Phasing out of 3G services from mid-2023
Orange Belgium (OB) has obtained the maximum amount of the new 5G spectrum bands available for auction in the main phase of mobile spectrum auctioned by Belgian comms regulator BIPT. It now owns 20 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 100 MHz in the 3.6 GHz band. In total, Orange Belgium acquired license for 200 MHz of spectrum at €322 million.
“We seized the opportunity to optimise the management of our network, upgrade it to more secure, resilient, energy efficient and modern technologies,” said OB’s CEO Xavier PICHON, “4G and 5G are now operating in most European countries and reflect our obsession with voice quality, data performance, limiting CO2 emissions and exploiting the potential of the internet of thing. Soon we’ll use 5G to provide these.”
OB has also confirmed that it will start phasing out its 3G technology by mid-2023 so it can make more efficient use of its time, money, energy and newly expanded range of broadcasting options with more modern technologies.
“Phasing out 3G technology rids us of obsolete equipment that consumes a lot of electricity, space and human energy to maintain,” said Stefan Slavnicu, Orange Belgium’s Chief Network Officer.