Telenet (Belgium)
Encyclopedia
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
. In addition, Telenet offers services to business customers all across Belgium
and in Luxembourg
under its brand Telenet Solutions.
Since 11 October 2005, Telenet is listed on the Euronext
stock exchange under the ticker TNET.
) standard, and Telenet has direct relationships with all of its internet and telephony customers.
Telenet acquired a large network of Wi-Fi hotspots in addition to its cable internet service through acquisition of Sinfilo.
Its main competitors on the cable broadband internet market are Numericable
and VOO
in the Brussels region. Its other main competitor is Belgacom
, leader of the Belgian xDSL market, in the Flanders and Brussels regions.
Telenet also offers voice, data and internet services to its business customers under the brand name Telenet Solutions through its fiber
backbone, by acquisition of Codenet, which covers all Belgium and Luxembourg.
Its main competitors on the Belgian fixed telephone market are Numericable
and VOO in Brussels, using optic fibre. Its other main competitor is Belgacom
, leader of the Belgian xDSL market.
It has released FreePhone Mobile in november of 2011. This is a free option which allows their customers to call all mobile lines for free during the morning and evenings.
An extra option called FreePhone Mobile 24 is available as well. This allows their customers to call mobile lines all day.
MNO-network (Orange). Today it has more than 80.000 customers. It competes with mobile network operators Proximus
, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom
, and Base
, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN
.
In 2009, Telenet acquired the Belgian retail store network of BelCompany from Dutch Macintosh Retail Group.
Telenet is considering to participate in the public auction of a fourth nationwide GSM-license in 2010.
on its cable network, as of September 3, 2005.
Current cable customers need not pay an extra subscription to receive digital signals, but they must purchase or rent a set top box in order to be able to view the digital channels and use the interactive services based on Multimedia Home Platform
.
Telenet also rolled out HDTV
set-top-boxes during 2008.
In July 2008 Telenet reached an agreement with Interkabel's INDI
regarding the acquisition of its 800.000 cable TV customers.
Its main competitors on the Belgian digital television market (DVB-C
) are Numericable
and VOO in the Brussels region. Other competitors are Belgacom TV
IPTV
and TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
(DVB-S
), owned by Belgacom
and an Airbridge Investments-Providence Equity Partners
consortium, in the Flanders and Brussels regions.
.
formulas, of which Prime TV (Dutch) and BeTV (French) are owned by its parent company Liberty Global. Prime TV has currently over 180.000 subscribers. The companies were previously owned by Canal+
. Both football clubs are active in the Belgian First Division.
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
cable services in Belgium
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...
. Its business comprises the provision of analog and digital cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, high speed internet and fixed and mobile telephony
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
services, primarily to residential customers in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. In addition, Telenet offers services to business customers all across Belgium
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...
and in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
under its brand Telenet Solutions.
Since 11 October 2005, Telenet is listed on the Euronext
Euronext
Euronext N.V. is a pan-European stock exchange based in Amsterdam and with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In addition to equities and derivatives markets, the Euronext group provides clearing and information services...
stock exchange under the ticker TNET.
Internet
Telenet offers its residential service' since 1997 under the brand name Telenet Internet through the combination of its broadband cable network, which passes some 2.4 million homes in Flanders and a part of the Brussels region. All the networks through which Telenet offers residential services in Flanders have been upgraded to a two way digital HFC (hybrid fiber coaxialCoaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
) standard, and Telenet has direct relationships with all of its internet and telephony customers.
Telenet acquired a large network of Wi-Fi hotspots in addition to its cable internet service through acquisition of Sinfilo.
Its main competitors on the cable broadband internet market are Numericable
Numericable
Numericable is a British-American-Luxembourgian owned cable television operator operating in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, currently proposing standard quadruple-play services .- History :...
and VOO
Voo
Voo may refer to:* Voo Voo - a Polish jazz-rock band formed in 1985.* Voo Nocturno - the thirteenth album by Jorge Palma.* Vo0 - a nickname of electronic sports player Sander Kaasjager....
in the Brussels region. Its other main competitor is 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...
, leader of the Belgian xDSL market, in the Flanders and Brussels regions.
Telenet also offers voice, data and internet services to its business customers under the brand name Telenet Solutions through its fiber
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
backbone, by acquisition of Codenet, which covers all Belgium and Luxembourg.
