. The households still have to wait for the fiber to be operational, before a subscription can be entertained. With the glass fiber already in the ground for more than a year, the investment is not turned into subscriptions yet.

BPN 1427