Koninklijke KPN N.V., commonly known as KPN, is a Dutch multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The company was originally founded in 1752 as Statenpost and later became PTT-NL in 1893. It was corporatised on January 1, 1989. KPN is publicly traded on the Euronext Amsterdam under the ticker symbol KPN. The company offers a wide range of services, including landline and mobile telephony, internet, digital terrestrial television, IT services, and IPTV. As of 2020, KPN reported a revenue of €5.283 billion, with an operating income of €912 million and a net income of €561 million. The company is partially owned by América Móvil (16.08%), Franklin Mutual Series Funds (4.99%), BlackRock (3.83%), and Norges Bank (2.91%) (Wikipedia, 2023).
Country
Netherlands
Type
Mobile Network Operator

3G Network

KPN launched its 3G network in the Netherlands in 2007, marking a significant step in mobile telecommunications for the company. The introduction of 3G technology allowed KPN to offer faster internet speeds and improved mobile services to its customers. However, as the demand for more advanced technologies grew, KPN decided to phase out its 3G network in 2022. This decision was made to reallocate the frequencies used for 3G to enhance its 4G and 5G networks, which offer faster, safer, and more stable connections (Thingsdata.com, 2021).
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4G Network

KPN was the first operator in the Netherlands to introduce 4G services, launching the network in 2013. This introduction revolutionised smartphone usage in the country by providing significantly faster data speeds and improved network reliability. Over the years, KPN has continuously upgraded its 4G network to meet increasing data demands. In 2018, KPN began activating frequency band 4 (2100 MHz) for 4G and implemented four-band carrier aggregation (4CA) to enhance network capacity and speed. This upgrade allowed for download speeds of up to 500 Mbps using advanced modulation techniques (Overons.kpn, 2018).
4G Frequency Bands
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5G Network

KPN began its journey into 5G technology by rolling out services using the 700 MHz frequency band in mid-2020. This rollout provided nationwide coverage and was recognised as the best 5G network in the Netherlands. Initially, 5G operated in conjunction with 4G, as smartphones combined both frequency bands. In 2024, KPN successfully tested the 5G Standalone (SA) standard, which promises higher speeds, reduced latency, and innovative technologies like network slicing. The company has also secured 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band during a 5G auction in 2023, with plans to enhance its 5G network further (Telecomtalk.info, 2023; Overons.kpn, 2023).
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