AMSTERDAM: Dutch virtual mobile operators had around 530,000 business customers at the end of March, equal to 6.2 percent of their total customer base, according to Telecompaper’s latest report on the Dutch MVNO market. Compared to the third quarter of 2014, the number of business customers at the MVNOs and virtual brands was up 5.3 percent. The share of business in the total customer base rose from 5.9 percent in September 2014.
In total 21 virtual players were active on the business market in Q1, the largest of which is KPN’s brand Telfort Zakelijk. Telfort had an estimated 210,000 business mobile customers in March, up from 180,000 a year earlier. KPN’s other brand Yes Telecom is thought to be second in the business VO market, helped by its recent acquisition of Mobile Service. This gave it a total base of 120,000 Sims in Q1.
Excluding the network operators’ second brands, Galaxy is the biggest independent virtual operator in the business mobile market, with around 60,000 active Sims at the end of March, up slightly from six months earlier. Galaxy focuses on direct sales, putting the emphasis on its personal touch. Numbers four and five on the market are Intercity Zakelijk and Dekatel, together with around 100,000 Sims in March, little changed compared to six months earlier.
All the other business VOs together had just over 50,000 active Sims, up 3.4 percent from September. The Friesland provider VireService accounted for almost 30 percent of the total. Among the smaller providers growing quickly is Voiceworks, which added around 2,000 Sims in six months to reach 10,000. The other providers recorded a drop of 1.2 percent to around 25,000 Sims in total.
