Speeds of internet subscription on offer rises considerably in The Netherlands, actual speeds increase less

Between the first and the third quarter of this year, the average speeds of internet subscriptions in The Netherlands increased from 16,2 to 24,5 Mbps. The actual, measured speeds of the connections fell short of the ISPs promises. The actual speeds increased as well, from 10,2 to 14,2 Mbps. These figures stem from research by Telecompaper (link in Dutch). The study has not been made public, but Telecompaper did reveal some of the findings.

These figures make clear two things. First, the internet speeds in The Netherlands increase quite rapidly. In half a year’s time, the average promised speeds increased by around 50%. Second, and perhaps more striking, the difference between promised speeds and actual speeds is increasing. In the first quarter, the actual speed was 63% of the promised speed. In the third quarter, this fraction decreased to 58%.

The fraction of broad band users that has to internet speeds of over 6 Mbps increased in this period from 75% to 88% of internet users. Fibre users enjoy the best average promised speeds of 40,8 Mbps. Fibre is followed by cable.

In the case of fibre, it is worth noting that fibre networks have been built with substantial public investment. A number of Dutch municipalities has chosen to subsidise construction of the networks. The use of fibre is not yet very well developed in The Netherlands, however. In the province of Noord Brabant, the province with the highest fibre count, 7,6% of households is connected through fibre. In Noord Holland only 2,1% and in many of the rural provinces, the figure lies at or near zero.