It seems that the fastest fiber-optic option is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, the number of people using the highest-speed fiber-optic plan has doubled compared to last year. Why has this high-speed option suddenly become so popular with so many households? That’s what we’ll be discussing in this article!
Twice as many high-speed fiber-optic plans
In the first quarter of 2024, 380,000 households opted for the fastest fiber-optic subscription with a speed of 1 gigabit or more. In the same period a year earlier, this figure was 200,000 households, so that’s nearly a doubling in just one year. These figures come from the Telecommonitor report by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). And this shows that the growth of fiber-optic internet in the Netherlands is continuing to accelerate. You can definitely see this if you look around. In many places, construction is underway to install fiber-optic infrastructure. Currently, at least 7.38 million households have fiber-optic connections available at their doorstep. More than a third of them actually have a fiber-optic subscription and are therefore using this network.
The installation of fiber-optic cables isn't going as smoothly everywhere
Unfortunately, there are still parts of the Netherlands where fiber-optic installation is lagging behind. This is the case, for example, in some parts of Groningen, North Holland, Zeeland, South Holland, and Limburg. As a result, it is still far from always possible to use a fiber-optic connection in these areas. The number of people using coaxial or copper connections is steadily declining. In particular, there has been a sharp decline in copper connections in the Netherlands.
Bundled plans are no longer as popular
Combined subscriptions that include internet, TV, and landline service are no longer as popular in the Netherlands. Households prefer to opt for a bundle with just two services, since landline service is no longer even used in many households. In addition, the Telecommonitor shows that consumers are increasingly opting for a bundle that includes fixed internet and a mobile plan. Often, they receive a discount on their fixed-line contract and free extra data for their mobile plan.
Conclusion
Fiber-optic internet continues to gain popularity in the Netherlands, especially the fastest fiber-optic plans. And this is despite the fact that parts of the country don’t even have access to a fiber-optic network yet. Fiber-optic infrastructure is currently being rolled out very quickly, but is still lagging behind in some regions. Finally, bundles combining internet, TV, and phone service are becoming less popular, and more consumers are opting for a bundle of fixed-line internet and a mobile plan.