OPTA Publications

Buying power for the purchase of call origination to 0800 numbers

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

With 0800-numbers callers ring free of charge. The number user pays the cost of the call and thus buys call origination from the callers’ networks. OPTA commissioned this study to examine whether there is a monopoly in each network. And which potential buying power mechanisms do exist in this market.

Market figures for the second quarter of 2011

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

OPTA has published the second quarter and six monthly figures of the Structural Market Monitor 2011. This edition of the Structural Market Monitor gives an insight into the situation on the communication markets for mobile telephony, bundled services, broadband, television and fixed telephony. The following is a brief summary:

Mobile telephony: the number of connections increases
After a period of two years, the number of connections on the market for mobile telephony has increased by 3% to more than 21 million connections. The first six months of 2011 once again saw a slight increase in turnover for voice services (telephony) since 2010. Despite a slight fall in KPN's market share, relatively the proportions in the market remain unchanged.

Turnover of data services exceeded SMS services
In the first six months of 2011, the turnover of data services, for instance internet via mobile telephones, exceeded the turnover from SMS services (€400 million and €378 million respectively) for the first time. This was also the first six-month period in which the number of SMS messages sent fell relative to the previous six-month period (-2.5%). The fact that the turnover of SMS services nevertheless increased slightly could be explained (in combination with the increasing number of mobile connections) by the fact that consumers purchased more SMS messaging capacity as part of their subscription than they actually used.

Bundles: T-Mobile is a new provider of triple play subscriptions
The number of triple-play subscriptions (television, fixed telephony and internet) continued to increase in the first six months of 2011. This is the most popular combination of services with more than 2.5 million connections. As a new entrant to the segment for bundled services, T-Mobile has won over its first customers.

Television: 72% of subscribers have a subscription to digital television
The trends of the first quarter continued into the second quarter of 2011. 72% of Dutch television subscribers have a subscription to digital television. Ziggo remains the largest player in the Netherlands, followed by UPC and KPN.

Fixed telephony: digital telephony grew to 55% and the traffic volume fell
In the first six months, more than 55% of consumers had a digital telephony subscription (Voice-over-Broadband), and 45% still made use of an analogue connection. This translates into a slight fall in KPN's market share on the market for low capacity (mainly consumer) connections. The total volume of calls for fixed telephony fell by 3%, compared to the last six months of 2010, to slightly less than 11 billion call minutes.

Broadband: speed of internet subscriptions continues to rise
The number of DSL connections (KPN's copper network) fell further by 2%, while cable and fibre-optic connections increased (by +4% and 17% respectively). The total number of broadband connections continued to rise, from 6,330,000 to 6,393,000. KPN remains the largest player, while the market share of the runner-up, Ziggo, continued to increase, followed by UPC.
The average speed of internet subscriptions has increased further. Increasingly consumers have an internet speed of between 30 and 100 Mbps. The majority of residents of the Netherlands, however, still have a broadband connection of between 10 and 30 Mbps.

New Dutch regulator to be called ACM, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. Merger of three regulators to be completed January 1, 2013

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) will be the new name for the merged authority created by the combination of the Netherlands Consumer Authority, the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority of the Netherlands (OPTA), and the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa). This name is laid down in the bill concerning the establishment of the new authority, the proposal for which is currently at advisory stage. Chris Fonteijn, the Chairman-to-be of the new authority, reacts: ‘The name is succinct yet solid, one that immediately makes clear what the new authority stands for: making markets work in order to protect consumer interests.’

The consolidation of these three authorities is realized through two separate bills: the earlier mentioned establishment bill and a substantive bill. Mr. Fonteijn, currently still Chairman of the Board of the NMa and Chairman of the Commission of OPTA, explains: ‘The former bill concerns the creation of the new authority, making sure its independent position is properly secured.’ The new authority will be run by a board, consisting of three members, and governing in a spirit of collegiality. It will focus on three main themes: consumer protection, industry-specific regulation, and competition oversight. Governance anchored in collegiality will safeguard the coherence between these three themes. The substantive bill will simplify procedures, and streamline powers.

Market figures for the first quarter of 2011: television, fixed telephony and broadband

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0100

In its Structural Monitoring Markets, OPTA has published figures for the first quarter of 2011 on the situation in the communication markets, namely television, fixed telephony and broadband. The following is a brief summary.

Television: the trend towards digitisation is continuing
In the first quarter of 2011, the number of television subscriptions increased slightly (1 percentage point). The trend towards digitisation is continuing: more than 70% of television subscribers in the Netherlands has a subscription to digital television. Ziggo remains the largest player in the Netherlands, followed by UPC and KPN. UPC is losing market share. KPN and smaller (new) players, such as Tele2, are increasing their grip on the market.

