Dutch data usage exploded; we do less texting and calling

In the Netherlands, we are massively making more use of the mobile internet. Compared to last year, we have processed 31 percent more data in our country. There is also news about the number of calling minutes and text messages.

Using the internet, calling and texting in Q3 2021

Figures from the Telecom Monitor of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) reveal interesting details about the use of the mobile network in the Netherlands. These are figures for the third quarter of 2021. In that quarter we consumed 346 petabytes of mobile data in the Netherlands, which is an increase of 31 percent, compared to the third quarter in 2020. Compared to the previous quarter, it is an increase of 12 percent.

We are increasingly calling and chatting via an app, such as WhatsApp, Messenger or Telegram. This has consequences for calling and texting via the mobile network, the report shows. The number of minutes called fell by 5 percent, to 11.6 billion minutes in the third quarter. The number of text messages decreased by 2 percent, reaching 546 million messages.

In the past eight quarters, the market share of the various providers with their own network has not changed. KPN and T-Mobile both have a market share of between 25 and 30 percent. At Vodafone, the share amounts to 20-25 percent. Providers without their own network have a joint share of 10-15 percent. Calling via the landline is also done less. The landline made 1.8 billion minutes of calls. In Q2 2020 this was still 2.54 billion.