Excellent
quality and coverage to serve
customers’ experience

As the volume of mobile data grows exponentially year-on-year, networks need more and more capacity. Orange uses big data technologies to measure the impact on its network and better prioritise developments. In 2017, the Orange network pleased customers with its superior capacity and speed.

Focus on customer experience

Ensuring the quality of the customer’s experience is at the heart of Orange Belgium’s network operations activities. With 50% growth in data traffic in 2017, this focus is constantly being challenged. The Orange network team leverages big data technologies to stay on top of customer usage patterns − and then, throughout the year, conducts continuous optimisation projects. The customers responded with a steadily growing NPS.

Investing where it counts

Orange continues to invest to improve its coverage. The increased usage of mobile data services in all aspects of people’s lives has meant that customers’ expectations have increased and that they typically expect outstanding network quality. At the end of 2017, Orange Belgium’s outdoor 4G network coverage stood at 99.7%, while indoor coverage reached 93.5%. 4G+ coverage has reached 62.9%, providing an extra blanket of mobile connectivity in areas where extra capacity is requested.

Orange invests where it counts for its customers. With almost 100 extra network installations and optimisation of its current network capacity, Orange boosted its 4G and 4G+ capacity to ensure its customers can easily and instantly share and livestream their memorable moments via high-speed internet.

Sharing greatest moments

Over the summer, via social media, Orange customers shared their greatest moments − captured in videos and photos − at more than 150 events and festivals, increasing mobile data volume by 82% compared to last year. Customers used 91 TB of mobile data, the equivalent of 30 million photos of 3 MB each.

Future-proof Mobile IoT (Internet of Things)

In December, Orange announced the availability of Narrow Band-IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE-M technologies − so-called ‘Mobile IoT’ − providing nationwide coverage both indoors and outdoors. Based on international standards, this new IoT network has reached 100% coverage to support massive IoT solutions.

With regard to businesses, Mobile IoT will be able to answer the needs of the future. As for consumers, they will see a huge variety of new products, services and applications enabled thanks to the Mobile IoT network.

As they are fully consistent with the future evolution towards 5G, the Mobile IoT technologies are future-proof. This will make it possible to connect objects that require very high reliability (e.g. the ability to control critical devices and automation processes remotely).

Leveraging LPWA technologies

The NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies are Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) cellular network layers that will allow millions of everyday objects to be connected to the Internet of Things. When connecting objects to the Internet of Things, LPWA technologies offer many advantages, such as extending the battery life of the connected equipment by up to 10 years (thanks to low energy consumption), or dramatically reducing the cost of the radio modules inside the devices that need to be connected.

Outlook for 2018 − moving into the future

In 2018, in preparation for 5G rollout and virtualisation technologies, the Orange network team will be strengthening the network’s backbone, and further deploying the 4G+ and 4.5G technologies.

Another priority for the year is launching Voice over IP technologies commercially to enable customers to optimise their infrastructure by bundling telephony and mobile data.

4G in the Brussels metro

Thanks to Orange Belgium’s continuous investments in its 4G mobile network, Orange customers can enjoy comprehensive high-speed mobile internet while travelling with the Brussels metro − not only in the metro stations, but also in the carriages during their journey.

‘Roam like at home’

With the implementation of the EU roaming regulation in June, travelling EU citizens can now call, text and surf without surcharges in the 28 European Union countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Orange Belgium went even beyond the EU roaming regulation by extending the same advantages to its customers in 8 extra territories. So Orange customers can stay connected anywhere anytime − just like at home − at no extra cost when travelling to 39 European countries and territories.