Proximus

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File:Proximus Logo.jpg
Proximus Logo

Proximus, also known as Belgacom Mobile, was the name of the largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications companies and is now used as the parent company name (Proximus Group, previously Belgacom Group). It competes with Mobistar, owned by Orange S.A., and BASE, a subsidiary of Medialaan. Proximus has a Euronext listing (EuronextPROX).

History

Proximus was founded in 1994 as a joint venture between Belgacom, 75%, and AirTouch, 25%, respectively. AirTouch was later merged with Vodafone. In 2006, Belgacom bought the remaining Vodafone shares.

Starting January 1994, Proximus took over the operatorship of the old MOB2 analogue network, as well as the new second generation GSM network, originally only in the GSM 900 range. The obsolete MOB2 network was retired in 1999. When necessary, Proximus can also use GSM 1800 to complement its network.

It was originally a de facto monopoly, but after deregulation Mobistar, a second GSM 900 operator soon joined the game in 1998, followed by BASE, then known as KPN-Orange in 1999.

Proximus has just a little over 45% of the market now considered as saturated.

Company

Proximus mobile was a subsidiary of Belgacom, which had an IPO in 2004 but remains more than 50% state owned. A 25% share was owned by the Vodafone Group until 2006, when Vodafone agreed to sell its stake to Belgacom. In 2004, it had a revenue of € 2,239 million and an EBITDA of € 1,135 million. As of January 2015, Belgacom continued partnership with Vodafone, even after sold to Belgacom. Proximus mobile is now fully integrated in the Proximus Group and is no longer a subsidiary.

Technical information

The operator's display logo is PROXIMUS (sometimes displayed as BEL PROXIMUS or Proximus), the net code is 206 01 and operates under GSM 900/1800MHz, UMTS 900/2100MHz and LTE 1800MHz frequencies. Its prepaid service is called Pay&Go.

Mobile virtual network operator

The Proximus network is used by a number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators: TMF Mobile (MTV Networks Benelux), Mobisud (Scarlet), RSCA Mobile, PostMobile (bpost).

External links