Orange Belgium welcomes the ambition of Fluvius to roll out open optical fibre with passive access. In 2019 a pilot will start in 5 cities and municipalities (where the city of Genk will be first in line to be connected) aiming to connect 15.000 households. Orange Belgium is the first Belgian telecom operator to partner up with Fluvius on their fibre pilot project, that fits within the framework of the Flemish Government’s superfast network goals for the future. Orange will be responsible for its backhaul network and will roll out its own active equipment that will be connected to Fluvius’ optical fibre.
Open infrastructures with passive access are in the best interest of consumers
Orange supports this open model with access to a passive fibre infrastructure, supported by Fluvius. This model has been successfully used in other European countries. It allows an acceleration of investment and lower prices for consumers, as several operators can use the shared infrastructure at a reasonable price. It also stimulates competition as each service operator can use its own active equipment, which allows them to further differentiate on services and technological network innovation.