Fixed telephony: a slight fall in the number of connections
The total number of fixed telephony connections fell compared to the previous quarter (from 7,138,000 to 7,232,000). KPN is losing market share, both with regard to low-capacity connections (one or two telephone lines per connections) and high-capacity connections (three or more telephone lines per connection). KPN’s market share in the low-capacity segment fell from between 60% and 65% to between 55% and 60% and in the high-capacity segment from between 70% and 75% to between 65% and 70%. Tele2 is gaining market share on both markets.

Broadband
The number of cable connections is growing at the expense of DSL. The growth in fibre-optic connections is also continuing. The market shares of the various providers have remained fairly stable. KPN is the largest player, followed by Ziggo and UPC.

Request for the turnover details providers for the purpose of determining OPTA’s regulating fee in 2012

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

OPTA charges market parties an annual fee to pay for the costs involved with its regulation. For this purpose OPTA requires the turnover details of all businesses providing electronic communication services in The Netherlands. The amount of the fee required for 2012 is based on the relevant net turnover in 2010.

This letter is the translation of the request in Dutch ‘Verzoek tot opgave omzetgegevens voor de vaststelling van OPTA’s toezichtskosten in 2012’ which can be found on www.opta.nl. In case of any difference with the original Dutch letter due to the translation, the original letter takes preference.

Chris Fonteijn appointed new NMa Chairman

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Chris Fonteijn is appointed Chairman of the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) as of July 1, 2011. The NMa enforces fair competition between businesses in the marketplace.

Earlier this year, the Dutch government had already announced that the NMa, the Dutch Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority (OPTA), and the Dutch Consumer Authority (CA) will merge. Mr. Fonteijn (56) is to become the Chairman of the Board of the new regulatory authority, once the merger has been completed.

Mr. Fonteijn will continue to be the Chairman of the Commission of OPTA. However, he will transfer some of his duties to the Deputy Chairman.

Digitisation stimulates competition, close supervision of business markets remains necessary

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Hague, 23 June 2011. The Commission of the Dutch Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority (OPTA) today presented its view with regard to the regulation of fixed telephony, television, internet access and business network services in the period from 2012 up to and including 2014. On the basis of national and European regulations, OPTA decides which measures it considers necessary in the next three years to stimulate innovation, investment and competition in the interests of consumers.
Due to the progression of digitisation, electronic communication markets are increasingly influenced by market forces. For this reason, OPTA will impose less strict rules on KPN in the consumer segment and, for the time being, will not intervene in the developing television market. In OPTA's opinion, competitors on the business communication markets are still dependent on access to KPN's infrastructure with its national coverage to such an extent that far-reaching regulation in this area is still essential.

Digitisation - a boost to competition
OPTA notes that the consumer markets for fixed telephony, internet access and television are developing favourably. The penetration of broadband internet access has increased further. As a result, the Netherlands is retaining its position amongst the world's leading countries in this regard. The range of services on offer has also developed further. This is visible in the strong growth in the bundling of telephony, internet access and television ('triple play') and in the further digitisation of services such as interactive television, HD television and telephone calls using a digital connection (VOIP). As a result of the sustained digitisation and convergence of networks, the barriers to entry by competitors are being lowered and players are developing new services.

Opening of KPN's network is essential
KPN still has a dominant position on the markets for fixed telephony, internet access and business network services. The regulation of access through the unbundling of the copper local loops is therefore necessary to provide competing providers with access to KPN's network. This will ensure that end-users retain their freedom of choice, while OPTA will promote competition on these retail markets.

Consumer markets for telephony and internet access
The regulation of unbundled access to the local loop, in combination with the favourable developments observed on the markets for telephony and internet access, means that OPTA may ease its regulation of the consumer segment. For instance, OPTA is of the opinion that the pricing remedies which were imposed on KPN in the previous regulatory period are no longer necessary.

Business markets for telephony and internet access
In the case of the business market, where digitisation has fewer positive effects, the situation is different. In these markets, KPN has retained a dominant position, partly because of the relatively limited position of cable operators in this segment. The competition from other providers is not yet strong enough to discipline KPN sufficiently without regulation. In addition to the regulation of unbundled access to the copper local loops, OPTA finds that the obligation to provide ‘active’ access to the copper network with its national coverage is essential. With this form of access there is less of a need for providers to invest in networks and equipment. With regard to the business fibre-optic market (Fibre to the Office), OPTA will not impose remedies on KPN for the time being, because its position in this area is much less strong and alternative players are present, such as Eurofiber and Tele2.

