Proximus and Orange resume work on network sharing

Belgian service providers Proximus and Orange are fully resuming preparations for the implementation of a mobile access network sharing agreement that had been held up by the intervention of Liberty Global-backed rival Telenet.

At the beginning of January, the Belgian competition regulator, in a procedure initiated by Telenet requesting interim measures, gave the telecom regulator until March 16 to further examine the sharing agreement. The Belgian Competition Authority confirmed yesterday that these interim measures have now expired.

The relevant interim measures included, for example, a prohibition on the pair transferring employees to their co-enterprise.

Telenet opposes the agreement between the pair on the grounds that it will skew the market, and had requested provisional measures to be put in place during the enquiry by the regulator. However ,the fact that the measures have been allowed to lapse does not mean that Telenet’s complaint has been rejected, with the full investigation still to run its course.