Internet access costs more in the Netherlands compared to other Europeans

Internet access in the Netherlands is expensive compared to other European countries and it is getting even more expensive, the Consumentenbond said. The organization has analyzed the prices of internet-only subscriptions across eight European countries together with Belgian company Test Aankoop.

Such a subscription was the most expensive in Belgium where customers paid €48 per month on average. The Netherlands also ranked high with an average cost of €41 per month.

"KPN and Ziggo largely control the network, so they pretty much control the market. There is far too little competition. And that's bad for consumers," said Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers' Association.

The research found that XS4All and Solcon subscriptions were the most expensive. The two companies charged their users €47.65 and €46.75 per month respectively for an internet subscription with the speed of up to 100 Mbps. KPN was just below that at €45.40.

Budget's All-in-1 plan appeared to be the cheapest option with a monthly price of 29 euros, the researchers concluded. The Consumentenbond analyzed the costs of internet-only subscriptions from 20 different providers in the Netherlands. Discounts and one-off costs were also included in the research.

Among countries that were involved in the research, the internet was the cheapest in Spain. Residents of this country paid €25 for internet service every month on average. France was the second cheapest with a similar average cost.