Orange marches out of Netherlands

Market size != profitability

You claim "Five network operators for a population of less than 17 million is unsustainable". This statement is groundless.

Whether it is profitable to provide a nationwide mobile network in a country is not dependent upon the size of the population. The cost and conditions of the licence are much more important otherwise there wouldn't be more than network in Norway or Finland.

In fact the Netherlands is an extremely attractive place for a mobile network: very high population density and favourable geography and substantial income from roaming charges. Which is probably why there were so many licences issued in the first place and why it took such a long time for market consolidation: licences in the Netherlands cost nearly as much per head as in Germany and the UK. A network in the Netherlands makes more sense to a German operator such as T-Mobile than a French operator like Orange because of the higher degree of coherency and cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands especially now that roaming charges are regulated.

Sweeping statements and generalisations are only acceptable when applied to US Americans! ;-)

Remember 1690

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5 network operators unsustainable?

I don't see that 5 network operators in a population of 17 million is unsustainable- Ireland has 4 operators in a population of 4.5 million- of which 3 are the most profitable territory per head of any networks in the EU. Mind you- we held a beauty parade for 3G licences, we didn't just sell them off to the highest bidder as happened elsewhere- and we have mast sharing by law. We also have a number of MVOs poised to enter the market- which should hopefully help the poor beleaguered consumer.

At the end of the day- the market size is irrelevant. The amount of blood which can be drawn from customers before they go elsewhere is. In Ireland's case we don't really have an elsewhere to go to though :( Roll on more market regulation from the EU Commission!

S.

Gelukkig Nederlands??

What on earth may that mean?

`Nederlands' can only mean `(the language) Dutch', and I don't see how that language can get happy from mobile arrangements or recursively from its butchering.

I won't go into the use of `gelukkig' that grates a bit.

Re Gelukkig Nederlands??

'Gelukkig Nederlands' looks like it has been lifted straight from AltaVista.