Proximus
| Proximus
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Société Anonyme |
| ISIN | BE0003810273 |
| founding | 1930 (as RTT ) |
| Seat | Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek ( Brussels ), Belgium |
| management | Dominique Leroy (CEO) , Stefaan De Clerck (Chairman) |
| Number of employees | 14,090 (end of 2015) |
| sales | 482 million EUR (2015) |
| Branch | Telecommunications company |
| Website | www.proximus.be |
Proximus (formerly Belgacom Group ), based in Brussels, is the largest Belgian telecommunications group. With a share of 53.51%, the Belgian state is still the majority owner of the former state-owned company.
Until June 2015, "Proximus" was the name given to the mobile communications division of Belgacom ( Belgacom Mobile ) founded in 1994 .
history
In 1930 the RTT ( Regie voor Telegraaf en Telefoon / Régie des Télégraphes et Téléphones ) was founded. It was the state company ( Overheidsbedrijf / Établissement public ) for telephone and telegraph services. In 1992 it became part of Belgacom, which from then on was an autonomous state-owned company and from 1994 also a public limited company ( Naamloze vennootschap / Société anonyme ). In the same year, the newly established Belgacom Mobile joint venture put the "Proximus" mobile network into operation.
In 1996 the Belgian government sold 50% minus one share of its shares in Belgacom NV / SA to the consortium ADSB Telecommunications. It consisted of Ameritech (SBC), Tele Danmark, Singapore Telecom and the three Belgian financial institutions Sofina , Dexia and KBC. In 1998 the Belgian telecommunications market was liberalized and Belgacom launched the first ADSL broadband internet connection in Belgium. Belgacom shares have been traded on the stock exchange since 2004. Belgacom's first tests with a view to introducing IPTV were carried out in 2004 in several hundred households.
In 2005, the Belgian telecom operator surprised the market when it acquired the football rights for the first and second division for the next 3 seasons through its subsidiary Skynet iMotions Activities. This promotion heralds the imminent launch of Belgacom TV, which will take place in June 2005. This digital television service via ADSL is brand new in Belgium and makes Belgacom a quadruple player (provider of television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephony). In addition, it enables the Belgian company to develop new sources of income, as the profit margins in the core business, i.e. in the fixed network, are falling.
2005 was also the year of the public purchase offer for Telindus, the market leader in network integration. A first takeover bid, which Telindus management considered hostile, was made in September. Thus began a stock market saga that lasted almost four months. After a counter-offer made by France Telecom, Belgacom finally won.
In 2006 Belgacom took over Telindus and thus strengthened its ICT sector. Proximus has been 100% owned by Belgacom NV / SA since 2006, after Vodafone bought 25% of the shares . This allowed the company to continue to integrate the individual business areas in the future. This happened as early as 2007, when Belgacom launched its first package offer (television, broadband Internet, fixed line and mobile telephony) on the market. In the mobile communications sector, the company thus offers GSM, GPRS , EDGE , UMTS , WLAN , HSDPA and 4G .
Since June 2008, the former Tele2 Holding Tango has belonged to Belgacom, which, unlike Proximus, also offers landline and internet services.
On January 4, 2010 Belgacom took up the activities of the mobile operator Proximus and the ICT service provider Telindus, thus ending their existence as subsidiaries.
Espionage affair 2013
In June 2013, Belgacom commissioned an investigation into their systems following the surveillance and espionage affair sparked by Edward Snowden's revelations . On September 16 of that year, the first research results became known, according to which strangers had hacked into the group's networks since at least 2011. The primary goal was the subsidiary Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), which focuses on providing connections to the Middle East and Africa. The parent company itself and the mobile phone subsidiary Proximus were also affected. It is particularly explosive that international organizations based in Brussels such as the EU or NATO are major customers of the companies concerned. Belgacom has now filed a complaint. From circles of the investigating public prosecutor's office it was said that the type of implementation as well as the scope and complexity of the attack suggest a secret service as the originator. The names of the NSA and the British GCHQ were also mentioned in this context . The aim was not sabotage, but rather to obtain information. If the allegations are confirmed, then, in the opinion of the Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo , this would be seen as an "attack on the integrity of a government company". In this case, he announced that the Belgian government would take "appropriate measures".
That same week, additional information based on Snowden documents was made public, confirming that the British secret service GCHQ was actually responsible. This is said to have carried out the attack under the code name " Operation Socialist " with the help of a technology developed by the NSA.
