Fiber roll out is well underway throughout the Netherlands: municipalities play an important role in smooth construction

According to the ACM, the rollout of fiber in the Netherlands is going well. KPN and other parties are working flat out to install fiber. The ACM report makes clear that its concerns in 2019 about possible delays have been addressed by market parties. At the current pace of the rollout, almost all of the Netherlands could be provided with fiber well before 2030.

KPN is replacing its fixed copper network with a fiber network. It is currently active in more than 50 municipalities in more than 100 areas. KPN previously announced its ambition to have approximately 65% of Dutch households connected to fiber by 2025. KPN is achieving this by connecting 500,000 addresses to fiber every year, especially in urban areas. With the recently announced collaboration with ABP, more than 900,000 addresses in villages and business parks will be connected to fiber in the coming years. Consequently, approximately 80% of Dutch homes will have a fiber connection from KPN, or via the ABP collaboration, by the end of 2026. This percentage is even higher if the efforts of other parties are added.

In its report, the regulator outlines that there is room for two or more fiber networks alongside cable in certain urban areas. This gives citizens greater choice, assuming that these are open networks, like that of KPN.

Local cooperation is improving in order to complete this important development for the Netherlands as quickly as possible. According to the ACM, municipalities play a crucial role in ensuring that the installation of fiber by parties runs smoothly locally, while minimizing any inconvenience to the public. KPN endorses this wholeheartedly and is keen to work together with municipalities and other parties in order to achieve the installations for everyone as quickly as possible.