Dutch telco KPN and pension firm APG have announced the launch of their fibre broadband access network joint venture (JV), named Glaspoort. Furthermore, the partners increased the scope of the planned JV rollout by approximately 75,000 premises, with Glaspoort now expected to deploy open fibre infrastructure connecting roughly 750,000 homes and 225,000 business premises via investment of over EUR1 billion (USD1.2 billion) in the next five years. A statement said that the required construction capacity and external financing commitments from lenders have been secured enabling the JV to begin rollout, expecting to cover more than 70,000 premises by the end of this year. While KPN will act as an anchor tenant on the network, Glaspoort will operate under an open access wholesale policy based on non-discriminatory terms.
On 23 March 2021 KPN and pension fund ABP announced the plan to establish a 50/50 JV owned by KPN and APG (ABP’s pension provider) to build, operate and maintain an open fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network via which KPN and its competitors will offer internet, TV, voice and other services. FTTH rollout was initially planned for 700,000 households and 200,000 business premises in smaller settlements and industrial estates/business parks by the end of 2026 (additional to KPN’s existing self-funded national FTTH deployment programme). The JV plan gained consent from the Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) on 12 May. KPN CEO Joost Farwerck said of the latest expansion to the JV plan: ‘The broadened scope of the project makes it increasingly relevant as even more villages will be connected to state-of-the-art fibre infrastructure and ensures almost nationwide fibre coverage by 2026.’
