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Netherlands

Mobile Network Experience Report
March 2023

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, Principal Analyst Data Collection Period: Nov 01, 2022 - Jan 29, 2023

Netherlands

Mobile Network Experience Report
March 2023

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, Principal Analyst

Data Collection Period: Nov 01, 2022 - Jan 29, 2023

Key Findings

5G multiplayer mobile gaming experience is best with KPN

KPN is the new outright winner of the 5G Games Experience award, after statistically tying with T-Mobile in the last report. T-Mobile and Vodafone tie for second place with scores of 85.3-86.1 points on a 100-point scale, around 2.2 points behind KPN’s 88 points. All three operators place in the Excellent (85 or above) category. This means that the vast majority of our users deem this network experience acceptable and there is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.

T-Mobile comes top for Upload Speed Experience

Our T-Mobile users observe the fastest overall average upload speeds in the Netherlands — 17.6Mbps — 1.1Mbps (6.7%) faster than those seen on second-placed KPN (16.5Mbps). Vodafone is in third place with 13.1Mbps. T-Mobile’s outright victory is a change from the previous report, when it was statistically tied for the top spot alongside KPN.

KPN remains unbeaten on 5G Download Speed

Our KPN users continue to observe the fastest average 5G download speeds in the Netherlands — and KPN remains the sole Dutch operator to win the 5G Download Speed award since we added it to our Netherlands reports in March 2021. KPN wins this time with a score of 177.6Mbps, 37.8Mbps (27%) faster than T-Mobile’s 139.8Mbps. Vodafone continues to lag behind its rivals, given its score of 97.3Mbps.

T-Mobile is still unbeatable on 5G Availability

Our T-Mobile 5G users continue to spend the largest proportion of time with an active 5G connection. This means that T-Mobile is once again the outright winner of the 5G Availability award — which it has won ever since the first report on the Dutch 5G experience. This time around, T-Mobile wins with a score of 23.4%, giving it a lead of 7.1 percentage points over second-placed KPN’s 16.3%. Vodafone is in last place with 13.3%.

KPN keeps hold of Excellent Consistency and now ties with Vodafone for Core Consistent Quality

KPN now wins both consistency awards — it is still the outright winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality awards and is a joint winner for Core Consistent Quality alongside Vodafone, due to their statistically tied scores of 94-94.1%. Last time around, T-Mobile was the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award. 90.3% of our KPN users’ tests meet the minimum recommended performance thresholds for watching HD video, completing group video conference calls and playing games (Excellent Consistent Quality). This gives it a lead of 1.4 percentage points over second-placed Vodafone’s 88.9%.

Mobile Experience Awards

March 2023, Netherlands Report
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Market Overview

KPN and T-Mobile continue to dominate the awards table, but of the two, KPN has the largest haul of awards winning three outright (5G Games Experience, 5G Download Speed, Excellent Consistent Quality) and being a joint winner in an additional nine categories. T-Mobile wins 10 awards either outright or jointly — it is the sole winner of the Upload Speed Experience and 5G Availability awards. Vodafone once again has no outright wins to its name but shares the victory with its rivals in four categories — three of which are due to three-way statistical ties.

In this report, we've analyzed our data gathered over the 90-day period starting on November 1, 2022, and ending on January 29, 2023, 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.

Overall Experience
5G Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
All Users
5G Users
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
74.3
T-Mobile
73.7
Vodafone
73.7
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Video Experience – 5G Users
in 0-100 points
KPN
74.5
T-Mobile
74.4
Vodafone
74.8
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
All Users
5G Users
Games Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
80.0
T-Mobile
79.3
Vodafone
78.4
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Games Experience – 5G Users
in 0-100 points
KPN
78.0
T-Mobile
79.3
Vodafone
77.8
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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All Users
5G Users
Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
81.3
T-Mobile
81.7
Vodafone
80.9
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Voice App Experience – 5G Users
in 0-100 points
KPN
81.0
T-Mobile
82.1
Vodafone
80.6
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
All Users
5G Users
Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
KPN
91.1
T-Mobile
88.2
Vodafone
63.7
024487296
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience – 5G Users
in Mbps
KPN
103.7
T-Mobile
96.6
Vodafone
70.9
027.55582.5110
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
All Users
5G Users
Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
KPN
16.5
T-Mobile
17.6
Vodafone
13.1
05101520
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users
in Mbps
KPN
17.1
T-Mobile
20.6
Vodafone
13.8
06.51319.526
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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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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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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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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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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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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5G Video Experience
5G Games Experience
5G Voice App Experience
5G Download Speed
5G Upload Speed
5G Video Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
77.2
T-Mobile
77.3
Vodafone
77.8
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Games Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
88.0
T-Mobile
85.3
Vodafone
86.1
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
KPN
83.5
T-Mobile
83.5
Vodafone
82.5
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Download Speed
in Mbps
KPN
177.6
T-Mobile
139.8
Vodafone
97.3
046.593139.5186
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Upload Speed
in Mbps
KPN
40.6
T-Mobile
39.5
Vodafone
26.9
011.52334.546
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

Definitions

5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. 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 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network 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.

Learn more

Definitions

5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.

5G 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 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.

Learn more

Definitions

5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses 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. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.

Learn more

Definitions

5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).

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Definitions

5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).

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KPN

T-Mobile

Vodafone

Availability
5G Availability
Availability
% of time
KPN
98.5
T-Mobile
99.0
Vodafone
97.6
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Availability
% of time
KPN
16.3
T-Mobile
23.4
Vodafone
13.3
07.51522.530
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

Learn more

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.

5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 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.

Learn more

Excellent Consistent Quality
Core Consistent Quality
Excellent Consistent Quality
% of tests
KPN
90.3
T-Mobile
87.9
Vodafone
88.9
024487296
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Core Consistent Quality
% of tests
KPN
94.0
T-Mobile
93.8
Vodafone
94.1
024487296
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

Learn more

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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