08
April
2014
|
08:00
Europe/Amsterdam

KPN’s 4G network first to reach nationwide coverage in The Netherlands

Summary

KPN today announces that it has reached nationwide 4G coverage in The Netherlands.

KPN achieved nationwide 4G coverage within a remarkable short time frame of 15 months. The rapid pace of the roll-out and being the first Dutch operator to achieve nationwide 4G coverage confirms KPN’s position as the best-in-class integrated access provider and the leading provider of 4G services.

Eelco Blok, CEO of KPN: “By accomplishing nationwide 4G coverage in The Netherlands, within just 15 months, we have set an important mark in the European telecom sector. We believe that our leading position on 4G renders us a key strategic competitive advantage in the Dutch mobile market. 4G not only improves the quality of service, but the accompanied change in customer behavior provides more opportunities for KPN. We are already seeing an uptake in subscriber numbers, a reduction in churn and equally important an increase in data usage.”

Access to KPN’s high quality 4G network has many advantages for customers, amongst others higher speeds and quality, and is starting to change customer behaviour. 4G is changing the way customers use mobile data, most notably the increase in video usage of more than 70% vs. 3G users and increased data usage which is between 2.5 and 4 times higher than 3G usage. In terms of subscriber numbers, KPN’s 4G subscriber base has passed one million customers in the first quarter of 2014.

As part of its 4G strategy, KPN uses a combination of 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2600MHz spectrum to ensure high quality 4G services to consumers and corporate customers throughout The Netherlands. Within this strategy, the utilization of 800MHz secured a rapid nationwide coverage of 4G. KPN will utilize the 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequencies to enhance capacity and enable higher speeds in dense areas.