(Telecompaper) MVNOs and virtual brands (co-)owned by operators accounted for 41.6 percent of mobile customers on the Dutch market at the end of Q1, according to Telecompaper's Dutch Mobile Virtual Operators Market report. The number of virtual-enabled customers increased by 2.5 percent over the previous six months to a total 8.4 million. Of the total, 56.4 percent or just under 4.8 million were operator-owned virtual (co-)brands. The independent MVNOs counted nearly 3.7 million SIMs, or 18.1 percent of the total Dutch mobile market, versus 17.3 percent in Q3 2013. The number of active mobile virtual operators in the Netherlands increased from 64 to 70 during the first quarter. There were seven new entrants, three players exited the market, and one additional brand was added to the report. The only segments of the VO market showing customer growth were the fixed players (mainly due to growth at Tele2 and Ziggo Mobiel) and the no-frills segment (mainly due to growth at Vodafone's hollandsnieuwe). The market is dominated by eleven virtual brands, which remain almost unchanged compared to six months ago. The main change was Tele2 moved up to fourth place in terms of number of customers. The KPN brands Telfort and Hi still lead the total VO market, although Hi continued to show a decline in customers. Lebara, Lycamobile and Tele2 remain the leaders of the independent MVNO brands.