The country needs it to work given Belgium’s fibre penetration remains among the lowest in Europe, with only 30% of households connected

Belgium’s long-delayed transition to full-fibre broadband has taken a significant step forward after the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) launched a public consultation into commitments offered by Proximus and Telenet to ease regulatory concerns over their proposed fibre network cooperation in Flanders.

The deal between Proximus, through its subsidiary Fiberklaar, and Telenet, via its network joint venture Wyre, aims to extend fibre coverage to around two million homes and businesses across medium-density areas of Flanders by 2036, while allowing Proximus to migrate customers in rural regions onto Wyre’s upgraded hybrid fibre coax (HFC) network. The two operators argue the arrangement will accelerate deployment, reduce civil works and deliver gigabit speeds to most of Flanders.

The BCA opened an investigation into the agreement in July 2024 amid concerns that the collaboration could weaken infrastructure competition in areas where both players were previously building independently. The regulator’s scrutiny focused on potential price effects in the wholesale market, where Proximus and Telenet already dominate fixed broadband, holding a combined market share of roughly 90% in Flanders.

Commitments made

To address these concerns, the operators have proposed a package of commitments developed in consultation with the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT). These include offering long-term access to their networks on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms and cutting access tariffs by around 30% in the cooperation zones. Wholesale line rental will be capped at €20 per active connection per month, indexed annually at 1.9%.

BCA Prosecutor General Damien Gérard said the proposed measures could generate more than €2.5 billion in direct benefits, including faster deployment and lower costs for alternative operators. “The commitments are capable of ensuring a fair sharing of the savings and other benefits arising from the proposed cooperation,” Gérard said, adding that the BIPT would oversee compliance if the deal is approved.

The regulator has now launched a public consultation, open until 21 November 2025, to gather views from market participants before deciding whether to make the commitments binding. The consultation marks a key procedural milestone and suggests growing confidence among Belgian authorities that the long-awaited cooperation could proceed.

Belgium’s fibre penetration remains among the lowest in Europe, with only around 30% of households connected compared to an EU average of about 70%. Federal digitalisation minister Vanessa Matz (Les Engagés) was quoted in Data News as welcoming the agreements to accelerate Belgium’s fibre rollout. “Belgium must step up its efforts to close this gap, especially in rural areas,” she said.

A similar partnership between Proximus and Orange Belgium to deploy fibre in Wallonia is also under investigation by the BCA.