16
March
2021
|
09:30
Europe/Amsterdam

"Without fiber in your home, you will fall behind"

All over the Netherlands KPN is replacing its copper network with a fiber network. Every year until 2025 KPN will install 500,000 fiber connections for consumers and businesses. KPN focuses mainly on urban areas. A gigantic operation that is supplying the Netherlands with fast Internet, but for which a bit of an overhaul is needed in the Netherlands. Joost Steltenpool (49), responsible at KPN for the rollout of fiber, explains.

Why do I need to read this interview?
“Because so many things are going on behind the Wi-Fi signal. To replace KPN’s copper network with fiber, every sidewalk in the Netherlands has to be dug up. A sort of delta plan for Internet.

Fiber has proved to be the best solution for superfast connections and applications. It’s an important medium for the future, as was the copper network in the 20th century. Without fiber in your house, you will be at a disadvantage. Making fiber available to people in the Netherlands is a great reason for getting out of bed every morning. Later in life I will bore my grandchildren to tears with the story.”

KPN is already well under way with rolling out fiber The copper network has already been replaced with fiber at around 2.8 million addresses. A further 2.5 million households will be added in the next five years. KPN is currently rolling out fiber in 56 municipalities and will make a start in 150 more municipalities in the coming years.

Are you able to convince consumers of the need for fiber?
“Absolutely. The vast majority of people for whom we lay fiber welcome us with open arms. Between 80 and 90 percent of the households give us permission to connect their home to fiber. For the others I think it’s only a question of time. Fiber has clear advantages over all other forms of broadband technology.”

KPN connects fiber to all households, including those that are not customers of KPN. The challenge is to convince every customer of the added value of a fiber connection and to ensure that the installation causes minimum inconvenience.

“Whatever way you look at it, inconvenience is inevitable because the sidewalk has to be dug up. Nowadays, we are so proficient at it that we can generally get the job done within one working day. Strangely enough, Covid-19 is giving us a helping hand at the moment. Many people are working from home, so planning home connections is much easier. However, it seems that the lockdown is making people more irritable. We are also laying fiber in shopping streets, where the shops now have some breathing space again.”

What role do municipalities play in the accelerated rollout of fiber?
“Local authorities play a major role in the installation of fiber. Changes have to be made throughout the town and that is only possible with the right consultation and cooperation. In most cases, KPN enters into a cooperation agreement with the municipalities, in which arrangements are made for technical aspects such as the depth of the installation and the conditions for repaving, as well as for the traffic measures that need to be taken. This ensures that delays are kept to a minimum.”

 

"We say what we’re going to do and we do what we say"

Isn’t the schedule somewhat vague?
“Our preference is to work closely with the municipality and to give notice of what area we are going to work in only after agreement has been reached. Once the announcement has been made, the customer can be sure that we will actually go ahead with the installation. We say what we’re going to do and we do what we say. Sometimes that takes a bit longer than desired. The duration of a project depends greatly on the size of the municipality or town in combination with the number of construction teams that are allowed to work in the town. Connecting the whole of Amsterdam to fiber will take at least five years. Zeist is done in a year.”

Are municipalities happy with that approach?
“Yes, in the vast majority of cases the cooperation is excellent and people are pleased that we are carrying out the work. Of course, there are also cases where things are not so easy. We are now starting our rollout in the somewhat trickier areas. Clay soil in Noord-Holland or loess in Limburg makes the rollout more expensive than the sandy soil in Gelderland. Price could therefore sometimes be the deal breaker (KPN pays fees to municipalities). But up to now we have always managed to reach an agreement. There are also municipalities that prefer to collaborate with another party. For those municipalities we postpone the rollout in the schedule”.

"What we do is stick to the plan"

Are you not then accused of unfair practice, claiming areas in which a competitor wants to lay a network?
“We currently have 3,000 technicians rolling out fiber for KPN. To keeping these teams working constantly, we plan three years ahead. That makes it impossible to respond to actions taken by other suppliers. What we do is stick to the plan. Only then can we provide fast Internet to the Netherlands as quickly as possible.”

"It is clear there will soon be more than one fiber network in parts of the Netherlands"

What is your opinion about having multiple fiber networks?
“What is important is that the whole of the Netherlands gets fiber. Our role is to replace our copper network with a fiber network. We are hard at work in all provinces and have big ambitions. Nevertheless, other parties are installing fiber as well. And taking recent announcements by other installation companies into account, it is clear that there will soon be more than one fiber network in parts of the Netherlands. Just as copper and cable networks were once laid side by side. That is good for the Netherlands. It will enable the country to maintain its digital advantage. And it’s good for customers as well, as they then have plenty of choice.”

What do you do if another party also wants to lay a network?
“Then we always enter discussions with that party to see whether we can work together. As an example, in Deurne we are laying two networks in a single trench together with a competitor. It’s a bit more complicated but it means less inconvenience for the residents. In other places we have not been able to reach agreement, so KPN is simply replacing its copper network there with fiber. KPN believes in competition. This is good for the Netherlands and keeps us on our toes. What I find difficult is that we are reproached for modernizing our copper network. After all, fiber is the future; it would be foolish to withhold that from your customers.”

“ What I find difficult is that we are reproached for modernizing our copper network"

How are things going in the Regentessekwartier in The Hague?
“There we are replacing our copper network with fiber and an investment company is also rolling out fiber for another telecom operator. We have been planning for many years to provide the whole of The Hague with fiber. It’s what we have promised our customers and I want to keep that promise. We are talking with the municipality about avoiding a similar situation to that in the Regentessekwartier in the future. Two parties laying a network at more or less the same time in the same neighborhood is disruptive for the residents.”

And KPN is involved in a double installation in Zeeland?
“In Zeeland, both Delta Fiber Nederland and KPN are replacing their existing network with fiber to provide its customers with fast Internet. Sometimes we are working in the same town at the same time. The two parties are discussing this, but I can’t yet say anything about the outcome.”

What is KPN’s next major step in the rollout of fiber?
“In six test areas we are going to disable the existing copper network because there’s no point having an old and a new network coexisting. So we are switching everyone over to the best network. It’s exciting to see how this is going to pan out. Fiber is available to virtually every customer in the test areas. The vast majority of customers will not notice anything, but the switch might impact some of them. In any event, we will learn a lot, so in 2023 we will be able to disable the copper network on a far larger scale in places where a fiber network has been laid.”

What keeps you awake at night?
“Every day, KPN, its construction partners and municipalities are deploying thousands of people to make life better in the Netherlands. That makes me proud and gives me great motivation. I sleep just fine!”