The Dutch broadband market is on track for nearly 5% growth in revenues in 2019, according to research by Telecompaper.
Solid subscriber growth in the first nine months and annual price increases by ISPs during the summer support the outlook. The expansion of gigabit broadband to the mass market is expected to bring further revenue growth in the coming years.
Telecompaper’s latest Dutch Broadband report shows broadband revenues rose 8.3 percent year-on-year in Q3 2019 to EUR546 million. The number of mass market broadband connections increased by just over 100,000 in the same period to more than 7.6 million. In addition to more subscriptions, the market profited from annual price increases by all the major ISPs.
“Broadband has become a basic service for consumers, which few households can do without. Not many take action on the price increases, making it relatively easy for the operators to increase revenue,” said Kamiel Albrecht, Telecompaper broadband market analyst and author of the quarterly report.
“To justify further above-inflation price hikes next year, operators will need to offer customers the impression of an improved service, such as the speed increases announced by VodafoneZiggo and FTTH expansion underway at KPN.”
Telecompaper expects the growth in broadband revenues to continue to outpace the increase in connections in the coming years. For the five years to 2023, the market researcher forecasts a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 1.0% in the number of broadband subscribers and 2.8% annual increase in broadband revenues over the period.
Broadband is leading growth in the overall consumer fixed market in the Netherlands. In Q3 2019, total fixed network revenues rose 2.4% year-on-year to over EUR1.2 billion. TV services also contributed to the growth, although revenue growth slowed to 1.7% as the market continues to lose TV subscribers. Fixed telephony revenues fell 9.2% in Q3, due to a steady fall in the number of customers.
The above figures come from Telecompaper’s continuous research into the Dutch communication services market. A full analysis of the latest KPIs and market trends is available in the quarterly reports Dutch Broadband, Dutch Television Market and Dutch Fixed Telephony, which are available now for purchase.