The number of phone calls and text messages during New Year’s Eve remained steady compared to last year. The busiest moment was right after midnight, between 00:05 and 00:10, when network traffic peaked for both data and voice/SMS.

Looking Back at 2025: The Netherlands Is ‘Always On’

The past year confirmed a clear trend: the Netherlands is spending more time online than ever—both on mobile and fixed networks. While the mobile network experiences spikes during specific moments such as sporting events, lunch breaks, or New Year’s Eve, the fixed network has evolved into a platform with consistently high baseline traffic. Streaming, cloud storage, and growing AI usage ensure that internet activity remains elevated throughout the day, not just during peak moments.

Mobile Network: Peaks Driven by Sports and Social Moments

Sporting events like Formula 1 races and football matches caused noticeable surges in mobile data usage in 2025. The absolute peak occurred on Sunday, May 18, when Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix, the final round of the Eredivisie took place, PSV officially became Eredivisie champion, and a major protest against the war in Gaza was held in The Hague.

Daily usage patterns also stand out: on weekdays, there’s a clear lunch peak between 12:00 and 13:00, while weekends see heavier nighttime traffic, with higher usage between 00:00 and 03:00 than during the week.

Fixed Network: Higher Baseline Load from Smart Devices and Cloud

Not only did the mobile network peak during New Year’s Eve; the fixed network also saw a significant increase. Families connected more devices, shared photos and videos, and used streaming services. New game releases and live sports broadcasts continue to drive traffic. Baseline load on the fixed network was higher during the holidays than in previous years, partly due to the rise of ‘always-on’ devices and automatic backups. Smart devices, cloud storage, and AI assistants are creating a constant stream of data.

Conclusion: The Netherlands Is More Connected Than Ever

The year 2025 confirms the trend: Dutch consumers are spending more time online, on both mobile and fixed networks. While mobile traffic spikes during specific events, the fixed network has become a platform with consistently high baseline usage. These developments highlight the importance of a stable, future-proof network that can keep pace with the evolving digital needs of consumers and businesses.

During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, KPN's mobile network was again named the best in the Netherlands by benchmark organisation umlaut. The network even scored the very highest score worldwide. This independent study annually tests the quality of mobile networks in nine European countries. 
The overall score of 989 points on a 1,000-point scale shows a two-point improvement on last year. This makes it the highest score ever achieved in the history of German Connect Magazine's international benchmark, conducted by umlaut. 

Highest score in coverage and reliability 
Among other things, KPN achieves the maximum number of points in the ‘Voice’ category. This is in line with KPN's ongoing efforts to ensure the best coverage in the Netherlands for its customers. KPN also scores highest in the ‘Reliability’ category. This shows that the service of KPN's mobile network is of a high standard.

Oscars 
Joost Farwerck, CEO of KPN, is delighted with the results: ‘You could compare this to the Oscars for telecom companies. The jury not only looks at the best network technology, but also at the best customer experience. That makes all the difference in a competitive market. For years, KPN has been investing in the very best network experience for customers with fibre and 5G.At a time when we all depend on the quality, speed and security of the internet. With our mission for a #BetterInternet, we are also working towards a greener internet, thanks to further energy reduction, and an internet that is safer and more social. This puts the Netherlands at the absolute top of the digital world.’ 

Best mobile network with best mobile user experience 
KPN is committed every day to connecting its customers with an excellent mobile network and the best mobile user experience. This means being able to make high-quality video calls, stream music, videos and gaming without interruptions anywhere and anytime, and being easily accessible anywhere in the Netherlands. Moreover, KPN is constantly working on constantly improving its services and customer service, such as wider data bundles when combining fixed and mobile services, easily accessible customer service, and the MijnKPN app for easy management of services and sharing of MBs. Winning this leading award again confirms that. This shows that the service of KPN's mobile network is of a high standard. Winning this leading award again confirms that. 

User experiences and technical tests 
Umlaut's test is very comprehensive and technically advanced and consists of driving and walking tests carried out last January.Four driving test cars together covered a total of 6,850 kilometres, visiting 17 cities and 14 towns. In addition, two walking test teams visited eight cities. The test areas represent 5.88 million people, or about 34.2 per cent of the total population of the Netherlands. In addition, this test measured the mobile user experience in terms of voice and data quality, and the performance of popular services such as YouTube and mobile gaming. [Download the research report here] 
 

After the popping of the corks, the Netherlands once again entered the digital highway en masse to send a message to family, friends and acquaintances. And that also happened last night via WhatsApp, video calls and social media. The peak load of the network was between 00:05 and 00:10 hours for both the use of mobile data and for calling and texting. KPN's mobile network survived New Year's Eve well and connected the inhabitants of the Netherlands with each other many millions of times.

Less texting and phone calls
Between 22:00 and 04:00, some 0.9 million text messages were sent, which is again less than the year before (1 million). The number of telephone calls increased slightly compared to previous years. This year, more than 3.4 million telephone calls were made (compared to 3.2 million last year).

Football, Max and Santa Claus
In 2024, KPN processed more data traffic on its network than the year before. The busiest day (especially in terms of downloads) was on Friday 5 July, thanks to 2 quarter finals at the European Football Championship (Spain-Germany and France-Portugal). The arrival of Sinterklaas at schools on 5 December caused a clear increase in uploads of photos and videos. And the most calls were made on 11 December, when WhatsApp experienced a malfunction. Max Verstappen also caused a peak in downloads during the race in Las Vegas on 24 November, which he won, making him world champion for the fourth time in a row.

