Our history
From telegraphy to 5G
Since 1881, KPN has been helping the Netherlands to progress with technological innovation. From the telegraph to 5G and from telephone operator to Internet of Things. This is the rich history of KPN. See the most memorable moments from 1881 to today.
First telephone call in the Netherlands
Establishment of the Administratie der Posterijen en Telegrafie
Telegraph and Telephone Law
75,000 subscribers
Standard mailbox in 1918
Change of name
First telephone call
First public telephone kiosk
Telephone exchanges destroyed
003
Subscribers increase
T65
Voorloper internet
Emergency phones
ATF-1 network
100th anniversary
Internet en Wifi
Standing on its own feet
Internet
GSM network
Operation DeciBel
ISDN
Nokia 9000 Communicator
Hi
ADSL
PTT Post and PTT Telecom separated
1998
XS4ALL
'A mobile phone? No, I don’t need one'
Blackberry
Nederland massaal op ADSL
Ad Scheepbouwer
Digitenne
The Olympic Games in Athens
Eerste gemeente op glasvezel
Experiment and innovate
Telfort
Launch of the first iPhone
Getronics
Launch of C2000
Establishment of the KPN Mooiste Contact Fonds
Cloud
Eelco Blok
Fiber network
4G
Climate neutral
Innovation
1 million fixed-mobile customers
Sponsor of the Year
Sponsorovereenkomst met de KNVB
LTE-M
New CEO
Global Cyberlympics
KPN 5G Field Lab
New CEO - Joost Farwerck
Opnieuw wereldklimaatleider
COVID-19 pandemic
KPN turns on 5G
KPN ends skating partnership after ten years
More sustainable fiber optic cabling
Accelerate digitalization
Snelste 5G mobiele netwerk van Nederland
Record datagroei op mobiele netwerk
Beste mobiele netwerk van Nederland
KPN launching partner E_Oranje
Glasvezel verslaat koper
Logo per 2022
Quantuminternet
Tomorrow's history
Minister bids farewell to the telephone operator
Warffum was the last municipality in the Netherlands to be connected to a fully automated telephone network. From this date, all callers could establish the right connection using the dial on their telephone. It meant the end of the telephone operator in telephone exchanges. At the peak, around 1930, there were more than 2,000 telephone operators manually connecting all the calls in the Netherlands.
Calling with Kermit
With a special telephone, the Greenhopper, subscribers could make mobile calls at these locations. Greenpoint was designed as a cheap alternative to the expensive carphone network. Initially, the striking Greenhopper was called Kermit, after Kermit the Frog. In 1996, Greenpoint had 60,000 subscribers. With the advent of GSM, Greenpoint became obsolete. KPN discontinued this network in 1999.
Iconic video
Without exception those interviewed answered that existing means of communication – landline telephone, answerphone, letter – were more than sufficient.
It is difficult to comprehend that at that moment we were on the eve of a mobile revolution: in 1998 there were 3 million mobile connections, 10 years later this was 20 million.
KPN leading in digital innovations
At the start of the 21st century, KPN is leading the way in digital innovations. For example, the Netherlands is the first country in Europe to experiment with i-mode, an early generation mobile internet. KPN also looks into new features such as watching TV via your mobile phone. Many firsts follow: Catch-up TV (2006), Live pausing (2010), watching online TV anywhere via Play (2015) and contactless mobile payments (2016).
Now the viewer decides
In addition to a large number of digital channels, customers can also simply record programs. What’s more, customers are given Catch-up TV, an Electronic Program Guide and access to On Demand films. Since its introduction, KPN continues to add services to Interactive TV, such as apps, Netflix and viewing via telephone or tablet.
From calling to apps
Consumers are increasingly connected to each other 24/7. Lots of free programs are introduced onto the market, such as WhatsApp in 2009. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter also grow into popular forms of communication. As a result, the numbers of calls and SMSs sent decrease sharply; meanwhile data traffic grows massively. Even more because tablets and smartphones are rapidly taken over the Netherlands.
Talking devices
Via this technology, it is, for example, possible to see which garbage containers are full and need to be emptied. And it can help vets check the health of cows remotely. In this way, LoRa makes it possible for a large number of places to work faster and work smarter.
The Link
The striking tower of architect Renzo Piano at the bottom of the Erasmus Bridge on the Kop van Zuid will be named The Link, a reference to the connection that is central to KPN’s services.