Koninklijke KPN NV

03/23/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/23/2021 17:07

Connecting almost 1,000 villages sooner to fiber thanks to cooperation KPN and ABP

With an investment of more than 1 billion euros, pension fund ABP and KPN will make it possible to roll out fiber to almost a thousand villages and small residential centers years earlier. KPN previously announced it plans to connect 2.5 million households in larger municipalities to fiber in the next five years. The roll-out of fiber in other areas can be accelerated by working together with ABP. By end of 2026, almost 700,000 households in villages such as Ankeveen, Grou and Zuidoostbeemster will be connected to fiber, replacing the connection via copper. In addition, more than 200,000 addresses on approximately 1,400 business parks will have access to a fiber connection years earlier than planned. At the end of 2026, about 80% of all households in the Netherlands will have fiber either through KPN or through the cooperation announced today. Also after that, KPN will remain committed to providing the whole of the Netherlands with superfast internet.

Accelerating digitalization
 In the past year, it has become clear more than ever how important safe, reliable and fast internet is for the Netherlands. Never before have so many people worked from home. With this cooperation, fiber is being rolled out to places in the country where this is not yet self-evident. In doing so, the parties are accelerating the digitalization of the Netherlands. The construction capacity required for this roll out has been secured and generates more than a thousand additional jobs. For ABP pension fund participants, this investment yields an attractive return and therefore contributes to their pension.

Menno Snel, board member ABP: 'This collaboration gives our fund an attractive return and thus contributes to a good pension for our participants. ABP likes to invest in the Netherlands to stimulate economic growth, employment and sustainable projects here. Through this collaboration with KPN, and the roll out of more than 900,000 fiber connections, we are creating more than 1,000 jobs. In addition to a faster connection, fiber is also much more energy efficient than copper or cable. With this operation, we therefore not only strengthen the digital infrastructure, but also contribute to the energy transition in our country. In this way, this investment is important for our pension fund participants in several areas.'

Joost Farwerck, CEO of KPN: 'The demand for fiber among consumers and companies continues to grow. Everyone wants internet at high speed and able to handle ever larger amounts of data. Thanks to the cooperation with ABP, the residents in about a thousand villages will have access years earlier to internet with the speed of light, from Vlieland to Middelharnis. More than 200,000 connections to business parks will be added. These areas would otherwise have been in line for after 2025. On top of the 2.5 million connections we are doing ourselves, this is a huge operation. In this way, the whole of the Netherlands can reap the benefits of superfast, reliable and sustainable internet. Because the solution of major societal challenges such as mobility, sustainability and employment depends to a large extent on the investments we are making now in our digital infrastructure.'

Joint venture
For this cooperation, the parties will enter into a joint venture. This new company is 50% owned by KPN and the other 50% owned by APG, the pension provider of ABP. This company builds, operates and maintains an open network. Both KPN and other telecom service providers can use this open network to provide their services to customers. In the coming years, more than 1 billion euros will be invested through the company in this roll-out and further digitalization of the Netherlands. The joint venture is expected to launch in the second quarter, following regulatory approval.

Click here for more information and financial details about this collaboration.

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Note to editors

About ABP
Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP) is the industry pension fund for employers and employees of public and educational institutions in the Netherlands. ABP has 3 million participants and total net assets of €491 billion (28 February 2021).

About KPN
KPN has been the leading provider of telecommunications and IT services in the Netherlands for almost 140 years. Everyone in the Netherlands uses the KPN network on a daily basis, either directly or indirectly, from the high-speed fibre networks in the ground to payment card machines in shops, or the matrix boards above the motorways. Via the network of the Netherlands, in which KPN continuously invests by rolling out fibre and the introduction of new technologies such as the 5G mobile network, KPN serves consumers and business customers with services for telephony, data, television, internet-of-things, cloud, workplaces and security. KPN has an open network on which other providers also offer services. More information is available at www.kpn.com

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