Investments in new, high-speed networks
OPTA has also decided that the high-speed fibre-optic networks of KPN-Reggefiber (Fibre to the Home) must remain open to alternative providers in the coming regulatory period. It is expected that these fibre-optic networks will reach 16% to 24% of consumers in 2014. Maximum prices for access, for instance, apply in accordance with regulation by OPTA. With the further implementation of tariff regulation, OPTA has sought a balance between promoting competition, on the one hand, and the importance of investing in this new infrastructure, on the other hand.

Consumers have greater choice of television services
At the beginning of 2009, OPTA decided that the analogue cable networks of UPC and Ziggo had to be opened up, at least until 2012. It appears from OPTA's new analysis that in recent years the television market has become more competitive sooner than was expected as a result of digitisation. Digital television is gaining ground. Almost 70% of households in the Netherlands now have digital television. The importance of analogue television is consequently declining. In addition, KPN will be able to offer more competitive digital television through the fixed line as a result of the recently announced investments in the copper network. Alternative providers, such as Tele2, have access to these lines and can therefore offer consumers services too. As a result, OPTA expects consumers to be offered more choice. After all, they are able to choose from a wide range of television platforms and providers. In practice consumers also appear to switch providers. OPTA expects the growth in innovation and competition on the television market to continue in the coming years. On the basis of the existing regulatory framework, regulation of the cable network is therefore not necessary at present.

Consultation
The substantiation of OPTA's view of regulation is provided in the market analysis decisions and the assessment of the television market. Market parties and other stakeholders have eight weeks in which they can respond to the draft decision on unbundled access (ULL) and the draft assessment of the television market, both of which were published today. The draft decision on Fixed Telephony will be published on 14 July 2011. Shortly after the summer, the draft decisions on Wholesale Broadband Access / Leased Lines and Fibre-Optic Access for the Business Market will be published.
The Dutch Competition Authority’s (NMa) advice with regard to the decisions which have now been presented for consultation was positive.
After all the comments submitted during the consultation have been processed, the European Commission and BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications) will be notified of the draft decisions which have been the subject of consultation. The new measures will come into force on 1 January 2012.

New figures for communication markets, second half of 2010

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

OPTA publishes new figures on the situation on the communication markets in its Structural Monitoring Markets 2010 Q3 and Q4.
Here is a brief summary:

Bundles
Increasingly, consumers are opting for an all-in-one package. The number of triply play (RTV, fixed telephony and broadband) subscriptions rose sharply, from over 2.1 million in Q2 to 2.3 million in Q4.

Television
In Q4, the market shares in the television landscape were still shared mainly between KPN, ZIGGO and UPC. Of the regional players, ZIGGO is still the biggest, with a market share of 40 to 45%. KPN has gained market share. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (an indicator of the degree of competition on a market) continued its slight downward trend.*

Mobile telephony
On the mobile telephony market, the number of connections and turnover of mobile broadband Internet is still rising. While the volume of voice call terminations remains constant, turnover is falling sharply.
The market shares of the mobile providers are virtually unchanged compared with the previous quarter.

Broadband
On the broadband market, the number of connections via cable and fibre optic cable is rising. The number of connections on copper networks is decreasing. The most frequently purchased broadband speed in Q4 was between 10 Mbps and 30 Mbps.

Fixed telephony
Calls made on a digital network using a fixed line outnumbered analogue calls using a fixed line in Q4 2010. On the whole, annual retail sales have declined from 1.26 billion in 2009 to 1.11 billion in 2010. The market shares of fixed providers differ little compared with the previous quarter.

Leased lines
Due to remaining questions regarding the figures submitted by market parties, the attachment regarding leased lines is removed on 19 May 2011.

* A high Herfindahl-Hirschman index can indicate potential problems in the competitive environment.

OPTA: Large numbers going digital in the Netherlands

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Presentation of 2010 Annual Report and Market Monitor

For the first time, the majority of the fixed telephone lines and cable television connections in the Netherlands were digital in 2010. Some 50.8% of the fixed-line callers now use a digital line for their calls, while 55% of the households who use a cable television connection, now have a digital television. Digital has superseded the traditional technologies using copper and analogue systems. These developments were signalled by OPTA (the Dutch Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority) in its 2010 Market Monitor. The Market Monitor forms part of OPTA's Annual Report each year and is being published again today by the regulatory authority. The 2010 Annual Report shows that 15 fines totalling some 12.7 million euros and nine penalties for non-compliance were imposed by OPTA. In 2010, OPTA received 87% of its financing from market players. Of the budgeted 18.3 million euros, OPTA’s expenses for the year came to 16.6 million euros, thanks to its ongoing focus on efficiency.

