Proximus Group

The Proximus Group (previously known as Belgacom Group) is a provider of digital services and communication on the Belgium and international markets. In Belgium, its main products and services are offered under the Proximus and Scarlet brands. The Group is also active in Luxembourg as Proximus Luxembourg SA, under the brand names Tango and Telindus Luxembourg, and in the Netherlands through Telindus Netherlands. The Gourp's iInternational carrier activities are carried out by BICS, one of the world's leading voice carriers and the largest provider of mobile data services worldwide. Proximus Accelerators, its ecosystem of IT partners (Be-Mobile, ClearMedia, Codit, Davinsi Labs, Proximus SpearIt, Telindus, Umbrio and Unbrace), support companies in their digital transformation.
History.
The start of telephony in Belgium.
In 1879, the Belgian telegraph service installed a telephone line at the Parliament. In the same year, several private contractors submitted requests to operate telephone networks in various Belgian cities. The lack of legislation during these first few years obstructed the telephone network's chances of developing and forced the Belgian government to develop a legislative framework to regulate telephony in Belgium. In 1896, the whole telephony sector was owned by a public company.
In 1913, a large part of Belgium was connected by telephone. Although the number of subscribers was still small, the majority of railway stations, post and telegraph offices had public telephone booths.
After World War I: transition to an autonomous public company.
World War I caused an abrupt suspension of telecommunications in Belgium due to the public company's financial situation. To reverse the damages caused during the war, including the dismantling of parts of the network, huge investments were required.
On 19 july 1930, the Regie van Telegraaf and Telefoon (RTT) (National Telegraph and Telephone Company) was established. The public company twas given greater autonomy: it could now pursue its own policy without depending on the state's annual budget.
Integration of the RTT in the state's industrial policy.
The state invested huge sums into the Belgian telephone network through the RTT, giving an evergrowing share of the population, from different social classes, access to telephony.
At the same time, another development was unfolding which quickly turned into a major expense for the company. During the economic crisis of the 1930s, the state used RTT in its industrial and employment policy by enforcing a complete automation of the telephone network to try and reduce the high level of unemployment in the sector.
This strongly restricted the autonomy of the RTT. The act of 1930 explicitly stated that the company could draw up and implement an investment plan independently, but the state went against the basic principle of this Act by imposing its employment policy. This quickly became a structural problem for the RTT after the war.
From high-tech company to crisis: the RTT after WWII.
The RTT faced considerable damage and the dismantling of part of its networks after WWII. To boost the sector, the State decided to intervene financially.
During the same period, the demand for telecommunication services exploded from approximately 350,000 subscribers in 1946 to 522,000 in 1951 and more than a million in 1965. This growth led to a very high rate of investment, putting RTT at the forefront of social and technological development in the late sixties.
There was also a downside to this expansion policy. From the late sixties, debts started to accumulate. And the global economic crisis in 1973 did not help matters. Furthermore the company was caught up in a corruption scandal: the RTT-scandal. The company's financial situation only worsened and, from the mid-seventies, the RTT was forced to cut costs.
During the eighties, it seemed that the telecommunications sector would be one of the key areas of development in the late 20th century. So in 1981, RTT launched a major reorganisation to solve certain structural problems within the company.
In 1987, another player entered the market: the European Commission with its Green Paper on a common market for telecommunication services and equipment in which the liberalisation of the market is key.
Nineties: the Belgacom Act and the evolution of the sector under Europe's influence.
The Green Paper of 1987 was the basis of the Belgian Act of 21 March 1991, which created a new type of public company with greater autonomy. The Belgian telecommunications sector was reorganised and Belgacom was created as an autonomous public company.
This Act aimed to create a favourable environment for the telecommunications market in Belgium. The company and the state entered into a management contract that guaranteed the provision of certain public services and gave the company more autonomy than it had from the Act of 1930.
From 1994, the European convergence process began to accelerate. In a new Green Paper, the European Commission declared that network and telephony operation must also be open to competition. On 1 july 1994, Belgacom founded Proximus, Belgium's first mobile network, by transferring its mobile network and the old analogue Mob2 system to its a subsidiary Belgacom Mobile. 75% of the shareholding was owned by Belgacom and the remaining 25% by Air Touch (Vodafone from 1999).
At the same time, Belgacom prepared for competition by joining forces with Ameritech and Singapore Telecom. Various Belgian financial institutions immediately responded and joined the consortium, called ADSB. The Belgian State held 50.1% of the shares to remain the majority shareholder.
