KPN Adds Thermostat to Smart Home Range

Dutch operator KPN is launching its own smart thermostat, under the name KPN SmartLife Comfort. It allows users to control their home heating systems, regardless of their energy supplier. Using an app on a smartphone or tablet they can program heating times, monitor their usage and manage the heating system. The device is produced by Plugwise and is available online for purchase for €6.00 (US $6.70) per month on a two-year contract. The package comes with the thermostat, app and a module to link the device to the heating system and works with any internet connection. Customers already using KPN’s SmartLife security system can integrate the thermostat with the system. KPN said it plans to add more services to the smart home platform. The operator is using the Qivicon platform developed by Deutsche Telekom for its smart home services. As consumer IoT applications, such as smart home controls, become more popular, operators can take a piece of this business by creating their own platforms and apps, instead of leaving it to other entities to do so. We think KPN’s move is a savvy one, not only because home thermostat control is a desirable service for many consumers, but because offering this service can help make the operator relevant beyond the role of simply providing connectivity, and can also help customer acquisition.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

KPN, T-Mobile Extend 4G Home Broadband Services

KPN and T-Mobile Netherlands have reported success with their initial tests of 4G as a replacement for home broadband, and the Dutch operators say they expect to continue the services. A year after launching a special offer for rural areas, KPN said it has a few thousand customers for the 4G service, while T-Mobile is testing the service with 500 customers and plans a commercial launch in October. KPN first introduced the offer last November, targeting around 100,000 households in rural areas that were unable to receive fast fixed broadband. A KPN spokesman said this figure has since grown to around 130,000. KPN offers a modem with a SIM card slot for the service. T-Mobile started testing its “4G voor Thuis” service early this year and in August launched a beta service with 500 customers. Based on initial feedback, a number of changes were made to the service, such as allowing port forwarding for remote access to devices such as hard drives or IP cameras and introducing unlimited data volume at night. A T-Mobile spokesman said a number of network optimizations are also planned for the commercial launch. According to a research report, 34 percent of Dutch consumers are interested in mobile internet as a fixed broadband replacement, if the speed is at least the same or higher than their current connection.   Although these experiments in the Netherlands are starting small, in terms of number of customers, we believe that it is very realistic to envision that fixed broadband technology eventually could be more or less completely replaced by mobile high-speed networks. As mobile technology improves by leaps and bounds—not only 4G but 5G as trials increase in many markets—it approaches the speeds and reliability hitherto offered only by fixed internet connections. While 4G in the home is currently most attractive to those who for geographical reasons cannot get fixed line service, there are several reasons why it can, and most likely will, appeal to other types of customers. For one thing, the seamlessness of having one kind of service at home and away from home simplifies connectivity across multiple devices. For another, it would simplify billing and plan structures. And finally, the lack of need to install and maintain wire lines removes a level of complexity and potential worry for consumers, not to mention for operators. The Netherlands is a sophisticated, advanced mobile market; if over one third of customers there are interested in substituting mobile for fixed internet, that is an indicator that this is an idea whose time has come—not only in the developing world, where remote, rural locations cannot get fixed line service, but in the developed world, as well.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.  To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

Dutch Regulator Fines KPN, Vodafone for Net Neutrality Violations

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets has imposed fines on two of the country’s operators, KPN and Vodafone, for violating net neutrality regulations. KPN was fined €250,000.00 (US $287,237.00) for not allowing users to access various services including VoIP via its free Wi-Fi hotspots. Vodafone received a penalty of €200,000.00 (US $229,790.00) for offering plans that allowed its subscribers to watch HBO via an app without using any of their data allowances. The regulator in a statement said, “It is forbidden for internet service providers to determine what their customers can and cannot do on the internet.” It added, “Under Dutch law, ISPs are not permitted to charge different access rates for specific online services.”

In 2011 the Netherlands became the first European country and the second in the world to incorporate net neutrality into its laws. The law was put into effect to ban mobile operators from blocking or charging consumers extra for using services such as Skype or WhatsApp. Chile passed a net neutrality law in 2010, and following the Netherlands, Brazil put net neutrality into law in 2014. It is interesting to note that in the Netherlands, although mobile operators raised their charges overall to compensate for lost revenue when net neutrality was adopted, the law was still hailed as a consumer victory. In the recent events for which KPN and Vodafone were fined, only KPN was blocking access to its subscribers. Vodafone was actually allowing customers to use data at no charge, but it violated the law by influencing its customers’ online behavior.

As these fines are being handed down to the Dutch MNOs, proposed reform of net neutrality across the European telecom market is at the center of discussions of the European Council of Ministers, the presidency of which recently passed to Latvia from Italy. Earlier this year, the EC’s published list of priorities said that it would push for a compromise on net neutrality over the next six months. It wants to strike a balance “between high-quality services and a reasonable cost for consumers.” This stance is seen as somewhat opposing the draft of a law passed by the Parliament last April, which strengthened net neutrality rules. While it does not appear that a two-tier internet will exist in the EU anytime soon, it is clear that data use will continue to increase on a global level and have a pronounced effect on the speed and delivery of information. Since operators will not be able to charge extra to discriminate among various internet traffic streams, we believe that they should look for other revenue sources that can be used to invest in infrastructure to enhance their networks and ensure subscribers continued access at reasonable speeds to everything on the internet.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues or to speak with the research team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Numericable Switches MVNO to BASE

Belgian cable operator Numericable is switching its MVNO from the Mobistar network to BASE. Numericable is active in parts of Brussels, Wallonia and Luxembourg. It started the MVNO in August 2012, and its parent company, Luxembourg-based Altice, reported 4,000 mobile customers for the activities at the end of June 2014. According to BASE, Numericable made the switch in order to gain access to 4G services. The higher speeds will be available immediately for customers on Numericable’s Mobile Start, Extra and Max plans, and all Numericable customers will switch to the BASE network before the end of the year.

In today’s market climate, where high data speed is in ever-greater demand, even MVNOs—generally associated with budget pricing and lower-end or younger users—are finding it important to provide their customers with 4G service. For Numericable’s MVNO to switch to BASE from Mobistar—which does not offer 4G access—makes perfect sense in light of this trend. In February of this year, Numericable offered 4G services to customers of its French MVNO via the network of French mobile operator SFR. Two months later, Numericable bought SFR from Vivendi, beating out French MNO Bouygues, in a deal that affirmed fixed-mobile convergence over mobile consolidation.

Clearly, if fixed-mobile convergence is to maximize its success, it will need to offer the most advanced kind of mobile service. To that end, in a scenario that may echo the French one, Numericable is said to be looking at the possibility of acquiring a Belgian MNO, either BASE (wholly owned by Netherlands-based KPN) or Mobistar (majority-owned by French group Orange). Such a deal would be a natural progression from the present decision regarding running services on BASE’s network.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  Story Of The Week