A number of Brussels residents have vented their frustration at the arrival of a new telecommunications provider and the reams of cables that are being installed across properties as a result.
In a city famed for its appealing Art Nouveau façades, some homeowners are concerned that a new telecommunications company will spoil the image. Belgium has long had just three internet and phone providers – Proximus, Orange, and Telenet – meaning that telecom prices are much higher than in neighbouring countries due to a lack of market competition.
In a bid to address this disparity, which in some cases sees Belgians pay ten times more for internet than residents of adjacent countries, the Minister for Telecommunications Petra de Sutter (Groen) has worked to allow new providers to join the market. Specifically, the Romanian company Digi has secured the government's approval to become Belgium's fourth provider.
But despite the better deals that Digi promises to bring consumers once operating this summer, the installation of its cable network has riled up property owners, who are angry by the appearance of bright fibre optic cables. More vexing still is the fact that neither communes nor the Federal Government currently have the legal authority to forbid Digi from rolling out the cables, RTBF reports.
A lawless zone
The "invasion" has prompted some residents to group together in protest against Digi, with a petition garnering support from residents of Auderghem, Schaerbeek, St-Josse and Anderlecht. In particular, disgruntled homeowners have pointed out that it is technically possible for Digi to provide its services using the existing networks of the three other service providers.
One city resident fumed that "Brussels façades are already covered with multiple cables and connection boxes – I have seen buildings we ten of them attached to the front. We won't just sit back and watch Brussels be made ugly."
Moreover, some homeowners say that despite their opposition, Digi installed the cables anyway. But the Belgian Institute for Postal and Telecommunications Services (IBPT) points out that Belgian law does not allow a property owner to prevent service providers from affixing cables to their façades. Likewise, the law (which dates from 1991) does not allow a property owner to deny access to their façade simply because another provider has already put their cables on the façade. Only when the building is listed must alternative arrangements be made.
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However, service providers are required to notify property owners if they intend to install cables on the building. Failure to do so means that the property owner can then formally lodge a complaint.
Many of those who have signed the petition say that Digi did not tell them of the installation plans and thereby failed to comply with the law. Some have gone so far as to say that Digi's practices are illegal and should be penalised. At the same time, they criticise the existing laws for being "prehistoric" and ill-fitted to regulate the telecommunications infrastructure of today.
Complaints will be passed on to the IBPT, though it is not yet clear when a decision will be taken on the issue and what this might entail.
