Proximus
Encyclopedia
Proximus, also known as Belgacom Mobile, is the largest of Belgium
's three mobile telecommunications operator
s. It competes with Mobistar
, owned by France Télécom
, and Base
, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN
.
, 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
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
, a second GSM 900 operator soon joined the game in 1998, followed by BASE
, then known as KPN
-Orange
in 1999.
Proximus has just a little over 45 % of the market now considered as saturated.
of Belgacom
NV/SA, which had an IPO in 2004 but remains more than 50 % state owned. A 25 % share was owned by the Vodafone Group 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.
s: TMF Mobile (MTV
), Mobisud (Scarlet), RSCA Mobile, PostMobile (bpost)
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's three mobile telecommunications operator
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
s. It competes with Mobistar
Mobistar
Mobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
, owned by France Télécom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
, and Base
BASE (mobile)
BASE is a telephony services and broadband internet brand operated by KPN Group Belgium/KPN in Belgium and Germany.-Belgium:BASE is a brand of KPN Group Belgium....
, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
.
History
Proximus was founded in 1994 as a joint-venture between BelgacomBelgacom
The Belgacom Group is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Belgacom Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share...
, 75 %, and Airtouch
AirTouch
AirTouch Communications was a U.S.-based wireless telephone service provider, created as a spin-off on Pacific Telesis on April 1, 1994. Its headquarters were in One California in the Financial District, San Francisco, California...
, 25 %, respectively. Airtouch was later merged with Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
. In 2006, Belgacom bought the remaining Vodafone shares.
Starting January 1994, Proximus took over the operatorship of the old MOB2 analog
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
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
Mobistar
Mobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
, a second GSM 900 operator soon joined the game in 1998, followed by BASE
BASE (mobile)
BASE is a telephony services and broadband internet brand operated by KPN Group Belgium/KPN in Belgium and Germany.-Belgium:BASE is a brand of KPN Group Belgium....
, then known as KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
-Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
in 1999.
Proximus has just a little over 45 % of the market now considered as saturated.
Company
Proximus NV/SA is a subsidiarySubsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Belgacom
Belgacom
The Belgacom Group is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Belgacom Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share...
NV/SA, which had an IPO in 2004 but remains more than 50 % state owned. A 25 % share was owned by the Vodafone Group until 2006, when Vodafone agreed to sell its stake to Belgacom. In 2004, it had a revenue of € 2,239 million and an EBITDA
EBITDA
EBITDA is an acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the income statement are reversed out from the bottom-line net income...
of € 1,135 million.
Technical information
The operator's display logo is PROXIMUS, the net code is 206 01 and operates under GSM 900/1800 (2G GSM) net and W-CDMA 2100 (3G UTMS) frequencies. Its prepaid service is called Pay&Go.Mobile virtual network operator
The Proximus network is used by a number of mobile virtual network operatorMobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
s: TMF Mobile (MTV
MTV Networks Benelux
MTV Networks Benelux was a regional operation for MTV Networks International in the Benelux region. MTV Networks Benelux is located in Amsterdam with a second office in Lint.....
), Mobisud (Scarlet), RSCA Mobile, PostMobile (bpost)