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The Netherlands does well when it comes to the fastest internet in Europe. Our country currently ranks sixth in the top 10 of European countries with the fastest internet. This means that you as an end user can enjoy relatively fast internet. Where for years 1 Gbit speed was the maximum achievable speed, the providers have now taken new steps. Thanks to the use of new technologies, you as a user can take out subscriptions with a maximum speed of 8 Gbps. The condition is that your fiber optic connection can handle this. There are several ways to find the fastest internet subscription for your home.
Find the fastest internet connection
It is not yet possible to use the fastest internet at home everywhere in the Netherlands. The maximum internet speed you can achieve in your home mainly depends on the connection you have at home. DSL connections or cable internet are still widely used, especially in older homes. This also means that you are bound by limits. Fiber optic is now also available in most homes, but this connection can also be a spoilsport in terms of speed.
Types of connections
There are different types of internet connections in the Netherlands. Providers such as KPN and Odido are working hard to roll out fiber optic internet throughout the Netherlands. Other households have had fiber optic in their homes for a long time. But there are also households that do not yet have fiber optic at all. This usually concerns rural areas, smaller neighborhoods and villages far away from the city.
In principle, there are three types of connections in the Netherlands, which are of great importance for the maximum speed that you can achieve. These three connections are cable internet, DSL connection and fiber optic. The DSL connection is by far the cheapest subscription, but also the most limited subscription. DSL connections are old-fashioned and are being phased out wherever fiber optic is connected. Homes that do not yet have a fiber optic connection must rely on the DSL connection or cable internet.
With a DSL connection you get a maximum speed of 100 Mbps, depending on how far your home is from the local exchange. The following applies here: the greater the distance to the local exchange, the greater the loss on the connection. As a result, there is a good chance that you can achieve a download speed of only 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 5 Mbps, for example. That is certainly not the fastest internet in the Netherlands. You are better off with a cable connection. This allows you to achieve download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps per second. But at 60 Mbps the upload speed lags behind. In addition, Ziggo has the exclusive right to the cable connection, which means that the prices are considerably higher.
Fastest internet providers in the Netherlands
In the search for the fastest internet providers in the Netherlands, you mainly have to rely on providers that offer fiber optic. That is by far the fastest and most stable internet connection possible. Depending on your fiber optic connection, you can benefit from a maximum speed of up to 8 Gbps. With fiber optic, that speed is approximately symmetrical. This means that your upload speed is approximately as fast as your download speed, with a small deviation.
Odido is currently the provider with the fastest speeds. For under a hundred euros you can enjoy a connection with a speed of up to 8 Gbps. This does mean that you need a newer fiber optic connection for this. If your connection is GPON or XGS-PON, you are eligible for this higher speed. If you have a fiber optic connection that was installed years ago, there is a chance that it is an AON connection. Such a connection has a maximum achievable speed of 1 Gbps.
With a more recent connection, you can not only choose Odido’s fastest internet subscription, but also subscriptions with lower speeds. Consider, for example, Delta, which offers a maximum of 5 Gbps for less than 70 euros. Delta is not available in every area, so it is important to check your zip code. You can take out a KPN subscription in almost all areas with fiber optic. The subscription has a maximum speed of 4 Gbps. Whether you can achieve this speed depends on your fiber optic line. In the worst case, the maximum speed is 1 Gbps. Such a speed is still more than sufficient for most households.
If you want to know exactly what speed is possible in your area, it is a good idea to check your zip code via ProviderCheck. This allows you to see exactly which connection you have and what speeds are possible. For example, KPN installed new fiber optic cables in many areas, while in other areas you only have a DSL connection available.
Cheap or would you prefer the fastest package?
The packages with the higher speeds are generally not the cheapest. Logically of course! The question, however, is whether you need speeds of up to 8 Gbps, 5 Gbps or 4 Gbps. These speeds are only intended for users who demand a lot from their internet subscription. In most cases you can also opt for a subscription with a lower speed of up to 1 Gbps. For the vast majority of households, that speed is more than enough. Moreover, the prices of higher speeds will also fall again in the future due to technical innovation. It is therefore a good idea to make a trade-off between the costs of the subscription and the speeds you can achieve with it.