- 47% more mobile data used compared to last New Year's Eve
- 27% more data use on fixed network in New Year's Eve
- Less calls & SMS again
Customers on Vodafone's mobile network used 47% more mobile data between 10pm and 4am last night compared to New Year's Eve 2021/2022. En masse, we wished each other a happy 2023 via Whatsapp, Instagram or other mobile apps. The highest peak in Vodafone's mobile network usage during New Year's Eve was between 00.00 and 00.10 am.
There is a good explanation for the big differences in mobile data usage compared to last New Year's Eve: this year there was no lockdown. At the end of 2021, the Netherlands celebrated New Year's Eve from home due to corona measures. The Netherlands went out en masse again last night.
Decline in calls and SMS on the Vodafone network
During New Year's Eve, customers also made significantly fewer calls than the year before. The number of mobile calls fell by 17% compared to last year. Again, the removal of corona restrictions is probably the cause; judging by the figures, Dutch people spent New Year's Eve and night together again.
The decline in SMS continues: in total, the Netherlands sent 5% fewer text messages between 10pm and 4am compared to last year.
Peak on Ziggo fixed network
Customers used data via the Ziggo fixed network mainly immediately after midnight - for their New Year's greetings via Whatsapp or other social media. The peak consumption on this network was 27% higher than last year.
Top-3 mobile traffic in 2022
However, last night's spikes are not a record for 2022. The highest peaks in mobile data traffic last year were:
- The Netherlands - Qatar (2-0) football match during the World Cup on Tuesday 29 November. This match received massive mobile viewing because it was played during the evening rush hour on a working day
- The Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday 4 September: last year too, this match was in the Top-3 peaks in mobile data traffic.
- The F1 Italian Grand Prix on Sunday 11 September.
The Top-3 peaks of internet traffic on the fixed network consisted entirely of Formula 1 races in 2022. The Brazilian Grand Prix on 13 November caused an "all time high" of internet traffic; massively, the Netherlands watched this race online.
Mobile data traffic still growing
The amount of mobile data traffic is still growing. Around this turn of the year, the Netherlands consumed more than four times as much data as four years ago (turn of the year 2018-2019). Although corona-lockdowns always led to a temporary dip in mobile data usage, the trend remains up.
1 Gigabit throughout the Netherlands
In the past three years, we have gradually connected more than seven million households and companies in about 300 municipalities to Gigabit speeds. Our Engineers & Technicians replaced 3 million connectors, 1.7 million connection cables and 441,000 amplifiers in street cabinets nationwide.