Orange Belgium and Proximus sign a Memorandum of Understanding to expand fiber deployment and increase access to gigabit networks in Wallonia

Gigabit networks, including fiber, are crucial to stimulate innovation, strengthen our economy and allow citizens to keep up with the ever-evolving digitalization. Today, Europe is investing massively in cutting-edge network technology and both citizens and businesses located far from large urban centers should also be able to benefit from this development.

Orange Belgium and Proximus today signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering Wallonia, expressing their joint commitment to promote an efficient, inclusive and sustainable approach to digital development in the Region.

The intended collaboration will benefit nearly 1.4 million homes and businesses in medium-to low-population-density areas. In large cities and densely populated areas, Orange Belgium and Proximus will nevertheless continue to independently roll out their respective networks.

In medium-density areas, Proximus, through its joint venture Unifiber co-owned with Eurofiber, will continue to roll-out Fiber-to-the Home (FTTH) to 600,000 homes and businesses, and will gradually welcome Orange Belgium customers.

In less densely populated areas, Orange Belgium and Proximus will work together to make Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks accessible to some 200,000 homes and businesses. Volumes will be distributed evenly, favoring the most cost-efficient deployment methods. Proximus will gain access to Orange Belgium's fiber network, and Orange Belgium will gain access to Proximus' fiber networks.

Thanks to this collaboration, around 70% of homes in Wallonia will be covered by a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network.

In the most sparsely populated zones, Proximus will start offering services using the Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) network of Orange Belgium for approximately 600,000 homes, which will allow to offer gigabit speeds throughout Wallonia.

This complementary approach helps avoid the creation of additional construction sites. It also enables faster deployment, reduces disruption for residents, improves coordination of works with local authorities, and ensures better cost control. These are all key advantages to accelerating Wallonia’s digital transition.

The signing of the MoU is the result of constructive discussions over the past months following the BIPT’s and BCA’s announcements in October 2023 that they were willing to consider possible collaborations between operators.

The conditions for implementing this Memorandum of Understanding will first be discussed with the Belgian Competition Authority and the BIPT.

No further details will be communicated until the cooperation agreement is formally signed, which should take place at the earliest in the fourth quarter.

Xavier Pichon, Chief Executive Officer at Orange Belgium: “Leadership in network infrastructure is one of the main pillars of our « Lead the Future » strategy. Our own HFC network, complemented by agreements with Wyre, already provides 1Gbps access nationwide. We are very pleased to have signed this pre-agreement with Proximus, which will enable more Walloon homes and businesses to access gigabit networks, and ensure a disciplined, optimized and responsible deployment of FTTH network, thereby minimizing roadworks and customer disruption.”

Jan Van Acoleyen, CEO ad interim of the Proximus Group: “Collaboration between operators is a key enabler for speeding up and expanding digitalization in Belgium. It's a win-win situation for citizens, businesses and operators. The Memorandum of Understanding between Proximus and Orange Belgium for Wallonia is in line with the same envisaged cooperation dynamic by operators in Flanders. This approach allows us to optimize our investments, but above all to offer our customers more accessible and sustainable gigabit connectivity. We will continue the constructive negotiations between operators, always in close collaboration with the competition authorities, in order to achieve this ambition, which is beneficial for the whole country.”