The BeST plan, which was mainly aimed at reorganising the company and splitting it into four "business units," was implemented in 2001. Belgacom also disposed of several activities including Belgacom France, Ben, its security activities, as well as the French activities of Infosources. The consequences the BeST plan for employees become apparent 2002. Belgacom had too many employees at the time, so the plan asked the majority of employees to either stop working, work part-time work or retrain.
In an increasingly open market, with ever-aggressive competition, Belgacom decided to radically change its image in 2003 with a new logo, new colours, and the clear desire to be closer to its customers. These radical changes in the company's philosophy were the precursor of the operator's initial public offering. On 22 March 2004, Belgacom was listed for the first time on the Euronext stock market. The Belgian State remained the majority shareholder with 50% + 1 of all shares, while ADSB consortium sold all its shares.
The IPO enabled the Belgian operator to free up considerable sums to finance its ambitions. The time had come for broadband internet access, and the funding of the Broadway project (to cover the whole Belgian territory with fiber optic cables) required huge investments.
The operator also carried out its first digital television tests in 2004 with a view to finding new sources of income in a market where competition for "triple play" packages (television, telephony, and Internet) such as IPTV was getting fiercer and fiercer.
From 2005 to 2008: consolidation, convergence and first bundled offers.
Two important events happened in 2005 for Belgacom: the launch of Belgacom TV and the public bid on Telindus. The Belgian operator took the market by surprise when it acquired the rights to broadcast professional Belgian football (Division 1 and 2) for the next three seasons through its subsidiary Skynet iMotions Activities. This was the precursor of the launch of Belgacom TV in June 2005. Belgacom's digital TV offer via ADSL was the first of its kind in Belgium and transformed Belgacom into a quadruple play operator, offering fixed telephony, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet as well as television. It also enabled the Belgian company to secure new sources of income, given that the profit margins on its other activities were becoming increasingly smaller.
2005 also saw Belgacom's takeover bid on Telindus, in the network integration sector. An initial bid, considered "hostile" by the Telindus management, was made in September 2005 and marked the start of a stock-market saga that would go on for almost four months. After a counter bid by France Télécom, Belgacom eventually won the deal, arriving at a conditional partnership agreement with Telindus in late December.
2006 was characterised by the takeover of the 25% shares of Belgacom Mobile (Proximus) still owned by Vodafone, allowing Belgacom to prepare for bundling fixed and mobile telephony following the market trend to bundle services. The telecom operators in Belgium responded with separately sold services such as bundled and full quadruple play offers. In 2006, Telindus and Belgacom also expand their ICT-portfolio under the new brand name Telindus/Belgacom ICT.
In September 2006, Belgacom took over Euremis, which offers mobile CRM to companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FCMG) and the pharmaceutical sectors.
In April 2007, Proximus and Belgacom launched the 'packs', their first bundled offers. Belgacom also continued to develop its digital television offering.
2008 was all about the takeover of Scarlet and Tele2 Luxembourg. Belgacom took over Scarlet for EUR 185 million. While this takeover was approved by the Belgian Competition Authority, there were some conditions, including that Belgacom must sell the Scarlet network. In June 2008, the operator also purchased Tele2 Luxembourg, the second largest mobile operator in Luxembourg, active under the Tango brand name.
2009-2013.
In March 2009, Belgacom launched PingPing, a mobile payment tool. In April 2011, the telecom operator purchased all the shares of The Phone House Belgium retail chain for EUR 22 million With the 114 Belgian stores of The Phone House, Belgacom dominated the telecom market.
After several incidents, CEO Didier Bellens was fired in 2011. Ray Stewart and Stefaan De Clerck were appointed temporary CEOs until a new CEO was found.
In 2013, Belgacom, along with the other telecom operators and the Belgian banks, established Belgian Mobile Wallet nv, a joint venture to develop a Belgian mobile payment product under the name of Sixdots. Its purpose was to get bank clients to pay with their smartphone instead of their bank card and card reader. The project was not a success and was shelved in 2015.
2014 to 2019.
On 9 January 2014, Dominique Leroy was appointed the new CEO and chairman of the Proximus Group executive committee for a period of 6 years. She strengthened the company’s offering and focused on growth with her Fit for Growth strategy.
In March 2014, it was decided that the Belgacom brand name would be faded out. From autumn 2014, Proximus would be the new commercial name for all fixed, mobile and IT products. Other brands such as Scarlet continue to exist.
