Proximus Fiber Optic Network Rollout Update: What You Need to Know about “Fiber in the Street” Indicator

The rollout of fiber optic at Proximus was somewhat delayed last year. The company aimed for a coverage ratio of more than 31 percent for the new network by the end of 2023, but ended up with “almost 30 percent”. In the press release about the annual results, the company suddenly puts forward another indicator: “fiber in the street”.

Until recently, Proximus indicated in its quarterly financial reporting what percentage of the population is connected to fiber optic. In the fourth quarter report, the company suddenly talks about “fiber in the street”. That indicator stands at 34 percent, a significant difference from the population coverage of 26 percent that the company reported in the third quarter.

Asked for an explanation, CEO Guillaume Boutin said on Friday that Proximus reports the two figures. That’s right: on page thirteen of the extensive report it states that the “footprint is almost 30 percent”. This is not in line with the objective that the company previously set. In 2022, Proximus announced that it wanted to achieve 10 percentage points more coverage annually. At the end of 2022 the counter stood at more than 21 percent, so at least 31 percent could be expected at the end of 2023.

Causes

The difference is not very big. This is a huge operation, sometimes requiring major street works. With the “fiber in the street” indicator, Proximus wants to indicate that there is a lot of low-hanging fruit: the cables are already there, but limited technical interventions or permits are still needed to actually make the homes connectable. In absolute figures, 1.75 million homes and businesses can be connected to the fiber network, plus 300,000 residential units with “fiber in the street” through the joint ventures Fiberklare and Unifiber.

Marketing may also play a role. Proximus and Telenet like to show off the quality of their network. In recent years, Proximus has focused very much on its “superior” fiber optic network and the rapid pace at which it is being rolled out, in contrast to Telenet, which has only just started bringing fiber optic to homes. Telenet tries to convince customers that fiber is often not necessary. Orange, which leases Telenet’s network in Flanders, got into trouble with Proximus because it uses “fiber” in product names.

What about sparsely populated areas?

In the meantime, there is no clarity yet about how the fast fiber optic network will be installed in the more remote areas of Belgium. The telecom regulator BIPT opened the door for cost-saving cooperation between competitors. Boutin confirmed on Friday that the operators are still negotiating with each other, hoping to submit a proposal to the regulator in May.

Two years ago, Proximus communicated about a declaration of intent with a consortium of financial partners, including the Belgian Infrastructure Fund. Together they would connect 1.7 million homes and businesses in sparsely populated areas to the fiber network. However, a final agreement did not yet follow. The deal ended up on hold because there seemed to be an opportunity to collaborate with other operators.

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2024-02-23 15:15:00
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