Hosting services
In January 2008 Telenet acquired Hostbasket, Belgium's largest hosting company, to offer a more complete solutions portfolio to organisations and companies. Hostbasket offers "Classic Hosting" (domain names, shared webhosting, online backup, antivirus,...), infrastructure solutions (dedicated servers, co-location) and applications (hosted Exchange, hosted SharePoint, hosted CRM, ...).Fixed telephony
Telenet offers fixed telephony using its cable network, currently under the brand name Telenet Freephone, as of 1998. Today, it has more than 600,000 costumers.Its main competitors on the Belgian fixed telephone market are Numericable
Numericable
Numericable is a British-American-Luxembourgian owned cable television operator operating in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, currently proposing standard quadruple-play services .- History :...
and VOO in Brussels, using optic fibre. Its other main competitor is 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...
, leader of the Belgian xDSL market.
It has released FreePhone Mobile in november of 2011. This is a free option which allows their customers to call all mobile lines for free during the morning and evenings.
An extra option called FreePhone Mobile 24 is available as well. This allows their customers to call mobile lines all day.
Mobile telephony
Since July 2006, Telenet Mobile offers mobile telephony services as a full MVNO, using the MobistarMobistar
Mobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
MNO-network (Orange). Today it has more than 80.000 customers. It competes with mobile network operators 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...
.
In 2009, Telenet acquired the Belgian retail store network of BelCompany from Dutch Macintosh Retail Group.
Telenet is considering to participate in the public auction of a fourth nationwide GSM-license in 2010.
Television
Telenet launched Telenet Digital TV, interactive digital televisionMultimedia Home Platform
Multimedia Home Platform is an open middleware system standard designed by the DVB project for interactive digital television. The MHP enables the reception and execution of interactive, Java-based applications on a TV-set. Interactive TV applications can be delivered over the broadcast channel,...
on its cable network, as of September 3, 2005.
Current cable customers need not pay an extra subscription to receive digital signals, but they must purchase or rent a set top box in order to be able to view the digital channels and use the interactive services based on Multimedia Home Platform
Multimedia Home Platform
Multimedia Home Platform is an open middleware system standard designed by the DVB project for interactive digital television. The MHP enables the reception and execution of interactive, Java-based applications on a TV-set. Interactive TV applications can be delivered over the broadcast channel,...
.
Telenet also rolled out HDTV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
set-top-boxes during 2008.
In July 2008 Telenet reached an agreement with Interkabel's INDI
Indi
Indi may refer to:*Mag-indi language*Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives*Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of India...
regarding the acquisition of its 800.000 cable TV customers.
Its main competitors on the Belgian digital television market (DVB-C
DVB-C
DVB-C stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable...
) are Numericable
Numericable
Numericable is a British-American-Luxembourgian owned cable television operator operating in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, currently proposing standard quadruple-play services .- History :...
and VOO in the Brussels region. Other competitors are Belgacom TV
Belgacom TV
Belgacom TV, subsidiary of the Belgacom Group, provides Digital TV and Video On Demand over its own IPTV System in Belgium. It was launched in the summer of 2005....
IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
and TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
TV Vlaanderen Digitaal is a digital satellite television provider for the Flemish market, using the Astra satellites at 19.2° east and at 23.5° east.TV Vlaanderen's customers are mostly people living in Flanders...
(DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
), owned by 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 an Airbridge Investments-Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
consortium, in the Flanders and Brussels regions.
Set-top-boxes
The Digital, HD, Hubstation & Hubstation HD set-top boxes are made by Advanced Digital BroadcastAdvanced Digital Broadcast
Advanced Digital Broadcast designs, manufactures and deploys solutions to distribute pay-TV and multimedia services to the connected home, for all types of networks. The company has its global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and regional headquarters in Denver, USA and Taipei, Taiwan...
.
Pay TV
Telenet offers multiple pay TVPay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
formulas, of which Prime TV (Dutch) and BeTV (French) are owned by its parent company Liberty Global. Prime TV has currently over 180.000 subscribers. The companies were previously owned by Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
Sponsorship
Telenet is principal sponsor of Belgian football club KV Mechelen and secondary sponsor of Club Brugge KV, another Belgian football club, and the Belgian Fidea Cycling TeamFidea Cycling Team
Telenet Fidea is a UCI Continental cycling team that is based in Belgium and races predominantly the cyclo-cross season. The team is named after its main sponsors Telenet and Fidea, an Insurance company. The team was previously called Spaar-Select...
. Both football clubs are active in the Belgian First Division.