Launching local information sessions

Almost all large business parks are connected with optical fiber installed by Proximus. Several hundred companies are already directly connected to this information highway.

"Optical fiber is like a highway without the inconvenience of traffic jams. Companies connected to fiber gain in productivity thanks to the possibilities offered by very high-speed connections", said Renaud Tilmans, Chief Customer Operations Officer of the Belgacom Group.

Yet not enough companies are aware of the possibilities of optical fiber, and many have a distorted idea of the price. For this reason, Proximus is launching an information campaign targeted at companies. This campaign is stopping at Namur before travelling on to the other Walloon provinces.

Without question, fast broadband Internet is the future.  Every year, the amount of data sent increases exponentially. This is partly because more devices are linked to the Internet, but also because people are putting more data on the Internet.  Optical fiber offers the ultimate broadband experience with ultra-fast download and upload speeds and unrivalled responsiveness for data exchanges.  These are essential qualities required by the latest applications, such as those in the cloud.
Over the past 10 years, Belgacom has invested more than EUR 7 billion in its high-performance fixed and mobile networks, and will invest EUR 900 million annually in the years to come. Proximus already brought optical fiber to the street with its VDSL2 technology, which is accessible to 90% of the population, thereby earning Belgium a place among the European top three, after Switzerland and Luxembourg. Thanks to vectoring technology, customers connected to the VDSL network can enjoy Internet speeds that will soon reach 70 Mbps. 
Proximus is now also stepping up the direct connection of companies to optical fiber in business parks. In parallel, for the mobile part, Proximus aims to provide all business parks in the province of Namur with 4G coverage by the end of 2015.They already have 3G coverage. 

Optical fiber in business parks

In addition to guaranteed download and upload speeds of 1 Gbps and over, optical fiber for companies offers enormous possibilities for upgrades in terms of speed and capacity. Companies can also take advantage of numerous options: guarantees on end-to-end availability of their network connection, back-up solutions via the mobile network, and security options (cyber security).

Optical fiber unavoidable for economic development

Renaud Degueldre, General Manager of the agency for sustainable economic development in the province of Namur (the BEP), made the reminder that:

"It is necessary to have high-performance data networks while offering a local service to businesses."

In collaboration with the BEP, Proximus will inform Namur companies about the presence and advantages of the optical fiber network.

Euro Center group - Eggo 

Among those already won over by optical fiber is Frédéric Taminiaux, General Manager of the Belgian Euro Center group - Eggo, whose head office is in Bois-de-Villers. This company is among the 75 Namur businesses that have made the switch. Frédéric Taminiaux:

"With more than 70 integrated sales outlets, connectivity has become a major issue in our company. We need a fast and reliable connection that is available not only to all our employees but also to our customers (eshop, CRM, etc.). All applications and data are hosted and protected in a single data center in Machelen, permanently linked to all our sales outlets."
Low connection cost

To make optical fiber accessible to companies in Namur, Proximus created zones in which companies can hook up to the optical fiber network for a lump-sum charge. The telecom operator bears part of the connection costs itself. Renaud Tilmans:

"Namur province has 26 business parks out of 34 (i.e. 76%) in which it is possible to connect to fiber for this lump-sum charge. A company that switches over to optical fiber can connect for 1,000 euro (for a five-year contract; 2,000 euro for a three-year contract).  This amount is far lower than the actual connection cost.  In this way, we want to make optical fiber accessible to all companies."

In addition to this charge, customers of course have to pay a monthly subscription fee.

In collaboration with the BEP, Proximus will start its local information sessions in the business parks of Ciney, Gembloux and Rochefort. These sessions will be extended to include all other business parks of the province.  The aim is to show the business community the advantages of optical fiber. The information campaign will also target other provinces before the end of the year and will be accessible to all other business park associations on request.

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