Utilities

Electricity

There are several energy-companies which you can buy your electricity from.
Try Essent, NUON, Eneco, or Oxxio, to name a few.

Water

The Netherlands is divided in several areas, each has its own water distribution company. To find out which company can provide you with water, click here.
(This will lead you to a website where you can find out which water company can provide you with water simply by filling in the four numbers of you postal code.)

Telephone

Mobile telephone
One way of arranging your telephone number, is by getting a mobile telephone.
You can either get a pre-paid card or a subscription to a provider. Some Dutch providers are: Vodafone, Debitel, T-Mobile, Hi, Telfort and KPN.

Tip: Don't be put off by the fact that few of these companies have English sites. You can still see the types of deals they have to offer, and if you contact them (click on klantenservice; it means customer service and you are sure to get contact information there), or go directly into a store, they will surely be glad to help you in English. We advise you to go to several mobile telephone shops to get a good idea of what is the best buy for you.

Home telephone
Nowadays there are many options for home telephone lines. You can choose to get an analogue line (the old fashioned way), a cable provider might provide you with a telephone option, and an internetprovider might also have a telephone line option in its package. Here more information is given on how to get an analogue line. For more information on the other options we advise you to contact the providers.

Analogue - To arrange a telephone line at home (also known as 'land line'), contact the KPN. (This link includes how to reach them for help in English.) They can hook you up to the network and provide you with your subscription. Once you have your KPN-line, it might be worthwhile to check out certain phone companies, which operate on the same KPN-line, but offer you different, better rates than KPN itself. Especially for international phonecalls this might save you a lot of money. A few examples of these companies are: Tele2, Scarlet, and Budget.

Skype - Free phoning via internet-
If you have internet service on your PC, you can talk for free to anyone who also has access to internet by using a program called Skype. All you need is a microphone, which you can buy cheaply at any electronics store (or, if you don't have one, a pair of earphones plugged into the microphone hole will also work as a microphone.) Tip: you and the person you are talking to may want to use headphones as well to hear so that you don't hear yourselves when your voice comes through the other person's computer a moment later. Skype also has a service where you can call from your computer to a regular phone for good prices. (Don't let this service confuse you though when you go to the website. Regular computer-to- computer skype is totally free.) Download the program at http://www.skype.com.

TV and Radio

- You can get television and radio through the airwaves - just an antenna will do -however you are limited to the public tv-channels: Nederland 1, Nederland 2, Nederland 3.
- You can also get television and radio over the cable. Contact your local cable-provider to find out what is possible for you.
Some providers are: UPC, Ziggo and CAI
- Furthermore you can get digital television. You receive your television signal through a box, no cable required. Ask cable service providers about availability of this service.

Internet

Internet over the telephone line - if you have a KPN-line you can use an analog modem which connects you to the internet via this telephoneline. There are several options possible, for example the original analog modem, an ISDN-package (two lines) and an ADSL-connection.

Internet via the cable - your local cable-provider is likely to offer you internet via the cable. For more information contact your local cable provider.

Digital internet (wireless) - this application is recently introduced and quickly gaining market. You must be sure your computer is set up for wireless connections. Beyond that, you only need ask your chosen internet service provider what to do.

Some internet sites where you might find information:
http://www.adsl.nl/ - here you can fill in your postal code and find out which providers offer you adsl.
http://www.breedbandshop.nl - here you can fill in your postal code and find out which broadband providers operate in your area.
http://kabel-internet.startpagina.nl/ - a website filled with information about cabel internet.