Mobistar
Encyclopedia
Mobistar is the second largest of Belgium
's three mobile telecommunications operator
s. It competes with Proximus
, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom
, and Base
, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN
.
and France Télécom
, building a GSM 900 network and then founding a complementary DCS 1800 network.
Initially Mobistar added to its network coverage by signing contracts with providers such as Motorola
& Talkline, Cellway, a subsidiary of Martin Dawes Telecommunications and Debitel Belgium, the latter two which it would take over respectively in 1997 and 2000.
Mobistar claims to have been the first GPRS
operator in Belgium.
In May 2007 Mobistar bought 90% of the shares of VOXmobile, a mobile phone company of Luxembourg.
In October 2010 Mobistar launched a €55/month hybrid satellite/internet TV package, Starpack to provide phone customers with multi-channel TV. Mobistar TV combines DTH satellite TV with ADSL Internet to provide over 500 satellite TV and radio channels, along with interactive services, catch-up TV and content-on-demand via the Internet, and programme recording management via a smart phone. The satellite TV package includes Flemish national channels, HD and 3D channels, and a range of European free-to-air
channels, all received from Astra
satellites.
holding company
Atlas Services Belgium (ASB), which holds a 52.91% stake. Mobistar is thus a subsidiary of France Télécom's mobile division Orange. It is a member of the FreeMove
alliance.
s including Simply (Mobistar), Mobistar SOS (Mobistar), Mobile Plus (Delhaize), and Telenet Mobile (Telenet
).
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's three mobile telecommunications operator
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
s. It competes with Proximus
Proximus
Proximus, also known as Belgacom Mobile, is the largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Mobistar, owned by France Télécom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom
Belgacom
The Belgacom Group is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Belgacom Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share...
, and Base
BASE (mobile)
BASE is a telephony services and broadband internet brand operated by KPN Group Belgium/KPN in Belgium and Germany.-Belgium:BASE is a brand of KPN Group Belgium....
, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
.
History
It was founded in 1996 as a joint-venture between TelinfoTelindus
Telindus was a legal entity based in Belgium that offered ICT services and solutions to the corporate and public sector, both in Belgium and internationally. These solutions also contained management and support services in relation to their ICT contracts....
and France Télécom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
, building a GSM 900 network and then founding a complementary DCS 1800 network.
Initially Mobistar added to its network coverage by signing contracts with providers such as Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
& Talkline, Cellway, a subsidiary of Martin Dawes Telecommunications and Debitel Belgium, the latter two which it would take over respectively in 1997 and 2000.
Mobistar claims to have been the first GPRS
General Packet Radio Service
General packet radio service is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global system for mobile communications . GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode...
operator in Belgium.
In May 2007 Mobistar bought 90% of the shares of VOXmobile, a mobile phone company of Luxembourg.
In October 2010 Mobistar launched a €55/month hybrid satellite/internet TV package, Starpack to provide phone customers with multi-channel TV. Mobistar TV combines DTH satellite TV with ADSL Internet to provide over 500 satellite TV and radio channels, along with interactive services, catch-up TV and content-on-demand via the Internet, and programme recording management via a smart phone. The satellite TV package includes Flemish national channels, HD and 3D channels, and a range of European free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
channels, all received from Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
satellites.
Company
Mobistar is majority-owned by the France TélécomFrance Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
Atlas Services Belgium (ASB), which holds a 52.91% stake. Mobistar is thus a subsidiary of France Télécom's mobile division Orange. It is a member of the FreeMove
FreeMove
FreeMove is a mobile telecommunications alliance, designed to provide better service integration for its members' roaming customers. Formed in 2003, the alliance brings together Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia and TeliaSonera....
alliance.
Mobile virtual network operator
The Mobistar network is used by a number of mobile virtual network operatorMobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
s including Simply (Mobistar), Mobistar SOS (Mobistar), Mobile Plus (Delhaize), and Telenet Mobile (Telenet
Telenet (Belgium)
Telenet Group is the largest provider of broadband cable services in Belgium. Its business comprises the provision of analog and digital cable television, high speed internet and fixed and mobile telephony services, primarily to residential customers in Flanders and Brussels...
).