Overview of data usage during New Year's Eve over the past 10 years (in Dutch)

The rhythm of EURO 2024 has been clearly noticeable on KPN’s network in recent weeks. There is always more data traffic during football matches, especially those involving the Dutch national team. KPN’s mobile network processed more than 30% more traffic during the Netherlands - England game last night compared to a normal day.

When Ronald Koeman’s team took on England in the semi-finals, KPN’s fixed network also processed a huge amount of TV traffic. The number of viewers watching the game in pin-sharp Ultra High Definition also doubled compared to the first game. 

There was also a noticeable drop in traditional Internet traffic during the match, only for the traffic to pick up again immediately at half-time and after the final whistle. There was also of course a lot less traffic on well-known streaming services. So, peaks and troughs.

Incidentally, the European Championship record on the mobile network was not broken last night – that happened during the Netherlands - Austria match on Tuesday, June 25. This is partly due to the fact that the game started at 18.00; many people presumably watched on their way home from work.

Mobile roaming traffic (data traffic from Dutch people abroad) doubled during the matches compared to normal days. This figure included a significant amount of data traffic from Germany, including from the estimated 100,000 Dutch fans who had traveled to Dortmund. Many of them likely watched the game on their mobile phones outside the stadium. KPN also noticed an increase in traffic from other locations abroad, as the summer holidays have already begun in the south of the country.

KPN: a proud sponsor and fan of Dutch football
KPN is proud of the performance of the Dutch national team during the 2024 European Football Championship. As a partner of the KNVB, KPN has been supporting all ranks in Dutch football for many years, from amateur football to the Lionesses (women's national football team), the KPN eDivision, as main sponsor of the Dutch Premier League and, of course, Oranje.

State of the Network
In the “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on, among other things, trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands.

KPN’s mobile network traffic increased by almost 40% between 15:00 and 17:00 hours on Sunday when Ronald Koeman’s team were playing against Poland. That’s just slightly less than the increase measured during the World Cup opening match at the end of 2022, when there was approximately 50% more mobile traffic.

Mobile roaming traffic (data traffic from abroad) almost doubled in the final minutes of the match compared with a normal Sunday afternoon. This figure included a significant amount of data traffic from Hamburg in Germany, a city that 40,000 Dutch fans had traveled to. However, it was much quieter than usual on the network in the evening. Perhaps thanks to the combination of the great result and the good weather.

The Dutch national team got off to a good start in the European Championship in terms of viewing figures too. An estimated 4.7 million Dutch people watched Ronald Koeman’s team win the opening duel against Poland by 1-2.

KPN: a proud sponsor and fan of Dutch football
KPN is a proud partner of the KNVB and has been supporting all ranks in Dutch football for many years, from amateur football to the Lionesses (women's national football team), the KPN eDivision, as main sponsor of the Dutch Premier League and, of course, Oranje.

Voice and data traffic in the past ten years on the KPN mobile network measured from 10 pm on New Year’s Eve to 4 am on New Year’s Day 

The KPN networks have no problem coping with the rise in data traffic, however, partly because a lot has been invested in fiber, 5G and the capacity of the underlying infrastructure. It emerged from various network tests that were carried out last year that, as a result, the network experience is very good and the fixed and mobile internet in the Netherlands is world-class. Among the areas in which we score well are speed and coverage.

Working from home on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Homeworking got a boost during the corona pandemic, since which a sawtooth pattern can be seen in the KPN network, with a peak every 30 minutes because people are video-conferencing on Teams, Zoom or suchlike. This pattern was still visible in 2023, especially on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – the favorite homeworking days of people in the Netherlands; the most popular times for videoconferencing are 10:00, 11:00 and 14:00. 

Tuesday and Thursday are the most popular office days, and are also the days with the biggest traffic jams on the roads. On Tuesday and Thursday KPN experiences consistently 5 to 10% more mobile traffic than on other weekdays, partly because many people commute, making more use of mobile internet.

Roaming traffic rose considerably in 2023
The vacation-related roaming traffic increased sharply as well last year. KPN handled up to 50% more data from European winter sports destinations than in 2022. There was also substantially more data traffic from popular summer vacation destinations. France was the most popular destination, followed by Germany and Spain.

Better internet
In the years ahead, KPN wants to make the internet even better. Not just better in terms of speed and stability, but also safer, greener and more social. An internet on which everyone feels more secure, in which everyone can take part and that is 100% green. KPN is therefore developing various initiatives next year under the hashtag #beterinternet. 

More data, less energy
Despite the increase in data traffic and the continued expansion of the fiber and 5G networks, KPN has been able to reduce its energy consumption. New networks are more efficient, and the disappearance of older network equipment and the dismantling of old telephone exchanges generates a saving of the annual energy consumption of almost 4,000 households.

Digital fireworks on New Year’s Eve
Now comes New Year’s Eve, traditionally one of the busiest times on KPN’s mobile network. We will find out on January 1, 2024 whether we have started the new year with new records. A year ago as many as 453 terabytes of mobile data were consumed, a good 60 times more than in 2014.

In de zomermaanden wordt er duidelijk minder gebeld op het mobiele netwerk van KPN. In juli en augustus noteert KPN tot wel 30% minder belverkeer. In diezelfde periode blijft het dataverkeer nagenoeg gelijk, terwijl het mobiele roaming verkeer (spraak en data) vanuit vakantiebestemmingen een enorme vlucht neemt. Uit een analyse blijkt dat Frankrijk deze zomer wederom de populairste bestemming is met het meeste roamingverkeer, gevolgd door Duitsland en Spanje.

