ACM: more and more households are opting for a fiber optic subscription

In the Netherlands, the number of households with a fiber optic subscription increased by 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024. Approximately 250,000 new fiber optic connections were also installed in that period. This is evident from the ACM Telecom Monitor.

According to the Telecom Monitor of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, 2.92 million households in the Netherlands currently have a fiber optic subscription. Last quarter, that number was still 2.8 million. These numbers are based on data from network owners. In total, there are 7.38 million households with a fiber optic network at their doorstep. In some parts of the country, however, the rollout of fiber optic is still lagging behind compared to other areas. This includes parts of Groningen, North Holland, South Holland, Zeeland and Limburg.

In addition, the number of households with an all-in-one bundle is decreasing. These are subscriptions that combine telephony, internet and television. Households are increasingly opting for a bundle with two fixed services and generally dropping fixed telephony. The number of fixed telephone connections has fallen by 0.8 percent to 4.23 million. In addition, almost 5 percent fewer calls are made via the fixed line.

It is also slightly more common for consumers to take out a subscription in combination with mobile. By taking out internet, television and mobile from the same provider, customers often receive a discount on their subscription or extra mobile data. The number of these types of bundles has risen by 0.3 percent to 3.65 million subscriptions. Mobile data consumption also increased by 1.7 percent to almost 550 million gigabytes, although in the third quarter of 2023 it was still almost 560 million gigabytes.