Frequently asked questions about fiber for your home

Fiber in general

What is optical fiber?

Fiber is the technology of the future. This fine glass fiber transmits Internet data over long distances at the speed of light, thus offering many advantages including a much more stable and faster Internet connection than with traditional copper cables.

Proximus is therefore modernizing its network by gradually replacing traditional copper cables with fiber. And unlike most other operators who stop at the street, Proximus installs fiber right into the heart of your home, to ensure the best possible performance. Eventually, our copper network will be completely replaced by fiber.

More info about the new network

Why choose optical fiber?

Thanks to fiber, you benefit from an ultra-fast and stable Internet connection, ultra-low latency, a picture sharper than ever on all your screens and most of all, you're future ready!

• Ultra-fast and stable Internet: no dropped connections or slowdowns for uploading and downloading, streaming and gaming regardless of the number of people or devices connected at the same time.
• Ultra-low latency: When you play online, every millisecond counts. With fiber you’re one step ahead of your opponents.
• A picture sharper than ever on all your screens: whether it's on your TV, tablet or smartphone, with fiber, no detail will escape you anymore.
• Future ready: in the future, your home will be increasingly connected to the Internet. A fiberhome takes this evolution in its stride.

Check if fiber is available for your address

Gbps and Mbps, what are they exactly?

Mbps (megabits per second) is a unit of measurement for the amount of data that can be transferred in one second. This unit of measurement of transmission is used worldwide to quantify Internet speeds.

Mbps means megabits per second. Gbps means gigabits per second. One gigabit corresponds to 1,000 megabits, which is very fast!

The speeds announced by Proximus correspond to the download and upload speeds. When a fiber product has Internet speeds of up to 350/50 Mbps, it means that the connection is capable of downloading up to 350 megabits and sending up to 50 megabits of data per second. For example, with a connection of 1 gigabit per second, you download a 1.5 gigabit movie in just 12 seconds, whereas with a traditional speed (70 Mbps), it will take you almost 3 minutes.
 

Where is fiber available?

Fiber is currently being rolled out in several Belgian cities, namely  Aalst, Anderlecht, Antwerpen-Diamant, Antwerpen-Oost, Antwerpen-West, Bruges, Brussel-Anspach, Charleroi, Deurne, Elsene, Etterbeek, Evere, Gent, Hasselt, Knokke-Heist, Kortrijk, Leuven, Luik, Mechelen, Molenbeek-Koekelberg, Namen, Oostende, Roeselare, Schaerbeek, Sint Niklaas, Ukkel and Vilvoorde.

The objective is to provide an ultra-fast and stable network, capable of easily absorbing the data traffic that will continue to grow in the years to come.

Deployment will continue to expand in Belgium in the coming months and years.

Is fiber coming to your city?

Installation

Is a fiber connection completely free of charge?

Yes, your connection to fiber is entirely free of charge with any activation of a Flex Fiber or Epic combo fiber pack, whether you are a Proximus customer or not.

What is the installation procedure for an existing home?

We lay our fiber cable in your neighborhood street by street. To enable fiber to be installed up to your home, preparatory work is needed, i.e. excavation or facade work. We'll do everything we can to minimize disruption and will keep you informed of the schedule.

Once the works have been completed in your street, the fiber cable will arrive discretely in your premises. From that moment on, you will be invited to switch to this new technology and enjoy all the advantages of fiber. Once your order has been placed, one of our technicians will come to your home on the agreed date to install your fiber junction box.

If you live in a building managed by a syndic (property management company) id_cb_fiber_syndic, the latter must first give us access to the building for the installation of fiber in the common areas. Only then can you request your connection to our fiber network.

