KPN has by far the best mobile network in the Netherlands
According to Speedtest, KPN provides the best mobile network in the Netherlands, both in terms of coverage and speed.
Research by Ookla’s Speedtest.net is unambiguous: KPN provides by far the best mobile network in the Netherlands. Both in terms of coverage and speed, the Dutch provider manages to earn the gold medal. It is the first time in 4 years that KPN has managed to win this unofficial prize.
KPN has the best mobile network in the Netherlands
During Q3 and Q4 of 2020, KPN was able to provide by far the best mobile network in the Netherlands. It is the first time in a while that the provider wins, because in the past 3 years it was T-Mobile that received the prize.
According to Speedtest.net, 100% of the scans used had coverage by KPN, while 96.70% had 4G connection. This gave KPN the best score, with T-Mobile and Vodafone in second and third place respectively. The platform gives each provider a coverage score:
- KPN – 833
- T-Mobile – 640
- Vodafone – 590
KPN also manages to overrun the competition in terms of speed. KPN dominates with an average of more than 87 Mbps (megabit per second).
- KPN – 87.15 Mbps
- T-Mobile – 80.31 Mbps
- Tele2 – 71.88 Mbps
- Vodafone – 67.97 Mbps
Method with a grain of salt
That said, the fact that KPN has the best mobile network in the Netherlands doesn’t mean a lot. Ookla only approximates opacity, which gives a bit of strange statistics (.pdf).
For example, several regions in East Netherlands have a coverage of 100% or more. Apart from a maximum of 3 small regions, every provider literally has coverage of 75 to 100% throughout the Netherlands. In other words, the margins are very small and the difference is determined by those few problem regions.
In the vast majority of the Netherlands, all providers literally score the same, namely 75 to 100% coverage. In practical terms, it hardly matters whether you are on the best mobile network or second best network in the Netherlands. In terms of speed, you can possibly say that KPN gives you the best service statistically. But that also mainly depends on the region in which you live.
