Introduced in 2023, the Open Access Committee has several objectives, including promoting the idea of Open Access and the wholesale fibre business model, stimulating and encouraging wholesale-oriented regulation and discussing and exchanging experience and best practices. To deliver on its mission and based on the know-how of its member companies, the Committee touches upon several fields, including the regulatory framework for wholesale operators, the technical aspects of Open Access, IT solutions for network operators, promotion and education, and sales and marketing of Open Access-based fibre services.

You can expect a variety of new contents and resources generating from these discussions, that will soon become beneficial to the fibre community at large.

For those who are not familiar with the concept of Open Access, here are five main advantages of adopting this business model while deploying FTTH networks, as identified by the working group:

  1. Open Access is a model that allows for the deployment and operation of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in a cost-efficient way.  Building one infrastructure that is accessible to all service providers is in fact very cost-efficient, and has a significant impact on national coverage and market value. This cost-efficiency results from the fact that the same infrastructure is shared by all service providers, reducing the need for multiple infrastructures and saving on deployment and maintenance costs.
  2. The wholesale model can be very agile in administration, as there is no customer care. This means that service providers can focus on delivering services, while wholesale operators handle infrastructure maintenance and management.
  3. Service providers benefit from extensive coverage of the open access network without upfront investment, which makes it easier for them to provide services to customers without having to invest in expensive infrastructure.
  4. End-users benefit from a variety of services provided by diverse operators over the open access network. This means that customers have access to more choices in terms of services, pricing, and quality.
  5. Open Access drives competition of services in a very simple and transparent way. The wholesale operator does not compete with service providers, and service providers have equal terms and conditions of access. This creates equal opportunities for all service providers, promoting a more competitive and dynamic market.

Presentation "International/European State of Affairs for fiber deployment", during Fiber for BE, the State of Fiber in Belgium

Oct 17, 2023
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Event: Presentation "International/European State of Affairs for fiber deployment", during Fiber for BE, the State of Fiber in Belgium
Speaker: Vincent Garnier – Director General
Date: 17 October 2023
Location: Handelsbeurs (Gent), Belgium
Organiser: FITCE.be

What is happening in the Belgian market and what are successful use cases? What is going to happen in the coming years in terms of fibre deployment? What are the key technological evolutions? What bandwidths and service quality can be delivered on the networks of the future? What is the status of regulation and the role of the different governments in Belgium? How can we ensure the rural parts are not forgotten? What are other challenges Belgian players face in their ambition to roll out fibre? What are the practical day-to-day challenges of actually installing that fibre in the streets? Can AI help to speed up fiber deployments? These are the questions that FITCE's event "Fiber for BE" answered with the help of a prominent speaker line-up, representing the entire value chain. Our Director General Vincent Garnier contributed to the discussion with some fact-based insights from our latest market reports during his presentation, where he took stock of the Belgian fibre market in comparison to EU trends and ambitions for digital connectivity by 2030.

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