On 1 June 2015, the last Belgacom telephone box was removed. On 22 June 2015, the operator officially changed its company name from Belgacom to Proximus. Following a decision from the Belgian Competition Authority, Proximus needed to close some of the 39 remaining The Phone House stores. The Group converted the remaining stores into Proximus Centres.
In December 2016, Proximus announced the 'Fibre for Belgium' project, with the aim of accelerating the roll-out of a new generation of fixed broadband technology for homes and companies in Belgium. The project initially planned a step-by-step roll-out in 6 cities - Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent, Namur and Roeselare - followed by gradual expansion.
In 2017 and 2018, Proximus took over  Codit, Davinsi Labs, Umbrio and Unbrace ION-IP to strengthen its ICT ecosystem. The main Belgian banks and mobile operators, including Proximus, launched itsme, a digital identification app that allows Belgian civilians to log on and identify themselves to the government, banks, insurers, and other private enterprises
2019 to present day.
In January 2019, Proximus announced a large-scale transformation plan under the heading ‘#shifttodigital'. The reasons behind the plan included an acceleration of digitisation, a stagnating telecom market, and a high need for investment in networks and digital platforms. The plan also comprised a social section which resulted in strikes and protests by some of the staff. On 27 November, after months of negotiations, an agreement was reached between management and trade unions, and the plan was approved by the Board of Directors.
In June 2019, Proximus launched a new brand promise. Through 'Think Possible', the operator, in its own words, wanted to "embrace the digital revolution" and "inspire everyone in Belgium by showing them all the possibilities of the newest technologies". Digital TV-platform Proximus TV was given a total make-over and to become Proximus Pickx. Pickx gave customers a personalised content experience on all their screens. Proximus also launched a new generation of decoders which used the Android P-operating system and offered new functionalities in the field of cloud-gaming. Through smart ads , the operator offered customers personalised advertising on the TV-platform. The loyalty programme was also reformed and is called Enjoy! now.
In September, Proximus announced that Dominique Leroy had decided to leave the company on 1 December to give her career an international aspect. CFO Sandrine Dufour temporarily took charge. On 1 December 2019, Guillaume Boutin was appointed the new CEO. He had been at Proximus as Chief Consumer Market Officer, responsible for the residential market, since August 2017.
In 2019, the company communicated about innovations and new collaborations at various times. In summer 2019, it announced its intention to launch a shared mobile access network with Orange Belgium. The aim was higher service quality and a faster roll-out of 5G. The agreement was finalised in November and established a new joint venture, with the commercial name MWingz.
Together with DPG Media and Rossel, Proximus launched My e-Press, a digital press offer for its customers, and entered into a partnership with construction firm Besix around smart buildings. The first 5G demonstrations took place with a focus on live video-streaming, industrial robots, drones, virtual reality and cloud-gaming. The MyProximus app, which allowed Proximus customers to manage their products and services, was extended with voice commands via Google Assistant.
In 2019, Proximus also launched a portal site that gave developers easy access via APIs ("programming interfaces") to the technologies offered by Proximus and its partners.
In March 2020, CEO Guillaume Boutin presented his new strategy #inspire2022. The long-term plan was built around 4 strategic pillars: the roll-out of fixed and mobile gigabit technologies, the transformation into a 'digital native' company, the development of partnerships and ecosystems and a reinforced focus on a green and digital company.
At the same time the company announced a considerable acceleration of the roll-out of the fibre optic network. Thanks to joint venture agreements with EQT and Eurofiber reached during the year, the company’s ambitions were expanded. The roll-out was launched in 16 cities in December 2020: Aalst, Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent, Hasselt, Kortrijk, Knokke-Heist, Leuven, Liège, Mechelen, Namur, Ostend, Sint-Niklaas, Roeselare and Vilvoorde. More than 400,000 houses and companies can already be connected to fibre.
In March, Proximus launched the first 5G-network in Belgium, using existing radio frequencies in the 2.1 GHz-band in anticipation of the final auction of the spectrum that will be used for 5G. In the summer it was also awarded provisional rights of use in the 3.4-3.8 GHz-band.
In June 2020, Proximus entered into a strategic partnership with Belfius to establish a neobank – a completely digital internet bank. The name: Banx. Proximus customers were given access to an exclusive digital bank offer, and Proximus developed a specific telecom offer for Belfius clients. An agreement was also reached with Disney+, which means that since September 2020, Proximus has been the only telecom operator in Belgium offering its customers access to the American streaming service.
Main brands and activities of the group.
Proximus NV/SA.
