Dominique Leroy, CEO of Proximus and Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Belgium, have signed a term sheet to reach a mobile access network sharing agreement by the end of the year.
The aim of the agreement is to enable both companies to meet the increasing customer demand for mobile network quality and deeper indoor coverage. It will also allow a faster and more comprehensive 5G rollout in Belgium.
Subject to the final agreement, the shared mobile access network will be planned, built and operated by a new 50/50 owned joint venture, in line with common practices in several other EU markets.
Proximus and Orange Belgium will continue to commercialise their products and services independently and compete at retail, enterprise and wholesale levels.
Commenting on the agreement, Dominique Leroy said: “The signing of the term sheet is an important step in reaching a final mobile access network sharing agreement between Proximus and Orange Belgium. It will allow us to embark on a faster and broader 5G roll-out while improving mobile network capacity and coverage to the benefit of our customers and while keeping a strong and differentiated customer experience. It will help us to realize operational cost efficiencies that will enable us to sustain future networks roll-out and fuel digital investments.”
Michaël Trabbia added: “Mobile access network sharing is a trend in Europe which benefits consumers, as it enables more efficient investments to cope with the increasing data consumption. The timing of this mobile access network sharing agreement is important as it will allow us to accelerate 5G roll-out, while bringing significant environmental benefits by reducing the combined energy consumption by 20%.”
