Telecom companies in Belgium have increased the price of their standard packages (including television, internet, and telephone) by between 15% and 70% since 2014, according to consumer organisation Testachats.
The organisation criticised a lack of competition in the market, even after the arrival of a fourth telecom player.
Orange Belgium announced on Monday that the rates for its VOO and Orange brands will increase in January. Proximus (which also includes the Scarlet brand) will also see a rate increase early next year, and Telenet raised several prices at the end of April.
The telecom players generally cite higher labour costs and investments in the networks.
Testachats states that the price of a standard package including television, internet, and telephone has risen between 15% (at Proximus subsidiary Scarlet) and 70% (at VOO) since 2014.
Challengers
The largest players, Telenet (+50%) and Proximus (+29%), are somewhere in between, as is Orange (+49%).
However, the price increases are mainly due to a lack of competition in the market, even after the arrival of DIGI as the fourth telecom player, said Testachats.
"As long as the three major players hold the lion's share of the market and collaborate with each other to roll out fiber in rural areas, they will be able to continue to impose price increases," said Testachats.
According to the organisation, Belgium is also very expensive for telecom compared to neighbouring countries.
"It is very important that new players like DIGI are given every opportunity to roll out their offerings and to be able to play the role of challenger," said spokesperson Laura Clays in a press release. "In the meantime, little will likely change for Belgians, except for further price increases."
Testachats advises consumers to carefully compare prices.
