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Netherlands

Mobile Network Experience Report
March 2022

Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Senior Analyst Data Collection Period: Nov 01, 2021 - Jan 29, 2022

Netherlands

Mobile Network Experience Report
March 2022

Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Senior Analyst

Data Collection Period: Nov 01, 2021 - Jan 29, 2022

Key Findings

T-Mobile comes top for Excellent and Core Consistent Quality

T-Mobile had the highest percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games — an impressive 90.6% — and is the winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality. It has a lead of under two percentage points compared to KPN and Vodafone’s statistically tied scores of 88.8-89.1%. T-Mobile also wins Core Consistent Quality, which measures the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.

KPN leads Download Speed Experience by 8.9 Mbps

KPN is the winner of the Download Speed Experience award which represents the overall experience of all users across all network generations. Its score of 84.6 Mbps was 8.9 Mbps (11.7%) faster than second-placed T-Mobile’s 75.8 Mbps and 26.8 Mbps (46.3%) quicker than Vodafone’s score of 57.8 Mbps.

KPN wins the 4G Coverage Experience award outright

Our KPN users received a 4G signal in the most locations relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators. As a result, KPN is the outright winner of the 4G Coverage Experience Award with a nearly perfect score of 9.9 points on a 10 point scale. However, T-Mobile and Vodafone weren’t far behind with identical scores of 9.8 points.

Our T-Mobile and KPN users experienced the fastest average upload speeds

KPN and T-Mobile are joint winners of the Upload Speed Experience award with statistically tied scores in the 15.9-16.6 Mbps range. Vodafone is around 3 Mbps behind the two front-runners with a score of 13.2 Mbps.

All three operators are on the winners’ podium for Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience

Due to three-way statistical ties, KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone are joint winners of the Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience awards. This means that our Dutch users didn’t observe any statistically significant differences between their experience on KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone’s networks when streaming video, playing multiplayer mobile games or using OTT voice apps.

Mobile Experience Awards

March 2022, Netherlands Report
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Market Overview

Our latest look at the Dutch mobile network experience reveals a hard-fought contest, with five out of nine awards being shared by two or more operators. KPN and T-Mobile are tied in that they both collect two awards outright along with five shared victories. KPN wins the Download Speed Experience and 4G Coverage Experience awards outright, while T-Mobile is the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards.

Vodafone is a joint winner across our three experiential awards for the overall experience of our users: Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience. However, it does not win any other awards either outright or jointly, and trails both KPN and T-Mobile across both our speed metrics.

In this report, we've analyzed our data gathered in the 90 day period starting on November 1, 2021, and ending on January 29, 2021, to see how the Netherlands’ three national operators — KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone — stack up. We have used 5G measurements in addition to those from previous generations of mobile network technology when determining the overall scores for each award.

Also, we have published a companion report, which analyzes the experience of our 5G users when they were connected to 5G.

Overall Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
69.5
T-Mobile
70.5
Vodafone
68.3
019385776
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Games Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
83.9
T-Mobile
82.7
Vodafone
82.7
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
81.9
T-Mobile
82.4
Vodafone
82.2
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
KPN
84.6
T-Mobile
75.8
Vodafone
57.8
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
KPN
16.6
T-Mobile
15.9
Vodafone
13.2
05101520
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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National Analysis

All three of the Netherlands’ national operators are joint winners of the Video Experience award with statistically tied scores of 68.3-70.5 points on a 100 point scale. This means that our Dutch users did not observe any meaningful difference in their experience when streaming video over mobile connections regardless of their choice of national operator.

Definitions

Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.

In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:

  • 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
  • Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
  • 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
  • 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.

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National Analysis

When it comes to the overall experience of our Dutch users when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections, they did not observe any statistically significant differences between KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone — and as a result the three operators are joint winners of the Games Experience award with scores in the 82.7-83.9 range on a 100 point scale.

With these scores all three operators have placed in the Good (75-85) category. This means that most users deemed the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience was generally controllable and users received immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users did not experience a delay between their actions and the game.

Definitions

Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.

Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.

Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.

In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:

  • 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
  • Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
  • 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
  • 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.

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National Analysis

As with the other two experiential awards for the overall experience of our users (Video Experience and Games Experience), KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone have statistically tied for the Voice App Experience award and therefore all three operators are joint winners.

Their scores of 81.9-82.4 points mean that all three operators have placed in the Good (80-87) category. This indicates that many users were satisfied, but some experienced minor quality impairments. Sometimes the background was not quite clear and clicking sounds or distortion were rarely present.

Definitions

Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.

In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:

  • 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
  • Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
  • 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
  • 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.

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National Analysis

KPN is the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award, due to its score of 84.6 Mbps. The operator’s score is 8.9 Mbps (11.7%) higher than that of second-placed T-Mobile — and 26.8 Mbps (46.3%) faster than Vodafone’s score of 57.8 Mbps.

Definitions

Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.

In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:

  • 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
  • Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
  • 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
  • 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).

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National Analysis

KPN and T-Mobile are joint winners of the Upload Speed Experience award with statistically tied scores in the 15.9-16.6 Mbps range. Vodafone is around 3 Mbps behind the two front-runners with a score of 13.2 Mbps. Upload speeds are becoming increasingly important as social media encourages users to share their own videos and photos — generating content as well as consuming it.

Definitions

Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.

In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:

  • 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
  • Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
  • 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
  • 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).

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KPN

T-Mobile

Vodafone

Availability
4G Coverage Experience
Availability
% of time
KPN
98.9
T-Mobile
99.1
Vodafone
97.1
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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4G Coverage Experience
in 0-10 points
KPN
9.9
T-Mobile
9.8
Vodafone
9.8
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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National Analysis

KPN and T-Mobile are joint winners of the Availability award as our users on their networks spent the most time connected to either 3G, 4G or 5G. The two operators have statistically tied scores of 98.9-99.1%. Vodafone is around two percentage points behind the two front-runners, given its score of 97.1%.

Definitions

Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.

We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.

Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.

Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.

Map Definition

The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.

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National Analysis

KPN is the outright winner of the 4G Coverage Experience Award with a nearly perfect score of 9.9 points on a 10 point scale. However, T-Mobile and Vodafone weren’t far behind with identical scores of 9.8 points.

Definitions

4G Coverage Experience measures how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.

In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.

Map Definition

The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.

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Excellent Consistent Quality
Core Consistent Quality
Excellent Consistent Quality
% of tests
KPN
88.8
T-Mobile
90.6
Vodafone
89.1
024487296
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Core Consistent Quality
% of tests
KPN
93.4
T-Mobile
94.9
Vodafone
94.5
024487296
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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National Analysis

According to our measurements, T-Mobile was the operator that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming across the greatest proportion of tests. Therefore it is the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award. The operator’s winning score of 90.6% commands a lead of around 1.6 percentage points over KPN and Vodafone’s statistically tied scores of 88.8-89.1%.

Definitions

Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.

Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.

Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.

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National Analysis

T-Mobile wins the Core Consistent Quality award — as based on our measurements it met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing for the highest amount of time (94.9%) out of the Netherland’s three national operators. Vodafone and KPN are in second- and third-place, respectively, with scores of 94.5% and 93.4%, respectively.

Definitions

Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.

Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.

Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.

Learn more

Related Analysis

Our Methodology

Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.

About Opensignal

Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.

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