Since the beginning of May, Proximus has started equipping its customers with a brand new modem - the Internet Box - and with smart repeaters integrating Wi-Fi 6 and Mesh technologies.
In a context where the quality and performance of the Internet and Wi-Fi at home or in the office are becoming increasingly crucial, this first for Proximus customers paves the way for faster, smarter, more secure and more energy-efficient Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi plays an increasingly important role in the lives of Belgian consumers
Today, having a good internet connection at home or at work has become a basic necessity, right up there with water or electricity. The Covid pandemic, which has led to a sharp increase in home working and in the offer of online services, has only reinforced this need. At Proximus, the average volume of data consumed by customers has jumped by more than 50% over the last two years. Proximus is investing massively in the deployment of the fiber optic network to improve connectivity in homes and businesses precisely to respond to this development.
But alongside network quality, it is also important to be able to count on a stable wireless connection thanks to optimal Wi-Fi coverage. Wi-Fi technology plays an essential role in the day-to-day life of the vast majority of Belgian consumers. On the one hand, because 94% of Proximus customers connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi when they are at home or at work, but also because every home or office has an increasing number of devices connected to the Wi-Fi network. On average, Proximus customers have 21 Wi-Fi devices at home.
Naturally, this increased use of Wi-Fi is leading many customers to look for solutions to boost their network.
Over the past 2 years, the number of residential customers using Wi-Fi Extenders has increased from 27% to 46%. At the same time, Proximus has taken other initiatives to improve the Wi-Fi connectivity of its customers, whether through the MyProximus application and the activation of Smart Wi-Fi, remote monitoring or the proactive dispatch of technicians to test the quality of the network at customers' homes and implement solutions to optimize coverage.
A better surfing experience, throughout the home or officeToday, Proximus is going one step further by launching its first Internet Box that integrates Wi-Fi 6 technology. This increases surfing speed by up to 40% compared to Wi-Fi 5. The new Internet Box has been included since the beginning of May in Proximus' Flex Fiber and Business Flex Fiber residential and small business offers, with up to two intelligent Wi-Fi repeaters (also Wi-Fi 6 compatible), without any price increase.
In concrete terms, the so-called "Mesh" technology consists of a set of Wi-Fi terminals that communicate with each other in a "mesh" topology. The resulting mesh dynamically adapts to data volume requirements by intelligently distributing the load to ensure stability and maximum throughput with greater coverage than ever before, and in a way that is 100% transparent to the user. Users will be able to move around their home or office without losing their connection, as their devices will automatically connect to the Internet Box's Wi-Fi or to the repeaters.
