KPN, VodafoneZiggo given temporary waivers for local 700MHz coverage

The Netherlands’ National Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur, RDI) – which was recently renamed from the Telecommunications Agency (Agentschap Telecom) – reported that network operators KPN and VodafoneZiggo have received temporary waivers of coverage obligations for cellular 700MHz band mobile services in a limited number of localities.

KPN, VodafoneZiggo and T-Mobile Netherlands each won 2×10MHz spectrum licences in the 5G 700MHz band in July 2020. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database says that the national 5G licensees were subject to geographical coverage requirements stipulating mobile coverage of ‘98% of the surface area of every Dutch municipality’ with standards set for minimum data speed ‘on the outer edges of a mobile network’: with effect from July 2022 minimum requirements for these ‘worst points’ are 8Mbps, rising to 10Mbps in 2026, and in August 2022 RDI began checking network coverage and speeds.