In de zomer zijn meer mensen vrij of met vakantie en dus wordt er ook veel minder gebeld. Dit is duidelijk terug te zien op het mobiele netwerk van KPN waar het belverkeer gestaag daalt sinds het begin van de zomer. Daarnaast valt op dat in het weekend sowieso veel minder gesprekken worden gevoerd dan doordeweeks, bellen is dus voor een groot gedeelte werkgerelateerd. Sinds de eerste Nederlandse regio vakantie heeft (08 juli) is een daling van het telefoonverkeer zichtbaar. Op dit moment worden er zo’n 30% minder telefoongesprekken gevoerd. Net als andere jaren zal dit na de zomervakantie weer terug buigen naar het normale niveau. Dat het dataverkeer min of meer gelijk blijft is deels te verklaren omdat buitenlandse toeristen in Nederland gebruik maken van het netwerk van KPN.

Het internationale roamingverkeer piekt weer zoals elke zomer. Ook dit jaar is Frankrijk weer de populairste bestemming, gevolgd door Duitsland, Spanje, Italië en België die de top 5 compleet maken. Op plek 6 t/m 10 vinden we achtereenvolgens Oostenrijk, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, Griekenland, Polen en Zwitserland. De zwarte zaterdagen zijn duidelijk terug te zien met recordpieken van dataverkeer vanuit bijvoorbeeld België, Duitsland en Frankrijk. Wat eveneens opvalt is dat tijdens de F1 race in Oostenrijk, waar veel Nederlanders een bezoek aan brengen, het dataverkeer vanuit het Alpenland meer dan verdubbelt. Daarnaast is ook de toegenomen populariteit van Scandinavische landen terug te zien in het dataverkeer. Noorwegen (11) is het populairst van de Scandinavische landen, voor Zweden (12), en Denemarken (13). Vakantiebestemming Portugal is op plek 14 terug te vinden.

Al zeven zomers op rij ‘roamen’ Nederlandse vakantiegangers erop los. Even het internet op, foto's en video's delen met het thuisfront of de socials, video's streamen of even het nieuws volgen. Duidelijk wordt dat de verrichtingen van Nederlandse sporters ook vanaf het vakantieadres op de voet worden gevolgd. Zo zorgen de Oranje Leeuwinnen ’s nachts (5/6 augustus ‘23) voor een piek in het internationale roamingverkeer en volgen Nederlandse toeristen zondagmiddag massaal de laatste kilometers van wielrenner Mathieu van der Poel die wereldkampioen op weg werd. Het zorgt voor pieken in het dataverkeer.

En terwijl het in zomermaanden dus traditioneel iets rustiger is op het mobiele netwerk, zorgt de festivalzomer juist voor duidelijke lokale pieken. KPN zorgt op zo’n 100 festivals en evenementen voor maatwerk door tijdelijk extra capaciteit en dekking te bieden. Van Awakenings en het concert van Bruce Springsteen tot Dancevalley, Mysteryland, Pinkpop, Lowlands en de Zwarte Cross. Op de talloze festivals en evenementen waar veel publiek op afkomt plaatst KPN tijdelijke extra zendmasten zodat het mobiele netwerk goed blijft functioneren. De hoogste prioriteit heeft de bereikbaarheid, bellen moet tijdens drukke evenementen altijd mogelijk zijn. En ook streven we er naar dat diensten als WhatsApp goed werken. Bezoekers moeten elkaar berichtjes kunnen sturen, bijvoorbeeld waar ze op dat moment zijn. Over een paar weken staat de Grand Prix van Zandvoort op de agenda, ook daar levert KPN maatwerk. Rondom het circuit worden vijf tijdelijke zendmasten opgebouwd om ervoor te zorgen dat de naar schatting 320.000 bezoekers vanaf de tribunes kunnen blijven bellen en internetten. En daar komt heel wat bij kijken.

In December 2022-March 2023, KPN recorded about 50% more data traffic compared to last year. One reason for this increase, which is higher than the annual growth of data traffic, could be that we were more eager to travel. Figures show that roaming traffic has doubled compared to the winter of 2019/2020. Two years ago, the coronavirus pandemic caused data traffic to fall to almost zero.

Austria most popular
Austria is Europe’s most popular winter sport destination. We are making about the same number of calls from the Alps as we were a year ago. Call numbers peak in the second week of the spring break, which schools in both the central and north regions of the Netherlands close for at the same time. In Austria, winter-sport roaming records were broken on March 1, 2 and 3, 2023.

State of the Network
In the “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on, among other things, trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications on topics like the effect a WhatsApp outage had on SMS traffic, New Year celebrations and the rollout of fiber.

In this video edition of the State of the Network, we tell you how the fiber roll-out is going and what is happening with the copper network.

After the countdown to 24:00 and the corks have popped, people in the Netherlands wish each other a happy new year via the KPN network. And last night too that was done more often via WhatsApp, video calls and social media messages. The peak network load was between 00:05 and 00:10 both for mobile data usage and for calling and texting. The KPN mobile network weathered New Year's Eve well, connecting people in the Netherlands millions of times on this special night.

Text messages and phone calls
Some 1.2 million text messages were sent between 10 pm and 4 am, once again slightly less than the previous year (1.4 million). Fewer phone calls were made than in previous years too. Over 3.9 million phone calls were made this year (compared to 4.1 million last year). In the past two years, most Dutch people celebrated New Year's Eve at home because of lockdowns and it was also noticeably busier than usual on the fixed network. That was not the case last night.

Data records in 2023
In 2022, KPN once again handled more data traffic on its network than in the previous year. New daily records were due to substantially more "live" streaming traffic during popular sporting events such as Formula One and World Cup football. Working from home, video calling and gaming remained as popular as ever last year. Data traffic is expected to increase on the KPN network in 2023 as well, with new peaks and data records.

