October 19, 2020
13:52
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Petra De Sutter (Groen), as Minister of Public Enterprises, is also responsible for the post and telecom sector, including the roll-out of the fast 5G network. And she can move quickly with that 5G file, because there is a political agreement on it.
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At Groen, not everyone was happy with the light ministerial portfolio that President Meyrem Almaci had pulled out for Petra De Sutter. She is deputy prime minister, but as minister was only authorized for public companies. Moreover, it remained uncertain for a long time whether telecom and post were included. That has since been clarified. De Sutter will also be responsible for the two listed public companies: Proximus and De Post.
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In addition, it has also been established that it is also responsible for the introduction of 5G, the network for the fast, mobile Internet of the future. The coalition agreement states that in the short term ‘support will be created among all stakeholders for the introduction of 5G and the roll-out of fiber optics. This takes into account the scientific information (including health aspects), as well as the safety aspects, the impact on energy consumption and the powers of the federal states. ‘
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Blocked
The rollout of a 5G network is also a priority in the Flemish coalition agreement, but there was no progress. There was no agreement on the division of the proceeds of an auction between the federal government and the states. And should the auction aim for the arrival of a fourth telecom player? For a long time that was the dada of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD), when he was responsible for the telecom sector in the Michel government.
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Nevertheless, De Sutter can move quickly, because at the end of the previous legislature an agreement was reached between the cabinets of the federal government and the states to place the proceeds of the auction in an escrow account, pending an agreement on the distribution. of the cents. The arrival of a fourth player remains an option, although it is uncertain whether there are still interested players.
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If De Sutter submits the agreement to the federal government, and it does not change the gun, the file can quickly be sent to the Consultation Committee for a final ‘go’, it says. There is still a legal regulation for the security aspect, but in the previous legislature it was already made clear that the technology of the Chinese player Huawei will be banned. Proximus and Orange have already decided to work with Nokia / Ericsson. Telenet has yet to make its choice.
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It is remarkable that the 5G file ends up with a green deputy prime minister. In Brussels, the greens with strict radiation standards are on the barricades, making the rollout of 5G there seem like an impossible task.
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It is remarkable that the file now ends up with a green deputy prime minister. An important stumbling block is that the greens in Brussels are on the brakes with strict radiation standards, which makes the roll-out of 5G there seem like an impossible task. The question is whether De Sutter can force a breakthrough, which amounts to breaking the resistance of the Greens in Brussels.
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In the meantime, the telecom operators are already working on sub-projects, such as in the port of Antwerp. After Orange Belgium, Proximus also plans to develop a 5G network for industrial applications. This was given the name De Digitale Schelde.
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Social fraud
The De Croo government has also decided that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) is responsible for coordinating the fight against fraud. In this way the government will get a minister who is responsible for the fight against social fraud. At first, Van Peteghem was only competent for tax fraud.
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