After years of the news that Belgacom wanted to acquire KPN or the other way around, the conclusion was that the cultural differences between Belgium and the Netherlands would make the merger a complete failure, so the operators did not go through with it. Both operators continued to strengthen their position on their respective home markets, but now KPN has dropped in on Belgacom’s home turf with the acquisitions of Getronics, telecom retailer Allo Telecom and ISP, fixed network operator Tele2 Belgium. Combining the Getronics activities with Tele2’s Belgian fixed network offers KPN a strong market position on the Belgian business market. On the consumer market, KPN’s mobile brand BASE could become the triple play brand of KPN in Belgium, offering DSL and telephony services to complement BASE’s current mobile offerings.
