The share of Dutch households with broadband connections reached the milestone of 90% during the third quarter of this year, according to Telecompaper’s latest quarterly report.
The number of consumer broadband connections grew by 0.5% in the quarter to 6.86 million on September 30, 2014.
Fibre continued to grow faster than the market average, reaching a market share of 10.5% at the end of the quarter. Cable accounted for almost half the connections and grew by 0.9% in Q3 to almost 3.2 million broadband subscribers. The number of DSL lines decreased over the same period by 1.0% to 2.95 million.
KPN, including its XS4ALL and Telfort brands, is still the largest broadband provider in the Netherlands with a 39.8% share of subscribers at the end of September 2014, down slightly compared with the previous quarter.
This is set to change as its two largest rivals, Ziggo and UPC, complete their merger. According to Telecompaper data, Ziggo had 28.1% of broadband connections at the end of Q3, and UPC held 16.1% of the market, giving them a combined share of over 44%.
For the full year 2014, Telecompaper expects 2.3% growth in broadband connections, despite the increasingly saturated market. The growth is driven by cable and fibre, which will offset the steady decrease in DSL users. For 2015, Telecompaper expects a slightly lower growth as the number of non-broadband households is diminishing.
The researcher also estimates the Dutch consumer broadband market was worth over EUR 500million in retail revenue in the third quarter. Market revenues are expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.5% over the five-year period 2014 to 2018.