However, several situations may arise:

• You have an installation on your facade or on your neighbor's facade
  
  In this case, the technician will bring the fiber into your home from the black box visible in the photo above. To do so, he will meticulously drill a hole from the outside to the inside to run the fiber cable from your facade to the inside of your home. He will then install your fiber junction box. The location of the modem will be determined jointly with the technician, depending on where you wish to install your modem. Please note that a power socket is required near this box.
  To perform this work, the technician will use a big ladder or an elevator. The complete installation will take an average of 2 to 5 hours, and the materials used by the technician will ensure watertightness. All you need to know about facade work
• You live in a house and don’t have a facade-mounted installation
  In this case, the connection will be made through the basement. If you don't have a buried standpipe, the technician will provide for a connection to the road by digging a trench. He will then install the fiber junction box inside your home. The location of the modem will be determined jointly with the technician, depending on where you wish to install your modem. Please note that a power socket is required near this box. The complete installation will take an average of 2 to 5 hours, and the materials used by the technician will ensure watertightness.
• You live in an apartment and don't have a facade-mounted installation
  In this case, the connection will be made from a box previously installed in the cellar of your building (or on the floor on which your apartment is located). The technician will then go through the common areas to carefully pull the fiber cable into your apartment. He will then install your fiber junction box. The location of the modem will be determined jointly with the technician, depending on where you wish to install your modem. Please note that a power socket is required near this box.
  The complete installation will take an average of 2 to 5 hours, and the materials used by the technician will ensure watertightness.
• And if I have a small garden or driveway in front of my house, what will happen?
  Our technicians will install the cabling on the façade of the building or underground if necessary. The work on your property is taken care of by Proximus up to a maximum length of 50 meters.

I'm having a new house built through a property developer. How do I get it connected to the fiber network?

In the case of a new construction by a property developer and if fiber is available at that address at the time of construction, the developer will deal with submitting the application to connect to our fiber network. When you move, all you have to do is order your fiber products and make an appointment with one of our technicians to arrange for the installation.

How? Check whether or not fiber is available for your address.Then, simply follow the different steps that will be proposed to you.

I'm having a new house built through an architect. How do I get it connected to the fiber network?

If you're having an architect build your new home, check whether fiber is available for your new home. If that is the case, don't forget to request to have it connected to our fiber network before ordering your fiber products and installing them.

Has this already been done? Then order your fiber products directly online and make an appointment with one of our technicians to install the fiber junction box.

How do I view, change or delete my installation appointment?

We always confirm appointments by e-mail. To view or change your appointment afterwards, click on the personal link contained in this e-mail. Appointment cancellations, however, can only be made by telephone at 0800 55 800.

Switching to fiber

I'm interested in fiber. What should I do?

Check if fiber is available for your address.

• If it is, you will be invited to order your fiber products online and schedule an appointment with one of our technicians to install your fiber junction box.
• If fiber is not yet available for your home but Proximus is planning to install it in your street, fill in the form that will be proposed to you. One of our employees will then contact you as soon as possible to give you more information about the probable installation period and answer any questions you may have.
• Finally, given that we are rolling out fiber in several phases, your home may be located in an area where works have not yet been planned or in an area in which we are unable to install fiber for technical or administrative reasons.

Why can't I be connected to the fiber network?

Proximus is deploying fiber in several phases. It's therefore possible that your address is not (yet) located in an area currently covered by the fiber laying work. It’s also possible that your home is located in a neighborhood served by fiber, but for technical or administrative reasons (refusal of the syndic, permits, etc.), we may not be able to bring it into your home.

Check if fiber is available for your address

Will my alarm system still work properly if I switch to fiber?

It depends on how your alarm system is connected:

• Is it connected via Wi-Fi? This will not be a problem, but the installer of your alarm will need to reconfigure the terminal.
• Is it connected to your Internet line, a mobile network or a separate analog line? In that case you won't have to do anything.
• Is it connected to the same analog line that you are calling from? In that case we recommend that you opt for a battery backup for your modem, so the modem will continue to function in case of a power outage.

In addition, if your alarm system is connected to a monitoring station, we advise you to ask your alarm installer to check to make sure the system is working properly.