Dutch consumer VoIP connections grow to 5.14 million in Q1 2014

Houten, The Netherlands, 27 June 2014 - Dutch consumer VoIP connections grew by 0.8 percent during the first quarter of 2014 to reach a total 5.14 million at the end of March 2014, according to Telecompaper's quarterly Dutch Fixed Telephony Market report. The growth in VoIP connections did offset the 7.4 percent drop in PSTN/ISDN lines and 1.1 percent decrease in WLR connections leading to a decrease of 0.4 percent of the whole fixed telephony market. During the quarter, a net loss of 24,000 lines was reported to end March 2014 with 6.22 million connections.

VoIP growth was led by a growing number of connections over fibre networks, which increased 5.1 percent on a quarterly basis. Cable VoIP saw 0.9 percent quarterly growth, and DSL VoIP lines decreased by 0.3 percent during the first quarter.

“The fixed telephony market is expected to expand further, with a CAGR of 0.8 percent per year over the period 2014-2018,” said Telecompaper senior research analyst and report author Kamiel Albrecht. “Growth in VoIP lines will just outpace the decrease in PSTN/ISDN and WLR users.”

The report also shows that retail revenues* for the consumer fixed telephony market amounted to EUR 326 million in the first quarter of 2014, down with 2.6 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2013. For the period 2014-2018, fixed telephony revenues are estimated to decrease by a CAGR of -2 percent.