The Belgacom brand was established in 1992, following the dissolution of the RTT. As the company changed its articles of association several times to comply with national and European legal provisions, its logo changed with it. The very first logo, with the inverted orange arrows, was replaced by a more "human" logo. On 4 January 2010, Belgacom NV/SA absorbed the activities of mobile operator Proximus and ICT services provider Telindus, thus ending their existence as subsidiaries.
Proximus Mobile (Belgacom Mobile).
The Proximus brand was created in 1994, following the launch of the first mobile network. In 2005, an Interbrand study found Proximus to be the second brand in Belgium.
Proximus offers mobile telecommunications services to residential and professional customers, therefore having the largest HSDPA coverage in Belgium. In 2010, Belgacom ended the existence of Belgacom Mobile as a separate legal entity and absorbed all of its activities into Belgacom SA.
Proximus TV (Belgacom TV).
Proximus TV is the brand of the digital TV offer in Belgium, launched by Belgacom in the summer of 2005. It was the first offer of its kind in the country. Proximus TV currently holds 18% market share of digital TV in Belgium. In the Summer of 2011, Proximus launched a new service called 'TV Overal' (in Dutch) or 'TV Partout' (in French). People can download this free application from the Android Market or the AppStore. It lets you watch TV on your Smartphone or Tablet over a mobile network connection (with 1 hour free per day for Proximus Internet Everywhere customers) or over a WiFi connection.
Scarlet.
Scarlet was founded in the Netherlands in 1992. The brand aims to offer its customers basic low-cost products in the areas of fixed and mobile telephony and the internet.
Skynet.
Skynet was founded in 1995. At the time, it was one of the first commercial Internet providers in Belgium. From 2005, following Belgacom's takeover of the Group's Internet activities, the Skynet brand continued to exist but only in association with the Group's Web content activities.
Tango.
Tango is the company under which the Belgacom Group markets its offers in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. The company, which was launched in 1998, has become the second-largest mobile player on the Luxembourg market.
Telindus (Belgacom ICT).
Telindus was created in June 2006, following the purchase of Telindus by Belgacom. Since then, the ICT activities of the Belgacom Group have been offered under the Telindus brand, which accordingly changed its logo and brand style. The new Telindus brand was inspired by the changes Telindus has undergone since it was first founded, i.e. from being a technology supplier to a solution, integrator and sourcing partner. In 2010, Belgacom ended the existence of Telindus as a separate legal entity and absorbed all of its activities into Belgacom SA.
BICS (Belgacom International Carrier Services).
BICS (Belgacom International Carrier Services) was founded in 2005 and is a joint venture between Belgacom, Swisscom Fixnet and MTN Group. The company operates in the telecommunication industry and is responsible for international carrier activities. It provides wholesale carrier services to wireline and wireless operators, and service providers globally.
Other companies and activities within the group.
PingPing.
PingPing is the neutral, independent brand of Mobile-for grouping all the mobile micropayment activities.
Euremis.
The Euremis brand represents the experience of Belgacom Group in CRM mobile solutions. Under the Euremis brand, Belgacom offers mobile customer management solutions to sales staff in the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) and pharmaceutical sectors. Euremis was founded as an independent company in 2002 and acquired in September 2006 by Proximus. On 23 August 2010 Belgacom Group announced to end the existence of Euremis as a separate legal entity and fully absorb its activities into Belgacom SA, as of 1 October 2010.
Group structure.
In 2007, the Belgacom Group reviewed the entire organisation and created a new operating structure based on 4 units:
Consumer Business Unit (CBU).
The Consumer Business Unit markets voice products and services, internet and television, both on fixed and mobile networks, for residential clients.
Enterprise Business Unit (EBU).
The Enterprise Business Unit meets the ICT needs of professional clients.
Service Delivery Engine & Wholesale (SDE&W).
Service Delivery Engine and Wholesale (SDE&W) groups together the network and IT services. Its wholesale activity offers telecommunications services to other operators and suppliers on the Belgian market.
Staff and Support (S&S).
This unit brings together all the horizontal functions that support the Group's activities.
Shareholding structure.
Situation as of 31 January 2011:
Financial data.
Financial data in millions of euros:
GCHQ hack.
Material from whistleblower Edward Snowden's leak in 2013 indicated that the British intelligence service GCHQ directed a cyber attack code named Operation Socialist against the computer network of Belgacom using Regin malware. While Belgacom stated the attack had limited success and no customer data was compromised, published materials state that GCHQ compromised "both deep into the network and at the edge of the network" and gained access to Belgacom customers' data streams.