Orange Belgium has confirmed that it will team up with Flemish utility provider Fluvius to roll out an open-access fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in 2019. The pilot will start in five cities and municipalities, starting with Genk, with a view to connecting 15,000 households. Other locations set to receive fibre include: Gent, Poperinge, Diksmuide and Antwerp.
Orange is the first Belgian telecoms operator to partner with Fluvius for the fibre project, which complements the government’s superfast broadband network goals. Orange will be responsible for providing the backhaul network and will roll out its own active equipment that will be connected to Fluvius’ optical fibre.
According to TeleGeography, Fluvius was formed on 1 July 2018, following a merger between Eandis and Infrax. The company is active within the electricity, gas, public lighting and sewerage sectors.