Network reaches over 4,000km in 97 municipalities
Belgian textile wholesaler Fiberklaar has appointed Jo Van Gorp as its new CEO, replacing Rik Missault. The operator, a joint venture between Belgian full-service operator Proximus and Sweden’s EQT Infrastructure, has recently installed 4,000km of fiber since network rollout began in March 2021. Fiberklaar plans to invest more than 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to build an open-access fiber optic network that will connect at least 1.5 million homes and businesses in Flanders by the end of 2028.
Van Gorp has held executive positions at several service providers, including Telenet, where he served as vice president of housing markets, and served as an advisor in the founding of Fiberklaar. He also worked at his MFS Communications, and the Belgian also served as CEO of Level 3 Communications. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Zenitel, a global specialist in critical communications systems, and served as the company’s Chairman until 2021.
“We are proud to work with a great team in the further rollout of fiber in Flanders. Fiber forms the backbone of further digital acceleration, on which we must focus all our efforts,” he said. . “As of the end of 2023, we are active in 97 cities and municipalities in Flanders and have installed more than 4,000 km of optical fiber. [network]. In the coming years, together with over 110 enthusiastic “FiberClifiers” and his 8 construction partners, we look forward to bringing fiber into even more homes in Flanders. ”
“With Joe, we have selected someone who helped lay the foundation for Fiberklaar and has experience in further expanding carriers,” said Ronny Verhelst, Fiberklaar Chairman. “We would like to thank him for his work over the past three years, which has enabled us to grow Fiberklaar from a start-up power company to a well-known fiber optic company in Flanders.”
Fiberklaar has contracts with multiple ISPs to sell retail services, including Proximus, edpnet, Mobile Viokings, and Scarlet. The operator also offers his WANConnect for retailers targeting the business market. Van Gorp said that in 2024, the company will focus on working closely with construction partners and local governments.
“Fiberklaar continuously strives to improve its operations. In the process, we discover new opportunities that contribute to even more efficient and qualitative deployments,” he said. “We are confident that we can continue to structurally improve the customer experience in this way.”
broadband is still expensive
Despite the variety of fiber builds in Belgium, Belgian high-speed bundles remain expensive. In December, regulator BIPT released a comparative pricing study showing that fixed internet and bundle prices had become “significantly more expensive as user demands increased”, a similar result to the previous year.
Belgium remains significantly more expensive across all consumer profiles than France and the UK, which are by far the least expensive countries surveyed. Belgium remains affordable for limited triple play needs (30 of her TV channels, 50 Mbps download speed, landline) thanks to Scarlet’s offer.
For stand-alone internet or internet bundled with mobile, Belgium is still on par with Luxembourg and Germany, but as more needs are being met, prices are increasingly higher than in the same country. Overall, prices for fixed internet and bundled products have generally increased over the past year in Belgium and its neighboring countries. Regulators say that although fixed-line competition is softening, the potential launch of a fourth mobile operator, DIGI, with fixed internet bundles could lead to a revival of competitive dynamics in the fixed-line market. I am guessing that there is.