However, Digi – the famous low-cost “4th operator” supposed to arrive to slash prices and shake up the telecoms market in Belgium – had promised in May to arrive on the market “this summer”. But the installation of optical fiber and mobile antennas has visibly taken longer than expected.
It must be said that in Brussels, issues of urban planning and regulations have not helped. And neither have complaints from citizens regarding the installation of fibre.But I won’t comment on that.“, said Jeroen Degadt, the director of Digi Belgium, who wants to stay”constructive“.
“We had some problems in Brussels, changes in regulations. We are learning. But we can activate 10,000 fixed line customers in Brussels.“, he specifies.
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“We want to be a quality operator. So we are doing the final tests. We cannot give a fixed date but as soon as the tests are conclusive, we will be able to launch our offer.”he says. He therefore remains cautious, without giving up a single word on the future rates offered or the connection speed. As a reminder, Digi aims to offer a fixed internet connection (via fiber), mobile coverage and television (via decoder or via an application).
“We want to cover all the major cities in Belgium. And the network must work from end to end, from the data centers, to the underground cables and to the facade cables.“, he continues, while the first connected municipalities are Anderlecht (in particular the Cureghem district), Forest, Koekelberg and Jette.
“It remains to install the boxes and drill to access the houses. We have already done it in a few houses to test“, he specifies.
“The target is between 1.5 and 2 million connected homes in the next five years.“, he specifies, mentioning certain Walloon cities like Liège, Namur and Mons, but also Ghent in the north of the country, among others.
“We don’t deny the delay, but it’s an infrastructure project that will be there for 20 or 50 years at least, in the long term. It’s a start, it’s the birth of our brand. And the offers will be unprecedented.“, he is keen to clarify.
And on the mobile level?
Digi has signed a partnership with Proximus for its mobile launch, but also aims to install 4,500 antennas in the next five years. “We don’t need to install our own antennas for the moment and we will have quality national coverage. But we will indeed build our own network in the future. With the minimum coverage obligations of the regulator. We are aiming for 30% of the territory by the first quarter of 2025.”explains the leader.
In terms of the investments put on the table or the target profitability date – necessarily in the long term given the gigantic amounts to be put in place for this type of infrastructure – Jeroen Degadt is not giving anything away but is confident.
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What about construction sites?
The big problem with installing fiber is the reluctance of citizens, even if they want more competitive prices.
“That’s the problem with infrastructure. Citizens see this burden and only see the prices afterwards. That’s the game. But we have relatively few complaints. And we work legally on our construction sites.“, says the boss, in response to criticism on construction sites where technicians could be seen on ladders, whereas Proximus uses safer platforms.
Digi Belgium, a merger between the Romanian operator Digi and the Belgian Citymesh, is also launching a marketing campaign, with a partnership with Star Academy, The Masked Singer, Bpost and others to increase its visibility.. “500 people will have the chance to enjoy a free 15 GB DIGI Mobile pack for one year”Digi adds. And the residents of Cureghem, in Anderlecht, will also be able to apply to test the fixed internet connection alone and will see if, in January, they will be won over and interested by the rates which should be revealed by then.
In addition, Digi Belgium now has 200 employees and employs between 100 and 150 subcontracted technicians for fibre installations. The Digi group has 24 million users across Europe (in Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy).
More information during the day.
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