Proximus, Mobistar, Base and Telenet/Voo are expected to contact 90 percent of their customers on plans more than two years old in the coming months, equal to around 800,000 subscribers.
In response to the government's announcement, Base said the campaign was not necessary given that it already offers competitive prices as the 'challenger' on the market. It said the government could better conduct such a campaign in the fixed market, where there is little competition.
Belgian consumer group Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats said that while it has long called for more attention to this group of customers, the move does not go far enough. Not all customers are represented, the plan leaves it up to consumers to change their plans, and the campaign does not define the rules under which operators will have to inform their customers. Finally, operators will likely mingle the information with marketing efforts, which will undermine the whole point of the exercise.
