Proximus (formerly known as Belgacom Mobile) is the largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications companies and is a part of Proximus Group (previously Belgacom Group).
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 Analog signal 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 (now Orange Belgium), a second GSM 900 operator soon joined the game in 1998, followed by BASE then known as KPN-Orange UK in 1999.
In 2014 Belgacom included its Pay-TV business under the Proximus brand name which then would include its landline and mobile telephone services as well as all of its broadband services.
Proximus has remained a leader, having between 40-50% of the market share at the end of 2024 with Telenet (which includes BASE) and Orange Belgium trailing behind with 20-30% each.
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 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. In 2014, Belgacom was rebranded to Proximus, under the leadership of
Dominique Leroy. 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.
Proximus uses the brand name Tango in Luxembourg.
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 900/1800 MHz,
UMTS 900/2100 MHz and LTE 1800 MHz 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 such as TMF Mobile (MTV Networks Benelux), Mobisud, RSCA Mobile, Dommel and PostMobile (
bpost).
External links