Voice and data traffic in the past ten years on the KPN mobile network measured from 10 pm on New Year’s Eve to 4 am on New Year’s Day 

Several new streaming services were launched on the Dutch market in 2022. Their increasing popularity is visible on the KPN network. "Streaming generates different data streams and more internet traffic than traditional TV services," says Paul Slot, who is responsible for KPN’s digital infrastructure. "That’s why we are investing heavily in fiber and 5G, as well as in continuing to increase the capacity of the underlying infrastructure, so as to ensure a good network experience at all times."

It is not only the fixed network that handles more streaming traffic. Major sporting events are increasingly being watched on smartphones. This causes big peaks in the mobile data traffic. Another striking fact is that Dutch people traveled more often last year. That could be seen from the roaming traffic from winter sports areas and popular European holiday destinations. Consequently, the data traffic from European vacation countries was more than 60% higher than in the summer of 2021.

Trends and current events are frequently reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the KPN network. These include the influence of public holidays, periods of frost and ice, the achievements of popular Dutch athletes and teams, and major concert streams. And if a popular messaging service starts to malfunction, it is immediately apparent from the volume of SMS traffic. Traditionally, the KPN network is extremely busy at the turn of the year, with digital New Year’s greetings. Overall, the KPN network once again reflected daily life in the Netherlands in 2022.

The volume of data traffic declined during the course of the match, but it was still around 30% more than on a normal day. KPN also registered a marked fall in the number of phone calls. Between 5 pm and 7 pm KPN handled substantially fewer phone calls than on a ”normal” day.

Big sporting events such as the matches of the Dutch national side and F1 races are virtually always reflected in KPN’s network. KPN is well prepared for that and believes that the trend towards watching football matches on phones or tablets, away from home, will continue. Last year during Euro 2020 KPN also registered more data traffic on its mobile network, with roughly 30% more data traffic during the Netherlands-Austria match on 17 June 2021.

According to Stichting KijkOnderzoek almost 4.3 million people watched the first World Cup match of the Dutch national side on TV. This means that it was one of the least watched opening matches ever played by the Dutch national side at a World Cup or Euro Championships.

State of the Network
In State of the Network, KPN regularly publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications, on topics such as the impact of the F1 race in Zandvoort, the New Year celebrations, the impact of Covid-19 and lockdowns on working from home on the network.

A ‘normal’ SMS day follows a fairly stable course with increased activity during the day and a decrease throughout the evening. This morning the situation was entirely different, when the popular WhatsApp suffered an outage. At moments like this, many people find SMS messaging a good alternative.

The volume of SMS traffic on Tuesday, 25 October 2022 in comparison to the previous day.

The Dutch went on their summer holidays again en masse in recent months. Together with foreign telecom operators, KPN processed record levels of data traffic from Dutch people on summer holiday. 60% more data was consumed from European holiday addresses compared to last summer.

An analysis of roaming traffic shows that the Dutch were more eager to travel than in summer 2021. The fact that France was once again a popular holiday destination is clearly reflected in the roaming traffic. The Spanish and Italian networks were also frequently used by the Dutch.

With a 60% increase, roaming traffic is growing even faster than the annual rise in data traffic of around 30 to 50%. The brakes seem to be completely off when it comes to calling and surfing the internet on holidays with a smartphone. And because Dutch people have ever larger data bundles, more and more holidaymakers also prefer 4G and 5G to the (camping) WiFi.

Roaming traffic also peaks on Black Saturdays
The busiest days are Saturdays and, to a lesser extent, Sundays in July. These are the ‘Black Saturdays’ when the Dutch travel en masse to their holiday destinations. While they are stuck on the motorways headed South, full use in being made of the digital highways.

Navigation apps and streaming films and music on the way
Many motorists use navigation apps, for instance, and travelers are streaming more and more films and music. Week 32, the second week of August, was the busiest week in terms of roaming traffic. This was probably when most Dutch people were traveling. Never before has so much roaming traffic been generated in a month as last August. It is also clearly visible when the different Dutch regions (North, Central, and South) have their school holidays. Last summer holiday, the Central region was the first, followed by North and South.

Not only data traffic increases. Last summer, slightly more voice calls were also made than in summer 2021. However, the increase in voice traffic is less in percentage terms, in line with the market trend. Roaming traffic from holiday countries outside the EU is also rising again, albeit less sharply.

Roam Like Home
Since June 2017, calling, texting, and surfing the internet costs the same everywhere in the European Union as it does in the Netherlands. In short: KPN customers can use their smartphones in all their favorite European holiday destinations in the same way as they are used to doing in the Netherlands.

State of the Network
In the “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on, among other things, trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications, on topics such as the impact of the F1 race in Zandvoort, the New Year celebrations, the impact of Covid-19 and lockdowns on working from home on the network.

Mobile data traffic in other countries (roaming):

Huge numbers of people in the Netherlands watched the race on the mobile network as well. Between 3 and 5 pm, KPN processed around 50% more data traffic on 4G and 5G than on a “normal” Sunday. The race was also watched by many people on the fixed network, via streaming and on TV. 

KPN mobile data traffic:

No terabyte records were broken but, as usual, the KPN network followed the rhythm of the Grand Prix weekend. The effect of the race in Zandvoort was clearly visible on the KPN fixed network. The race was streamed by services such as Viaplay, but it also attracted large numbers of TV viewers as it was televised live by public service broadcasting as well. More than 2.1 million people tuned in to the TV program featuring the Grand Prix, according to a report issued by Stichting KijkOnderzoek, the provider of official viewing figures in the Netherlands.

