T-Mobile Netherlands now expects to offer nationwide coverage (95% of the population) via its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network by October 2015, sooner than the year-end date originally scheduled. The Deutsche Telekom-backed cellco stated simply that the rollout has been ‘more successful than planned.’ Subscribers to the cellco’s 4G LTE services can access data speeds up to 120Mbps (dependant on location and device), with independent data analysis office DIKW reporting that, of the Netherlands’ top-three mobile operators, in Q4 2014 T-Mobile had the highest average upload and download speeds out of 125,000 Ookla-conducted tests. The company’s CEO Mark Klein commented: ‘In this highly competitive environment we lay our ambition even higher: building the best network in the Netherlands … [our] 4G network is built specifically with a view to substantially increasing data usage by consumers and businesses in the next decade.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, T-Mobile’s Dutch unit launched 4G LTE services in May 2012 and November 2013 using frequencies in the 2600MHz and 900/1800MHz bands, respectively. The provider offered 50% population coverage by August 2014.
