Belgian telecom prices are in line with the average charged in neighbouring countries, according to a study by the regulator BIPT. This is the third edition of the study aimed at helping to orientate government policy in the sector. The study looked at almost 700 telecom plans advertised in August 2014 in the Netherlands, France, UK and Germany and compared the prices with Belgium based on the standard usage profiles recommended by the OECD. BIPT said it also consulted with local operators on Belgian usage habits.
In the postpaid mobile market, Belgium ranked third for the cheapest average prices, after France and the UK, and in mobile prepaid, Belgium came second after the UK. For mobile internet it scored less well, with the highest prices of the five countries for plans with a lot of data. Few plans of more than 2GB are available in Belgium. For low to medium usage, Belgian mobile internet prices were the second lowest after the UK.
In fixed telephony, the country had the cheapest prices for the two profiles with the highest usage and ranked second or third for the other three usage profiles compared.
The comparison in the broadband market proved more complicated, as standalone broadband is not available in Belgium and only some of the other countries had the same type of dual-play plans. The comparison of triple-play offers showed Belgium remains relatively expensive, with its position improving only once the cost of a bundle of fixed calls is included in the comparison. Especially for plans with speeds of over 100 Mbps, Belgium services were costly compared to its neighbours.
