Starting Nov. 1, Belgian consumers will be free to choose which network equipment they use. The free modem choice officially goes into effect.
BIPT announced free modem choice a year ago and later this week the decision will officially come into effect. Free modem choice means that, as an end user of the network, you freely choose which equipment you want to use. With this, BIPT wants to make it easier for consumers to switch operators and stimulate competition in the sector.
In practice, a network termination point (NTP) must first be determined from which the end user will have control over the equipment. For connections to a copper network and fiber optic network, one can imagine the location of the network termination point as the wall outlet to which the modem is connected. For a connection to a coaxial network, this is the black network distributor to which the modem is connected.
Freedom and choice
One of the main arguments for introducing free modem choice is to give consumers more freedom and choice about which modem they use. You are now no longer obliged to include your provider’s modem when connecting a new telecom subscription. The legislation should also encourage competition between operators and network equipment manufacturers.
Additional benefits are possible. In the long run, buying a router or modem can be cheaper than having to rent one from a provider. This also gives the user more control over the equipment, although you now bear the responsibility for updating and securing the router yourself. Finally, free modem choice should also reduce the disposal of operational network equipment.
Belgian operators acquiesced to the decision, but not without a fight. Orange, among others, went to court against the free modem choice, but its appeal was waved away. Keep in mind that operators will not provide technical support for customers using proprietary modems.
Belgium is not the first country to put choice in the hands of the end user. Free modem choice has already existed for several years in the European Union based on the Net Neutrality Regulation. With its introduction, Belgium is following the example of Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, which decided earlier to introduce free modem choice.