Everything for a strong network

Working from home thanks to fast and secure internet in your home. Streaming films and series on your telephone. The networks of VodafoneZiggo enable the people of the Netherlands to enjoy each and every connection and also to function well as a society. We invest heavily in our fixed and mobile networks, year after year, in order to make them better, faster and more sustainable. This has been a success, as the fixed network of Ziggo has been rated the best once again. Vodafone’s mobile network has even been one of the best in the world for years. 

TOGETHER FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Our customers expect the highest quality in terms of connectivity and sustainability and that is what they get. Because while we are focusing on new technologies, higher speeds and better coverage, we are also devoted to energy saving and circularity. And together with our parent company Liberty Global, we developed the Mediabox Next Mini: the most economical Mediabox ever, which will be launched onto the market in 2022. As a result of this, our customers’ energy consumption will be reduced considerably. Read more about our climate ambitions in the chapter ‘Everything for a healthy world’. 

GIGABIT-SPEED INTERNET THAT KEEPS ENERGY CONSUMPTION THE SAME

Vodafone and Ziggo’s powerful network is called GigaNet. An infrastructure that is made for the digital future; for better connectedness, smarter working and the application of new services and innovations. GigaNet also connects millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In this way, for example, it is possible for a drone with 5G control to count warehouse stocks automatically. And in the Connected Ambulance , 5G makes reliable connections between ambulance teams and doctors in the hospital possible.  

In the meantime, three quarters of our internet customers can already opt to receive a speed of 1 gigabit per second. That bandwidth will be available to everyone by the end of 2022. However, that is just the beginning. During a recent test at our TEC Campus in Amsterdam, we already approached a download speed of 10 gigabits per second. This shows that the limits of our network are still far from being reached.  

In the first year of the coronavirus epidemic, data usage amongst our customers shot up. And with an increase of another 15%, 2021 broke all records once again. In April, our customers also received a free speed upgrade of 40% on average. While use is rising rapidly and we are increasing the capacity and speed even further, our energy consumption remains constant. That is an outstanding achievement and something we will continue to focus on.      

5G: THE MOBILE GAME CHANGER 

In 2020, we led the way with the roll-out of the fifth generation of mobile internet: 5G. Vodafone now offers 5G in 88% of the Netherlands. One of the biggest improvements of 5G is the low latency, or rather: fewer delays in the network. As a result of this, even more people will soon be able to stream music and films and play games via mobile telephones even faster and more smoothly at the same time. Even at busy places, such as in stadiums or at festivals. 5G is also becoming a game changer for security, healthcare and farming. As with all other sectors, a fast response time from machines is vital. 

ROOM FOR THE FUTURE

We are also making space for GigaNet by cleaning up our networks and disabling old systems, beginning with analogue television. After 60 years of loyal service, we bid farewell to the old-fashioned cable television last year – switching fully to digital. And we also ushered radio into the digital era; 80 per cent has already switched to Digital Audio Broadcasting, or DAB+, last year. This saves a lot of energy and also provides more capacity where it’s needed most. We are also continually replacing routers and servers with versions that are more modern and more energy-efficient. And we are placing more energy-efficient radio transmitters on our masts. Finally, we are also saying farewell to two business networks: Neon and Metro. After five years of effort, we successfully managed to migrate all our customers to Carrier Ethernet: a new and more energy-efficient network. 

FUTURE-PROOF

The pandemic demonstrated how important stable networks are. Our fixed and mobile networks have had an enormous social impact recently, because thanks to our network, millions of people are able to work from home and they don’t need to travel so much. This is keeping our society and economy going, but is also setting a change in behaviour in motion, with major consequences. The pandemic will soon be over hopefully, but this shift is permanent. It is partly for this new reality that we are offering an ever-improving, faster and more sustainable network.