Dismissal of CEO Bellens
On Friday, November 15, 2013, Belgian media reported that Didier Bellens, the long-time Francophone CEO of Belgacom, who has been suspected of passive corruption for a number of years and who had also lost the confidence of the Francophone parties in recent months, was released from the federal government Government was relieved of his position as CEO of Belgacom without compensation. The reason for the denial of a severance payment was that there were compelling reasons that required the CEO to be dismissed without severance pay. The Belgian state holds the majority of shares in the company with 53.5 percent. Bellens had drawn the government's displeasure over the past few months through condescending remarks about the Belgian state and especially about the federal prime minister Elio di Rupo . For example, he publicly announced through Prime Minister di Rupo that he behaved "like a little child who only thinks of St. Nicholas at the end of the year".
On November 16, 2013, the Flemish media reported that the tasks of the CEO will now be taken over temporarily by the board member Ray Stewart and the chairman of the supervisory board Stefaan De Clerck until a new CEO has been found. The American Ray Stewart has held top positions at Belgacom for 16 years and, as CFO, was number two behind CEO Bellens.
As the current chairman Stefaan De Clerck, a Dutch- Flame is, must be in accordance with the special state language arithmetic of the next CEO either francophone or another language speaking foreigner but may not be Dutch-speaking. Because of this absurd situation - the majority of Belgians speak Dutch - the Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders proposed that the Belgian state's stake in Belgacom should be reduced to such an extent that the state would no longer be the majority shareholder in the future and Belgacom would be a purely private company regardless of political constellations can decide for himself who will take over the post of CEO.
On June 19, 2015 the name was changed from Belgacom to Proximus SA.
Group structure
The Belgacom Group, which consists of Belgacom NV / SA and its subsidiaries , is Belgium's largest telecommunications group.
The company's four most important industries are:
- Fixed line telephony services (FLS)
- Cellular Services (MCS)
- International Carrier Services (ICS)
- Information and communication technology (ICT)
Fixed line telephony services (FLS) from Belgacom NV / SA
These activities are mainly carried out by Belgacom NV / SA. They encompass a full range of voice, data transmission and Internet services over the fixed line for the benefit of private and professional customers. Belgacom NV / SA is the largest connectivity provider in Belgium .
List of the most important services & brands:
- Fixed line telephony
- Internet broadband connections
- Belgacom ADSL (then called Skynet)
- WiFi hot spots
- VoIP
- Belgacom TV, IPTV-operated digital television offering
- ICT products
- Belgacom Surfhouse
- 1207, 1234, 1307, 1405 (hotlines)
Cellular Services (MCS) from Belgacom Mobile
These activities were carried out by the subsidiary Belgacom Mobile , better known under the name Proximus. On the occasion of the purchase of Vodafone's 25% stake in Proximus by Belgacom NV / SA, the mobile communications company became 100% part of the Belgacom Group in August 2006. Belgacom Mobile offered a wide range of mobile communications services to private and professional customers in Belgium.
List of the most important services & brands:
- Mobile telephony (Proximus)
- Mobile Internet
- GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA
- WiFi hot spots
- Mobile television
- Mobile multimedia services (Vodafone Live!)
International Carrier Services (ICS) from Belgacom ICS
Within the Belgacom group, these activities are carried out by the subsidiary Belgacom ICS. Belgacom ICS is 72% owned by Belgacom NV / SA and 28% owned by Swisscom (Switzerland) AG . Belgacom ICS provides telecommunications operators around the world with capacity and connectivity services in the voice and data sectors. Today Belgacom ICS is the eighth largest voice traffic volume provider in the world and the world leader in signaling services for mobile operators.
Others
Services in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet content are also offered.
List of the most important services & brands:
- Telindus Belgacom ICT
- Win
- Skynet (Back then the ISP brand of Belgacom - today only responsible for web content)
Web links
- Proximus website
- Website of Skynet, the Proximus content portal (English / French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sales 2015 ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Shareholders structure ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at belgacom.com
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: key events of Belgacom
- ↑ Claus Hecking: Scouting attack on Belgacom: Telephone operator of the European Union hacked . Spiegel Online, September 16, 2013, accessed September 19, 2013.
- ↑ Jan-Peter Kleinhans: Belgian ISP Belgacom overheard by NSA or GCHQ since 2011? Netzpolitik.org, September 17, 2013, accessed September 19, 2013.
- ^ Scouting raid on Belgacom: British secret service hacked Belgian telephone company . Spiegel Online, September 20, 2013, accessed on the same day
- ^ Gregor-Peter Schmitz: Scouting attack on Belgacom: Belgium outraged by British espionage
- ↑ Didier Bellens officieel ontslagen bij Belgacom , from November 15, 2013 at knack.be
- ↑ Ray Stewart en De Clerck volgen Bellens ad interim op ( Memento from November 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), from November 16, 2013 at deredactie.be (Dutch)
