Dutch telecommunications company KPN has recently announced the acquisition of Primevest Capital Partners’ fibre infrastructure, expanding its footprint in the country. Although the deal’s value remains undisclosed, KPN will acquire a fibre network covering 127,000 homes in major urban areas such as The Hague, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven.
Wouter Stammeijer, Chief Technology & Digital Officer at KPN, shared his thoughts on the acquisition: “The acquisition of Primevest’s fibre network is a welcome addition to our existing fibre footprint, which totals 4 million households. We’ve been making strong progress with our fibre rollout, which is at the heart of our strategy. In the next few years, we will be fully focused to complete this project.”
KPN’s primary goal is to cover 80% of the Netherlands with fibre by 2026, both independently and through partnerships. The company has been making significant strides in expanding its network, with an impressive 85,000 households added to its fibre coverage during the first quarter of this year alone. Additionally, KPN activated 46,000 households within the same period, reflecting strong uptake rates.
In the same quarter, KPN also expanded its coverage by partnering with other companies to bring fibre to another 30,000 homes. A prominent example is the partnership with Glaspoort, a joint venture KPN created with the pension fund APG. Originally designed to create a €1.2 billion wholesale network, Glaspoort now covers around 340,000 premises with ambitious plans to reach more.
T-Mobile Netherlands is the latest major service provider to become a Glaspoort customer, while GlasDraad, a fibre builder owned by TINC, announced a plan to take a 50% stake in the joint venture.
KPN’s overall fibre network now covers 4.28 million homes, allowing the company to begin decommissioning and upgrading its copper network, resulting in numerous benefits such as reduced costs, increased quality improvements, lowered energy consumption, and a better customer experience. The acquisition of Primevest’s fibre network will only further enhance KPN’s growth and expansion in fibre technology.
