- Proximus and Orange Belgium to roll out fibre to 800,000 homes via a new joint venture
- Industry watchers warn about market concentration and infrastructure duplication risks
What happened: New fibre joint venture targets Belgian expansion
Orange Belgium and Proximus have officially launched their fibre network joint venture, known as GOFiber, with plans to connect 800,000 homes and businesses across Wallonia and parts of Brussels. The move marks a substantial acceleration in Belgium’s fibre rollout, as both operators aim to reduce costs and avoid network duplication.
The two telecom firms had originally announced the partnership in 2021, but final regulatory clearance allowed them to proceed in full. Under the agreement, Proximus and Orange will co-invest in a shared fibre network that will be open to wholesale access. This comes amid rising fibre competition in the country, where alternative networks and incumbent operators such as Telenet already operate significant infrastructure.
In parallel, Orange Belgium recently completed its acquisition of VOO SA, a cable operator in Wallonia, raising eyebrows among some market observers who see potential for excessive market concentration. The deal was cleared under strict regulatory conditions by the European Commission.
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Why it’s important
While the joint venture promises efficiency gains and reduced rollout costs, analysts have cautioned that it could also limit future competition in Belgium’s broadband market. The joint control of fibre infrastructure by two of the country’s largest providers may reduce incentives for innovation or price competition, especially in regions where there are fewer wholesale options.
Moreover, this follows a wider European trend of operators forming alliances or selling off infrastructure to reduce debt and capital expenditure. However, regulators remain wary. The European Commission’s clearance of the Orange–VOO deal was conditional on the maintenance of fair access for competitors, a concern that may now extend to the GOFiber partnership.
With Belgium’s broadband penetration among the highest in Europe, the focus is now on quality and speed — but if wholesale access conditions aren’t properly enforced, smaller ISPs and consumers could bear the long-term cost.
