A fourth mobile operator is likely to be active on the Belgian mobile market soon. A new player on the market has already been able to purchase spectrum for the upcoming auction of the mobile frequencies.
In Belgium, another auction of the 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G frequencies will take place in June. In addition to the existing operators Telenet, Proximus and Orange Belgium, two new potential providers have also registered for this auction.
These last two new potential providers will be given the opportunity by the Belgian telecom regulator BIPT to purchase spectrum for this frequency auction. From a competitive perspective, this will prevent existing mobile operators from cutting off all available spectrum.
In the meantime, it turns out that one of the newcomers has cashed in on this option. According to the Belgian telecom regulator, the new mobile operator has purchased reserved spectrum in the 700 Mhz, the 900 MHz, the 1,800 Mhz and the 2,100 MHz frequencies. This is enough to provide 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G coverage and thus function fully as a mobile operator.
The new mobile operator has paid a total of almost 74 million euros for this. In addition to this reserved package, the telecom operator in question can later acquire even more spectrum for improving coverage.
It is not known who the new potential entrants to the Belgian mobile market are. Names circulating among experts include Citymesh from Cegeka and the Walloon provider NRB. NRB is a subsidiary of Ethias.
The existing three Belgian companies have also redeemed their reserved spectrum for the various mobile technologies. In any case, this allows the mobile operators to guarantee the continuity of their services. They also paid about 73 million euros each. They are expected to purchase additional spectrum in June.
The Belgian telecom regulator expects the complete auction of the mobile frequencies to bring in a total of around 800 million.
