KPN

Type:	Publicly Held
Industry:	ICT
Founded:	1989
Headquarters:	Maanplein 55 2516 CK The Hague
Country:	Netherlands
Employees:	31,084 (as of 2011)
Revenue:	€13.2 billion (2011)
Website:	www.kpn.com
Key People
Eelco Blok, CEO

KPN is the largest Dutch telecommunications and Information Technology (IT) service provider. The company provides broadband internet, TV, wireless and wireline telephony services for residential and business consumers. The company also offers global infrastructure and IT solutions through its KPN Corporate Market, previously known as Getronics. In 2011, KPN had 44.5 million customers and reported €13.2 in revenues. Eelco Blok is the current CEO of the company and its headquarters is located in the Hague.

.KPN TLD Proposal

In April, 2012, KPN confirmed its application for the .kpn gTLD with the ICANN. The company hired OpenRegistry to provide the back-end registry solutions for the gTLD through its technical arm Sensirius.

Dispute Over KPN.Info Domain Name

In 2008, KPN filed a dispute against the registrant of the KPN.info domain with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). KPN alleged that the KPN.info domain was confusingly similar to its registered domain names, that the registrant had no legitimate rights or interest in the domain name, and that it was registered in bad faith. The WIPO ruled in favor of the respondent and denied the request of the KPN to transfer the rights to the domain name. The WIPO panelist cited that although KPN has registered KPN trademarks, it does not have the exclusive right to prevent other parties from using the three-letters KPN, the respondent proved that it has no knowledge about the complainants trademark when the domain name was registered in Greece since KPN has no business operations in the country. The respondent also proved that he has a legitimate business.

In 2010, KPN bought KPN.info for $15,000 EUR from Sedo.com.

History

The company was formerly known as Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie or PTT, then it became Koninklijke PTT Nederland until it was officially named KPN. The company's beginnings can be traced back to 1852 when the Dutch government constructed telegraph lines and established the State Telegraph Service under the Ministry of Home Affairs to promote trade and industry and to be utilized for public administration. However, the telegraph network was commercially unsuccessful due to high operational costs. In 1870, the State Telegraph Service became part of the Ministry of Finance. In 1886, the government merged its post and telegraph services under a new Post Office.

In 1893, the Post and Telegraph Corporation (PTT) was founded and its management tried to gain independence from the government. However, its operation was still closely monitored by the government. In 1915, the Post and Telegraph Corporation became state-owned. During World War 1, the government failed to deliver quality service, which resulted in complaints and calls for change. The government introduce measures to improve its operations, including service cuts. In 1928, the corporation's name was changed to Netherlands Postal and Telecommunications Services (PTT).

In 1941, PTT became independent from government control when the German occupying forces provided the company with corporate rights, however, it was a false freedom since the German forces still controlled the extent of its operations. After World War II, the Dutch government regained its control of the corporation and provided investments to ensure successful operations and help improve Dutch business. The Netherlands was the second country in Europe to operate a fully automated telephone network.

In 1970, the company was obliged to provide annual contributions to the government's Treasury. In order to comply with its obligation and create investments, PTT was forced to enforce cut backs and increase service fees, which was highly criticized by the parliament. With the advent of the advancement in telecommunications and information technology, and when a majority of Western governments decided to privatize their state-owned companies, the Dutch government decided to privatize PTT.

On January 1, 1989, PTT was incorporated as Royal KPN Nederland NV (KPN). Under the 1989 legislation, the Netherlands government was allowed to sell 49% of its share from the company. In 1993, the government announced its plan to sell 51 to 70% of its share between 1994 to 1998. In 1994, the government sold 30% of its share and in 1995 sold another 25% reducing its interest in the company to 45%. In 2006, the State of Netherlands sold its 7.8% remaining shares in the company.

The company entered the Amsterdam Stock Market in 1994, the New York Stock Exchange in 1995, and the London Stock and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges in 1996. In 2008, KPN decided to stop trading from the New York, London and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges due to low trading volumes.

In 2011, KPN CEO Eelco Blok implemented a new strategy to improve the company's growth and position in the global market and to concentrate on increasing sales and profits.

Brands

KPN's maintains 10 primary brands to deliver its services to consumers. Its brands include:

• Hi- Mobile brand intended for young people
• Telfort- Simple and low priced services (internet shops and specialist telecom stores)
• XS4ALL- Internet services in Netherlands
• Simyo- Provides lost cost mobile calls without subscription (Sim cards)
• E-Plus- Subsidiary mobile network operator in Germany
• BASE- Subsidiary mobile network operator in Belgium
• Getronics- KPN Corporate Market providing global IT solutions and infrastructure
• iBasis- provides international VoIP solutions