Internet traffic on KPN fixed network:

Temporarily more mobile capacity in Zandvoort
People also made full use of the mobile network on and around the circuit in Zandvoort. KPN erected four extra mobile transmission masts temporarily for the 300,000+ fans who travelled to the seaside circuit. So despite the network congestion, extra capacity was available and it was still possible for people to make calls and use chat software, and to share the events on the track with friends and family.

State of the Network
In “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications, on topics such as roaming traffic in the winter sports season, the New Year celebrations, the impact of Covid-19 and lockdowns on working from home on the network.

A fast and stable fixed internet connection is crucial for the further digitalization of our country. That’s why KPN is installing fiber in large parts of the Netherlands. A huge undertaking; more than 4,000 construction workers are connecting about 8,000 houses every week. That’s around 1200 per day, 150 per hour and 2.5 per minute. Day in, day out. At the end of April KPN reported that it had now connected 3.4 million Dutch households to fiber.

The number should be many more by the end of 2026. Together with the joint venture Glaspoort, KPN aims to have connected about 80% of the Netherlands to this best fixed network technology. Connecting is one thing, the next step is actually using the fiber cable. Fiber is being rolled out neighborhood by neighborhood and residents are being approached to make the switch. We have now reached a nice milestone: more KPN customers are using fiber than are using the copper network. And that difference will only increase in the coming years.

After a year away, the Dutch have enjoyed winter sports to the full again in recent months. KPN’s analysis shows that Dutch winter sport enthusiasts are making about the same number of calls from the Alps as they were two years ago. Data use increased again (+40%), roughly in line with the annual growth of data traffic. Mobile data also clearly shows when the first Covid-19 measures and restrictions were applied in March 2020, with a clear decline in traffic from winter sport locations. A similar effect can also be observed at the beginning of this year, but following the relaxing of many travel restrictions from mid-February, the entire month of February has been normal in terms of traffic.

Austria is the most popular winter sport destination. It is also noticeable that the spring vacation for the northern region was in February while holidays for the Central and Southern regions were in March. This is in contrast to two years ago when all the regions had their spring break in February. And it makes perfect sense, because in 2021 there was little or no roaming traffic observable from the Alpine countries.

Roam Like Home
Since June 2017, calling, texting, and surfing the internet costs the same everywhere in the European Union as it does in the Netherlands. Although Switzerland is not an EU country, KPN also applies roam-like-home there. In short: KPN customers can use their smartphones in all their favorite winter sport destinations in the same way as they are used to doing in the Netherlands.

State of the Network
In “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications, on topics such as the turn of the year, the impact of Covid-19 and working from home on the network.

The new Formula 1 season started last weekend, with new races, new title opportunities and the start of the new streaming service Viaplay, that enables you to watch all the races live. The Netherlands unmistakably shared the experience of the opening of the new Formula 1 season, either on KPN TV via channel 225 or by streaming on PC, tablet or smartphone. Peaks were visible in KPN’s fixed internet traffic when the drivers took to the track. That could be seen also on Friday between 1 and 4 pm when people were watching the practice sessions. The third practice session on Saturday drew great interest too, as did the qualifying sessions. The viewing figures for the race on Sunday were massive, while at that same time the football match between Ajax and Feyenoord was attracting a large number of viewers.

A Grand Prix weekend in internet traffic (fixed)

Similarly, a peak was visible on Sunday in KPN’s mobile network, caused also by the combination of the Ajax-Feyenoord football match and the Formula 1 race. There was a clear rise in data traffic from 2.30 pm when the match at the Johan Cruijff ArenA kicked off. A further rise was apparent at 4 pm Netherlands time when the lights turned green in Bahrein. Together this resulted, shortly after the start of the race, in over 50% more mobile data traffic than normal on a Sunday afternoon. We at KPN are already looking forward to next weekend, when the second F1 race of the season will take place.

Major football match and Formula 1 race result in over 50% more mobile data

State of the Network
In “State of the Network”, KPN publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications, on topics such as the turn of the year, the impact of Covid-19 and working from home on the network.

• The Netherlands has the best mobile networks in Europe, which means that we can make mobile calls and use the internet almost everywhere.
• Recently, the KPN network was named the best network in the Netherlands, for the third time in a row.
• Together, we’re consuming more data every year, while the price of mobile subscriptions has continued to fall.
• Currently, there are several generations of mobile networks and, with the emergence of new networks, we’re also saying goodbye to old technology.
• We will soon stop 3G, because almost everyone is already using the 4G or 5G network.
• With the best and fastest network, we’re ready for the future with new milestones and innovations.

A record usage of more than 343 terabytes was measured on the mobile network between 10 pm and 4 am. This is the largest increase in ten years and substantially more than last year (38.3%), when 248 terabytes were used. Where the Netherlands celebrated New Year at home, the KPN network provided the connection. The peak time on the mobile network was right after midnight, between 12.05 am and 12.10 am, when people are contacting each other by phone, SMS, and app.

The record data use not only shows that the mobile network is being used more and more, but also that large data files, such as photos and videos, are being sent more often to convey New Year’s greetings. In addition, video calls are becoming increasingly popular during New Year’s Eve.

This year, the number of text messages sent declined once again. During the turn of 2021-2022, 1.4 million text messages were sent between 10 pm and 4 am, which is less than in previous years. The number of calls was higher than last year, but remained stable compared to the turn of 2019-2020. A total of 4.1 million telephone calls were made last New Year’s Eve.

