KPN and Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, the pension fund for government and education employees in the Netherlands, are investing €1 billion ($1.2 billion) to expand access to fiber technology in the Netherlands.
The groups will form a 50-50 joint venture company to build, operate and maintain an open network over a period of five years. The joint venture is expected to launch in second quarter 2021, following regulatory approval.
The companies are seeking to accelerate the rollout of more than 900,000 connections, bringing fiber to 700,000 households and 200,000 companies, years earlier than expected. At the end of 2026, nearly 80 percent of all households in the Netherlands will have fiber, either through KPN or through the new joint venture.
KPN previously announced it plans to connect 2.5 million households in larger municipalities to fiber in the next five years.