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After Telenet raised prices last year, the telecom operator is doing so again in June. According to Telenet, such a rate change is necessary to keep up with inflation. Proximus and Orange already raised prices earlier this year.

In the news: Telenet is raising rates for most services by 3.5 percent. The new prices are effective June 2. Find more info on the price changes here.

  • Some rates are not changing. Among other things, Telenet is not increasing the subscription fees at subsidiary brands BASE and Tadaam, and the installation and activation fees also remain unchanged.
  • "We always want to manage our costs and revenues properly. We take into account the current economic situation. We are adjusting our prices as a result of inflation, which has an impact on, among other things, labor costs and prices of technological equipment," the telecom company announced in a press release.
  • Telenet customers also had to swallow a 6 percent price increase last year.

Details: Other telecom operators have also recently adjusted prices.

  • Orange raised the price tag of the mobile subscription Go Light and the cheapest Internet subscription Start Fiber, among others, in January. The other Internet subscriptions did get slightly cheaper.
  • Proximus already made some price changes at the start of the new year. Since then, customers have had to pay more for the Flex bundle (Internet, digital television, fixed telephony and mobile), among other things. They also have to put more money on the table for an Internet subscription. Proximus had also tinkered with some rates in June (2023).

Belgium is an expensive telecom country

Noted: Telecom is quite expensive in Belgium compared to our neighboring countries.

  • A comparison by the consumer organization Testaankoop shows that in our country for an Internet subscription (with a download speed of at least 300 mbps) you pay an average of 58.35 euros per month. In the Netherlands you pay an average of 56.16 euros and in Germany 48.77 euros. In France, the monthly rate averages 35.99 euros.
  • Mobile subscriptions, on the other hand, are cheaper in our country. We pay an average of 27.1 euros per month for them. In France it is 35.99 euros and in Germany 35.17 euros. In the Netherlands, monthly subscription costs run to an average of 39.44 euros.
    • But: Testaankoop notes that it is not easy to compare Belgian cell phone subscriptions with the foreign formulas. "Unlike in our country, foreign operators do not offer contracts with limited volumes. We therefore made the comparison based on the cheapest formulas in neighboring countries," he echoes.
    • "While in purely financial terms the subscriptions in Belgium are cheaper, those in neighboring countries offer much higher speeds and even additional services," Testaankoop continues. "In the Netherlands there is a trend toward concentration: smaller players such as Oxxio and XS4ALL have been bought up by larger operators (in this case KPN), which could drive up prices in the future."

Need for more competition

Clarification: There is a lack of competition in our country.

  • The BIPT (Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications) has repeatedly criticized the lack of competition in our country. According to the Belgian institution, you can save up to over 300 euros by comparing telecom operators.
  • Petra De Sutter (Groen), federal minister of Telecom, reveals to HLN.be that the government cannot intervene in telecom prices. "I can only advise comparing prices. Whoever wants to be cheaper off, surf to bestetarief.be to easily compare the current tariff plans there," it sounds.

But: Orange, Telenet and Proximus will soon face competition from a fourth player called DIGI.

  • The Romanian telecom company has joined forces for the Belgian project with West Flanders-based Citymesh, a subsidiary of IT company Cegeka. DIGI will focus on individuals and Citymesh on professionals. Both operators will have their own market strategy.

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