Increase in data use set to continue in 2022
The record data use last night did not lead to problems on KPN’s fixed or mobile networks. Data use has increased significantly in recent years, partly due to many people working at home, an increase in streaming traffic, and the popularity of online gaming. In just two years, data use over the network of the Netherlands has almost doubled, and upload traffic rose particularly sharply. As a result, symmetrical speeds, where up- and download traffic are equal, are becoming increasingly important. It is expected that data traffic, both on the fixed and mobile networks, will continue to increase in 2022.

In State of the Network, KPN regularly publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. From working massively at home during the COVID-19 pandemic to gradually going to the office again more often. Or the influence of holidays, a brief period of frost and ice, the achievements of Dutch athletes and major streaming concerts. All are clearly reflected in data traffic and cause terabyte peaks and troughs. In this way the network of the Netherlands reflected the daily life of the Netherlands in 2021.

Not only did the race cause extra pressure on the mobile network, but also millions of people watched the thrilling denouement via the fixed network and TV channels of KPN. The race was made available for all customers to watch, so the live broadcast drew many millions of viewers.

Next year, streaming service Viaplay will broadcast Formula 1; KPN has entered into a partnership for that purpose. Starting in March 2022, KPN customers can add a Viaplay subscription to their TV, internet or entertainment bundle; this will make F1 available to 3.6 million households across the country.

“The streaming traffic already showed an increase in the first weekend after the stricter measures were imposed,” says Paul Slot, KPN infrastructure manager. “Since Monday, the increase in home working data traffic is clearly visible. Indeed, it increased as the week progressed. Consequently, the data traffic from home working is likely to increase further in the second week.”

Home working recommendation less strictly followed
It appears that the home working recommendation is being followed less strictly than at the beginning of this year. For instance, the current volume of KPN’s traffic is roughly two thirds that of the first week of March 2021. “The data traffic at that time showed sharper peaks and the sawtooth – formed by the online meetings on the hour and half-hour – was more noticeable.”

• The Netherlands has one of the best and fastest fixed networks in Europe.
• Before the end of 2026, KPN and Glaspoort will jointly provide approximately 80% of the Netherlands with fiber.
• KPN's network is an open network. 75 providers for consumers and businesses are now active on the KPN network.
• Consumers have a wide choice in price and quality. That way you get value for money.
• Since 2016, Dutch households have been spending almost 20% less of their disposable income on telecom.

A normal SMS day follows a fairly stable course with increased activity during the day and a decrease throughout the evening. Exactly the opposite happened last night. After the start of the disruption to WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, the number of texts sent increased significantly. The number of text messages did not decrease until after 10 pm. In addition, more calls were made last night in comparison with a regular Monday evening, but mobile data traffic remained stable.

First alternative
Despite the increased popularity of services such as WhatsApp in recent years, for many, text messaging is the first alternative in the event of a disruption. The sudden increase in SMS traffic did not cause any problems for the KPN network, almost all messages could be delivered successfully last night.

"The network of the Netherlands can cope well with the increased traffic, partly because in recent months we have invested extra in our networks to facilitate the substantial growth in traffic," says Paul Slot, responsible for KPN's infrastructure. "For example, we have expanded the capacity and monitoring of our networks several times over the past year. Peering capacity has increased too and we have achieved additional redundancy. This not only allows us to shift to alternative routes for data traffic in the event of malfunctions, but we also have extra peak capacity available for the busiest moments."

KPN is still experiencing more traffic on its network than before corona. In short, a lot of people in the Netherlands are still working from home. For example, in the period May/June 2021, we saw 25% more 'remote working data traffic' than in the same period in 2020. At the same time, lockdown data records are no longer being broken. Since the May holidays, a lot of the remote working data traffic has not returned, so you can draw the conclusion that more people are going into the office again. At the same time, the 'sawtooth wave' is still visible in our network, so a lot of people in the Netherlands are still working from home. With a peak every hour and every half hour because people dial into a conference call (such as Teams & Zoom). 10.00, 11.00 and 14.00 are the most popular times for a video call.

New records likely
Records are likely to be broken soon: after all, we will continue to work from home more after corona and autumn is traditionally always a busier period. In addition, the general trend is that data traffic will continue to grow in the coming years. KPN also sees seasonal influences in its network, such as periods of frost and ice, and it is generally a bit quieter when the weather is good. After the summer holidays, there is traditionally a rise in traffic in September when people go back to school, go back at work, and return to their daily routines. Events such as large-scale streaming concerts, the Eurovision Song Contest and UEFA EURO 2020 can also be seen on KPN's network.

During almost all the matches peaks are clearly visible, on both KPN's fixed and mobile networks. It is also noticeable that during the matches there is a reduction in traffic to streaming services such as Netflix. And the Dutch EURO 2020 games were also watched on mobile phones by large numbers of people. Total mobile data traffic grew by more than 30% when the Netherlands played Austria on June 17.

KPN saw a lot more internet traffic than usual throughout the concert. Not only did large numbers of people watch the live performance from The Hague on the fixed network, KPN also processed much more traffic on the mobile network. An increasing number of customers are choosing ‘unlimited’ packages, which makes streaming such a concert on your mobile much easier.

A clear and continuous peak is visible on both networks during the concert from The Hague. What is also striking is that the streaming concert was being searched for on the fixed network well before it started, while people only began watching and listening via the mobile network from 8 pm. It is notable that the livestream was watched to the end by large numbers, because the data volumes remained high and only dropped again after the concert.

The Netherlands clearly enjoyed this initiative en masse and the numbers of viewers exceeded 2.5 million on Tuesday evening. According to Tribe Company, the organization behind The Streamers, this makes it the most-viewed streaming event ever in the Netherlands. Something that KPN can confirm; the network of the Netherlands recorded record levels of ‘streaming traffic’.

