At the end of September, Proximus could connect 2,814,000 homes and businesses to fibre. The number of active fibre lines rose to 858,000.
The number of buildings in Belgium that Proximus can connect to fibre stood at 2,814,000 at the end of September. With those 2.8 million connectable homes and businesses, the Proximus fibre network covers more than 44 percent of the population. In the third quarter, 61,000 were added, compared with 75,000 in the same quarter last year. Over one year, the network grew by thirteen percent.
Across consumers and businesses, there were 858,000 active fibre lines at the end of September. That is 38,000 more than three months earlier and 25 percent more than a year ago.
Since 1 June, Unifiber, which rolls out fibre in Wallonia, has been fully part of Proximus. The telecom company took over the stake of partner Eurofiber earlier this year. CEO Stijn Bijnens expects cooperation agreements to bring fibre coverage to 80 percent of Belgium in the coming years.
Revenue from business market falls
The Business division, which serves Belgian business customers, generated 464 million euros in revenue in the third quarter. That is 1.9 percent less than a year earlier. Fixed telephony and traditional data connections are bringing in less and less, Proximus said in its quarterly report. Mobile subscriptions also generate less revenue on average. Proximus points to increasing competition as the reason.
Revenue from IT services is falling because projects were delayed. Revenue from internet services does continue to rise, as more and more businesses switch to fibre.
Among businesses, revenue from fixed telephony fell by 8.9 percent to 49 million euros. Across consumers and businesses, Proximus lost 38,000 fixed lines in the third quarter. That trend affects the entire Belgian telecom market.
For IT services, Proximus describes the longer-term project pipeline as solid. The company expects results there to improve.