Internet in the Netherlands

For our non-Dutch visitors we wrote an article about the Dutch telecom market. Moving to the Netherlands and looking for an internet provider? This article describes everything you need to know about the Dutch telecom market and what choices you have. And you have plenty! The Dutch market is highly competitive and therefore has loads of different operators offering all kinds of services.

Types of internet

In the Netherlands there are three types of internet you can use: cable, DSL and fiber. The methods differ in possibilities and in price. Looking for a plain and cheap internetservice? Most of the times DSL will be sufficient for your needs. Looking for faster internet? You might want to look at the cable and fiber services. These are more expensive but offer a wide variety of extra services. The Netherlands is a relatively small country and densely populated. Internetproviders cover almost all of the Netherlands with their infrastructure and therefore the entire population has had access to fast internet since decades. The Netherlands ranks very high on the global scale of fast internet and penetration. All Dutch Internetproviders offer internet as the basic component of their proposition but this can be expanded by phone and television. But also other services are added to their packages.

Combined services

In the Netherlands most providers offer combinations of internet and television. And often a consumer also want telephone services (fixed telephony). The more services you buy, the higher the discount. But if you live in the Netherlands as an expat most of the times an internet only subscription will do. The televisionchannels are mostly in Dutch anyway… And since Netflix and Youtube a television package from your provider is becoming less popular.

The following providers are operating in the Netherlands:

• KPN (DSL & fiber)
• Ziggo (cable)
• Tele2 (DSL & fiber)
• Telfort (DSL & fiber)
• XS4ALL (DSL & fiber)
• Online.nl (DSL)
• Fiber.nl (fiber)
• Vodafone (DSL & fiber)

The cheapest ones are the operators using DSL. For instance Telfort and Tele2. XS4ALL is known for its service but also for its high priced products. Ziggo offers high speed cable internet and Fiber.nl is an independent fiber operator that’s known for its innovative way of working. All providers have their owns characteristics but in the end they all offer ‘just’ internet. Make you choice based on the demand you have and most of the times we all are driven by price. On this website you can filter subscription based on price per month or per year.

Compare providers

Cheap or fast internet. Those are basically the choices you have to make. You might want to compare the different providers. You can do so on this website to see the different prices and possibilities. Prices range from 15 euro’s a month till 75 euro’s. Tip: look at the contract period. In the Netherlands for an short while? Make sure your contract doesn’t last for years.