State of the Network
In 'State of the Network', KPN publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also previous publications about holidays and working from home in the lockdown, the impact of Covid-19 and remote working on the network, and the influence of the brief period of frost and ice in February this year.

Comparison between upload traffic on mobile network on Sunday, February 7 and Sunday, 14 February and on Sunday, 31 January and Sunday, 6 December 2020. Saturday, February 13 shows a similar trend.

Not only last weekend was it especially busy; there was also a lot more data traffic than normal on the previous Sunday, February 7, when the Netherlands was covered in a thick layer of snow. No time for a lie-in; we went outside earlier than usual to enjoy the winter weather of yesteryear. And on that day too, people in the Netherlands recorded all those moments in the snow and shared them with family and friends or on social media via the KPN network. And while for a long time many roads in the Netherlands were difficult to drive on, the digital highways had no problem coping with the many terabytes of Dutch winter.

On KPN’s fixed network it was actually slightly quieter in the working week of February 8 to 12 than in the previous week. The winter weather probably played a part in that too. The assumption is that because of the snow and the fine weather, more people took time off to enjoy the snow and natural ice. Massive numbers of people went skating on Thursday, February 11 and especially on Friday, February 12, spending less time on the computer and watching TV. That was also noticeable on the mobile network: fewer calls were made on Friday afternoon and less data was consumed than on a normal Friday afternoon.

Stand van het Netwerk
In 'Stand van het Netwerk', KPN publishes information on trends and topical issues that are reflected in the volume of internet traffic on the network of the Netherlands. See also earlier publications about public holidays and homeworking during lockdown and the impact of COVID-19 and homeworking on the network.

Trend line ‘homeworking’ traffic to platforms like Teams and Zoom on KPN network ( Nov 29, ’20 – Jan 10, ’21)

The second lockdown, which has closed schools, is clearly visible in the number of extra terabytes that have subsequently passed through the KPN network. This has increased sharply since mid-December, not only in terms of specific homeworking traffic but platforms such as Zoom and MS Teams continue to grow rapidly, and TV and streaming traffic is also recording new peaks because people are inside more and restaurants, shops, and gyms have been closed for an extended period. Since January 4, the Netherlands has been comprehensively working from home and data traffic to popular platforms such as MS Teams, Google Meet and Zoom is busier than ever. In the first two weeks of 2021, all homeworking data traffic records were shattered, with the Tuesday and Thursday being the busiest days; this is also the case on the digital highways. With one big difference; online traffic doesn’t cause congestion, because KPN has sufficient capacity available.

Trend line ‘streaming’ traffic on KPN network during Christmas period

The Christmas period was a relatively quiet time on the KPN network, with hardly any homeworking traffic. This was particularly visible in the second week of the Christmas holiday. At the same time, more free time means more TV and streaming traffic. When you look specifically at the streaming traffic on KPN’s network, it is striking that it is significantly quieter on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Traffic is as busy as it always is in the evening of Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. December 27 was the busiest day ever on KPN’s network, mainly due to record TV and streaming traffic. Only on March 21, 2020 (during the first lockdown) the share of streaming traffic was slightly higher, but the total amount of data traffic was less. The Netherlands clearly felt the need to relax on the sofa with a good film or series after Christmas.

Trend line KPN ‘mobile’ data traffic during New Year

Records were also broken during New Year; this time on the mobile network. It is striking that there was no visible decline in mobile traffic this year. In a normal year (with fireworks and without lockdown restrictions), there is a brief drop in mobile data traffic shortly before 0.00. This is likely caused by the Dutch going outside just before midnight to prepare fireworks and then to wish each other a Happy New Year. People don’t check their phone at this time, which invariably causes a brief drop in mobile data traffic. This year it was different; we had no fireworks and, as group size was limited, many more digital New Year’s greetings were sent. Partly for this reason, all mobile network records were broken during the ’20-’21 New Year. Between 22.00 and 04.00, no less than 248 terabytes of data were used, 52 terabytes more than the year before. So, we started the new year without a drop.

Trend line ‘TV’ data traffic on KPN network during New Year

A lot of linear TV was watched on New Year’s Eve and peaks are clearly visible around the New Year’s shows of Guido Weijers (22.10) and Youp van ’t Hek. (22.30). Just before midnight, the Netherlands tunes in en masse for the countdown on TV, and then the TV is switched off and the champagne is opened.

This led to a record consumption of more than 248 terabytes on the mobile network between 10 pm and 4 am. This is the biggest increase for ten years and substantially more than last year, when a mere 196 terabytes were consumed. This demonstrates yet again how KPN’s network connects everyone. The rise in traffic is due to the ever-increasing demand to be connected with one another and is probably the result of fewer fireworks. The peak time on the mobile network was shortly after the turn of the year – between midnight and 12.05 am, when people were contacting one another by phone, SMS and app.

There was also more data traffic on the fixed network, peaking at 4 pm. That was the moment when a lot of people were surfing the internet and watching videos on popular streaming services. There was a doubling of data traffic on the fixed network after midnight, because of the vast numbers of calls made and video clips and photos sent.

It is not so long ago that people would wish each other a Happy New Year mainly by phone; then SMS greetings increased in popularity too. More recently, mobile data has increasingly been used to send WhatsApp messages, to upload video clips and for social media and mobile internet.

This year the number of text messages sent declined once again. At New Year 2021 between 10 pm and 4 am around 1.8 million text messages (2.4 million in 2020) were sent, a further decrease in comparison with previous years. The number of phone calls was slightly down as well. This year 3.8 million calls were made, as against 4.1 million in 2020.

