Telecom company Delta is investing €2bn in a glass fibre network in a challenge to market leaders KPN and Ziggo.

Delta aims to double its subscriber base from some 900,000 to two million by 2025, which would give it 25% of the domestic market, the Financieele Dagblad reported.

A consortium of ABN Amro, ING and a number of international banks are backing the loan.

Delta’s focus has been on the more rural areas, where much of the internet still runs through copper phone connections but the company is now turning its attention to smaller villages and towns, the FD said.

Ziggo has some 3.5 million connections, KPN three million. Delta’s owner, Swedish investment house EQT, tried to take over KPN last year.