Chris Fonteijn, Chairman of OPTA, on 2010: ‘OPTA commenced with its three-yearly study of the Dutch communications markets in 2010. Following in-depth analysis, OPTA will determine whether and which measures are necessary in order to further stimulate innovation and competition. On the one hand, we see that the consumer has more choice thanks to developments such as convergence and digitalisation, while on the other hand, we are experiencing consolidation of the market with the attendant reduction in the number of players. In June, OPTA will announce the measures being taken to ensure that consumers have and continue to have a choice in the area of telephony, internet and television.’

Other trends from the 2010 Market Monitor
Fixed telephony. Fixed telephony is losing ground to mobile telephony and other forms of communication such as the internet and SMS. The total number of fixed telephone connections has fallen by almost 2%. The percentage of digital telephone connections has risen from 44.9% to 50.8%, while the number of traditional telephone connections has fallen over the same period from 55.1% to 49.2%. The volume of fixed-line calls by the Dutch is down 6% compared to the previous year. This brings the total number of calling minutes via a fixed line to 11.2 billion. This reduction has not been compensated overall by the increase in the number of mobile call minutes: the total telephony volume has fallen by 2%.
Mobile phones. Calls via mobile phones have superseded fixed line calls for the first time, at 11.3 billion calling minutes. Nevertheless, the total number of mobile telephony connections has fallen from 20.1 million to 19.3 million. Despite this decrease, the use of mobile internet has seen explosive growth. The number of separate mobile broadband connections, such as via a mobile broadband dongle, doubled from 300,000 to 600,000. There was an eightfold rise in the total data use, which increased by 3.2 petabytes in the first six months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. SMS use also remains popular. The volume of SMS messages sent for the year 2009 was about 9 billion. In 2010, for the first six months alone, the SMS messages total came to almost 5.5 billion.
Television. The number of consumers using digital television via a cable connection was greater in 2010 than the number of consumers who only have analogue television via a cable connection (55% vs. 45%). Aside from cable television, other digital options are available, such as IPTV via fibre optic cables or DSL, satellite and Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVB-T). The number of consumers using this kind of alternative for their television viewing rose from 24% in mid-2009 to 28% in September 2010. Digital television usage has been increasing for some years by some 10 percentage points per year. In September 2010, 65% of consumers had a digital television, with a mere one third of all consumers still having only an analogue television subscription.
Bundles. Two out of three consumers have a bundle subscription, i.e. some five million Dutch households. In 2010, triple play, a bundle package offering television, internet and telephony, was the most popular, with 2.2 million subscriptions. This bundle is used by over 30% of all households, whereas the number of households using a broadband and fixed telephony bundle is down (this number has fallen from 26.3% to 23.2%). Some 800,000 households (11.3%) have opted for a bundle with broadband and television. Finally, virtually 2.5% of the households use a television and fixed telephony bundle.

Consumer protection
ConsuWijzer. ConsuWijzer is the consumer point of contact acting on behalf of OPTA, the Consumer Authority (CA) and the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa). In 2010, approximately 100,000 queries and complaints from consumers were received by ConsuWijzer. Almost a third of these complaints (31,428) were related to telecommunications or postal issues. Most of the complaints received by OPTA had to do with telemarketing (12,385), followed by mobile phones (6,457) and SMS services (3,329).
Telemarketing. The top 5 complaints related to telemarketing in 2010 concerned telephony & television (12%), energy (12%), lotteries (11%), newspapers & magazines (8%) and worthy causes (7%). OPTA has begun to investigate some 48 cases for suspected violation of the telemarketing rules. These companies are responsible for approximately 80% of the complaints received by ConsuWijzer. In the meantime OPTA has imposed over 1.2 million euros in fines against seven parties, four of whom are energy companies. OPTA is not in a position to name these companies for the time being, due to the legal proceedings that are pending.
Spam. In 2010, OPTA received 27,251 complaints via www.spamklacht.nl. Of these, OPTA investigated 98 possible violations of the spam prohibition, 38 of which ended in a warning. On further investigation, OPTA found there was no violation in 23 cases. In three cases, OPTA imposed fines totalling almost six hundred thousand euros. It is expected that the remaining cases will be dealt with during 2011.

Market Monitor 2010

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100

In the annual report, OPTA accounts for its activities and results in the year 2010. The abbreviated annual accounts give insight into OPTA’s financial house-keeping.
The market monitor 2010 reflects important trends and competition developments in the markets, as well as the position of the end-user.