Both the mobile and the fixed network were able to withstand the joyful terabyte bombardment. Because of COVID-19 and working from home, it was busier than ever on KPN’s networks in 2020. This trend is likely to continue thanks to homeworking and a further growth in data traffic.

It is not only much busier during the day, but especially in the evenings people are watching TV en masse and videos are being streamed from popular video-on-demand platforms. This can be explained by the fact that, for example, the shops and gyms are closed.

“Since Tuesday, we’ve actually seen the same pattern on our network as we saw in mid-March. It is not only much busier during the day, but also in the evenings we’re watching TV en masse or we’re streaming videos from popular platforms,” says Paul Slot, who is responsible for KPN’s infrastructure. “Last Tuesday in particular, new updates of popular games, such as Fortnite and Call of Duty caused an increase in traffic. In terms of capacity, we’re able to cope with this well and we’ve also deployed extra capacity so that customers continue to have a good user experience.”

It’s also busier during the weekends, because people are at home more than usual. It is likely to be quieter on the network next week, because many people will have time off. Christmas usually means 'normal days' on the network. That could be different this year as more ‘digital’ meetings take place. New Year is traditionally one of the busiest moments of the year for KPN, especially on the mobile network. But as many more people will be at home now, this is expected to shift traffic to the fixed network.

Figure 1: Clear working from home patterns visible in outgoing KPN internet traffic with ‘sawtooth’ on Monday, 23 November. The dotted line shows the pattern for a ‘normal’ Monday, before COVID-19.

If you compare KPN’s outgoing internet traffic from before COVID-19 with that of today then a completely difference pattern is noticeable. Firstly, it is busy much earlier in the day and there is a whole series of ‘sawtooths’ visible in the outgoing internet traffic. This reflects the new work rhythm of many Dutch people, with countless video calls. From early in the morning, the Netherlands calls en masse with colleagues or other business contacts. This pattern becomes visible from 8.00 with a clear peak at 9.00 when the Dutch workforce takes a seat behind the computer. This pattern is repeated every half-hour and on the hour with the start-up of a new video call. And this repeatedly results in a new peak in the traffic that KPN delivers on the internet.

Figure 2: Internet outbound traffic on Monday 23 November 2020 compared with a ‘normal’ Monday before COVID-19 (dotted line). For detail, see Figure 1.

During lunch there are significantly fewer video calls, but even then you see small peaks. It shows that some of us are continuing to work through lunch. Traffic returns around 13.00 and that continues until 16.00. Video calls are being held after this, but it no longer results in real peaks in the outgoing traffic. We’re hardly making any calls after 17.00; we’re mostly making video calls from 9 to 5.

Well-equipped for peaks, even during the day
Especially at the beginning of the corona outbreak, KPN saw a sharp increase in the use of its network (+25%) and also a shift in traffic within the network. Much more from home and less from the office, turning broadband consumer connections into business connections. In terms of incoming traffic (download), the working from home pattern is less visible in the big picture, although it is striking that the network is much busier. Usually, you see, for example, a small dip around 8.00, when we go to work en masse, in the car, on public transport, or with the bike. Now, you see a sharp increase. In terms of capacity, KPN is more than capable of handling this. The network is geared towards peak loads, which typically occur in the evenings and at the weekend, when people at home are watching TV or streaming videos from Netflix and Amazon Prime. In corona times, it is actually continuously busy, and on some days you can even see that it’s just as busy during the day as it is in the evenings or at the weekend.

Figure 3: KPN’s incoming internet traffic on Monday, 23 November 2020 compared with a ‘normal’ Monday before COVID-19 (dotted line).

The enormous peak that we saw at the start of corona, when everyone was suddenly at home and, for example, the children were not going to school, was less visible in the summer. Traditionally, summer periods and days with good weather are always a bit quieter. The summer of 2020 was busier than usual, which can be explained by the fact that people were traveling abroad less. After the summer, the network immediately became busier again. The autumn and winter months, when people are at home more, are the busiest moments on the network. The partial lockdown and the measures that have been tightened step by step can also be seen at KPN, where the traffic has also increased stepwise. As the biggest supplier of corporate workspaces, KPN is seeing more and more companies and employees embracing working from home and the use of, for example, Microsoft Teams is still growing fast.

More demand for fiber optics, higher speeds and good WiFi
Customers can generally work well from home and the networks are coping well. KPN is seeing an increase in the number of customers switching to higher internet speeds, so that they can work from home comfortably. We have seen the share of new internet subscriptions with speeds of 200 Mbps or more grow this year from 20% to 25%. More and more people are also choosing for fiber-optic internet: in the third quarter KPN welcomed 27,000 new fiber-optic customers. A good internet connection is one thing, but it also comes down to a good WiFi solution at home. Much more attention has been paid to this in recent months and KPN can help customers with various tools and solutions. The SuperWiFi offer is very popular.

Impact thuiswerken zichtbaar op netwerk KPN

Every New Year, people in the Netherlands make significant use of the mobile network to pass on new year’s wishes. The same was the case again this year and new data records were achieved. The peak moment on the mobile network was shortly after midnight, between 12.05 and 12.10 a.m.

In the past, the phone was the normal way to wish somebody a happy new year. The use of SMS became very popular as well and in recent years mobile data has been used to send WhatsApp messages, to upload film clips, to watch social media and for mobile internet.

At New Year 2020 around 2.4 million text messages were sent between 10 pm and 4 am, fewer than in previous years. The number of phone calls made was smaller than in previous years too. More than 4.1 million phone calls were made this year.