Belgium - Broadband Market Insights, Statistics and Forecasts

Synopsis

Despite Belgium enjoying effective competition between the DSL and cable platforms, the country’s broadband penetration lags behind the European leaders. Nevertheless, network investments from Telenet, deploying DOCSIS 3.0 technology, and from Belgacom with its hybrid fibre/VDSL network, have broadened the availability of faster services, and with them the popularity of triple play offerings.

This report profiles Belgium’s fixed and wireless broadband markets in 2011. It provides broadband forecasts for selective years to 2020 and also assesses developments in related technologies such as FWA, WLAN and WiFi.

Key developments:

Regulators approve cable wholesale offers to come into effect by late 2012; government’s Start2Surf project furnished more than 30,000 Belgians with computers and internet access in 2010; Belgacom invests in VDSL2 vectoring technology to provide at least 50Mb/s; Numéricable sells Belgium unit; regulator pursues cable network access reform; networks on track to reach national 30Mb/s connectivity by 2020; regulator’s market data for 2010; operator data to June 2011.

Companies covered in this report include:

Belgacom, Telenet, Versatel, Interkabel.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Overview
  • 2.1 Broadband statistics
    • 2.1.1 Market share
• 3. Cable modems
  • 3.1 Telenet
  • 3.2 UPC Broadband
  • 3.3 Interkabel
• 4. Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
  • 4.1 Belgacom’s DSL services
    • 4.1.1 Wholesale
    • 4.1.2 Naked DSL
  • 4.2 Versatel/Tele2 Belgium
  • 4.3 Mobistar
• 5. Other DSL developments
  • 5.1 SDSL
  • 5.2 VDSL
  • 5.3 G.SHDSL
• 6. Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
  • 6.1 Government support
  • 6.2 Regulating fibre
  • 6.3 Digital Metropolis Antwerp
  • 6.4 Belgacom
• 7. Broadband Powerline (BPL)
• 8. Wireless broadband
  • 8.1 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)
  • 8.2 WLAN/WiFi
  • 8.3 WiMAX
• 9. Mobile broadband
• 10. Forecasts
  • 10.1 Forecast – broadband subscribers – 2010-2012; 2020
    • 10.1.1 Scenario 1 – higher broadband subscriber growth
    • 10.1.2 Scenario 2 – lower broadband subscriber growth
  • 10.2 Notes on scenario forecasts
• 11. Related reports

• Table 1 – Broadband lines by data rate – 2010
• Table 2 – Internet users and penetration rate – 1995 - 2012
• Table 3 – Broadband fixed-line subscribers by technology – 2000 - 2012
• Table 4 – Broadband penetration – 2000 - 2012
• Table 5 – Broadband subscribers by access type – 2006 - 2009
• Table 6 – Broadband market share by operator – 2006 - 2010
• Table 7 – Cable modem subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 8 – Telenet subscribers by sector – 2006 - 2011
• Table 9 – Telenet financial data – 2005 - 2011
• Table 10 – UPC Belgium subscriber data (historical) – 2006
• Table 11 – ADSL subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 12 – Belgacom ADSL subscribers – 2000 - 2011
• Table 13 – Bitstream and wholesale subscribers – 2002 - 2009
• Table 14 – Mobistar broadband subscribers – 2008 - 2011
• Table 15 – WLL broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2012
• Table 16 – Mobile broadband subscribers by technology – 2008 - 2012
• Table 17 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Table 18 – Forecast broadband penetration – higher market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Table 19 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Table 20 – Forecast broadband penetration – lower market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020

• Chart 1 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2000 - 2012
• Chart 2 – Broadband subscribers by technology – 2000 - 2012
• Chart 3 – Telenet subscribers by sector – 2006 - 2011
• Chart 4 – Telenet financial data – 2005 - 2011
• Chart 5 – Mobile broadband subscribers by technology – 2008 - 2012
• Chart 6 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Chart 7 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020

• Exhibit 1 – Key ADSL service providers – 2011
• Exhibit 2 – WiMAX spectrum licenses – 2001 - 2005