Ookla Crowns Orange as Belgian 5g Champion, Proximus Leads with Fiber

According to Ookla, Orange provides the fastest and best 5G network in Belgian cities. Proximus is the undisputed leader in fixed internet.

Ookla publishes the results of its latest measurements of mobile and fixed network speeds in Belgium, measured between January and June. In the mobile network category, Orange and Proximus share the prizes, while in fixed internet, Proximus leads the way with its fiber network.

According to Ookla’s measurements, Orange emerges as the fastest and best 5G network. Orange’s network achieved the fastest average download speed of 156.37 Mbps. Orange primarily dominates in cities, according to the report. Proximus scores slightly higher on consistency in the mobile network.

When we also consider 4G, Ookla crowns Proximus as the overall mobile network champion. Telenet receives recognition for the highest 5G availability as a consolation prize. Nearly twenty percent of mobile customers ‘usually’ use 5G networks, while for Proximus and Orange, it’s less than ten percent. So 5G is still far from being the standard in Belgium.

Proximus Leads with Fiber

The same can be said about fiber, where Belgium lags behind the rest of Europe. However, Proximus is already fully committed to fiber, and it’s rewarded for this in Ookla’s report. Proximus’s fiber network is named the best fixed internet in our country. Proximus scores highest in both speed (average 323.3 Mbps upload) and consistency (92.6 percent).

The competition can almost literally not keep up with Proximus. Telenet’s fixed network achieves an average upload speed of 184.32 Mbps. Proximus also performs much better in upload speed (199.54 Mbps) and latency (9 ms). On the other hand, Proximus’s traditional network scores the worst in the measurements.

The Fastest City in Belgium

For the fastest mobile network in Belgium, you need to be in Antwerp. This year, Antwerp dethrones Ghent, with a median download speed of 161.8 Mbps and upload speed of 18.61 Mbps. Bruges, Leuven, and Liège follow.

Brussels scores notably poorly as a city: it barely makes the top ten in both mobile and fixed internet speeds. The municipality of Anderlecht has to uphold the honor of the Region and turns out to have the fastest fiber network in Belgium. Surprisingly, this wasn’t laid by Proximus, but by newcomer Digi, although the provider reportedly didn’t always strictly follow the rules. If Digi manages to overcome its many growing pains, it’s a challenger to be reckoned with.