Private cellular specialist Citymesh has struck a deal with Proximus to offer mobile and fixed telecom services on the Proximus network in Belgium, running alongside localised cellular services in its own spectrum.
The agreement on mobile services extends to a wholesale-based mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) arrangement, enabling Citymesh to run localised enterprise traffic from its private LTE and 5G setups in its own spectrum into wider-area coverage under its own brand.
Citymesh will offer a single-SIM solution in Belgium to provide nationwide coverage along with dedicated local-area private coverage in venues and campuses. The MVNO deal covers voice and SMS traffic only, it appears.
Citymesh said in a statement: “The MVNO setup will ensure continuity of voice and SMS services in and outside a Citymesh private 4G or 5G network and onto the public network of Proximus. The agreement will allow Citymesh to further strengthen its private network offering towards industrial customers.”
The deal for fixed services will see Citymesh also offer “internet and explore” connectivity, as well as reselling Proximus wholesale products for voice. Citymesh noted the significance of the deal, as well, for incumbent operator Proximus’ openness to support a potential rival, in the shape of a niche private wireless operator with ambitions to be “the fourth Belgian operator”.
It said: “While the agreement provides Citymesh with the necessary building blocks to further extend its portfolio for the enterprise market, it also emphasizes Proximus’ open attitude towards collaboration and its ambition to provide gigabit connectivity to different types of partners.”
Citymesh claims deals with 75-odd cities in Belgium, as well as a number of major exhibition halls and large industrial players, notably the Port of Zeebrugge and Brussel Airport. These arrangements cover Wi-Fi deployments, and various IoT designs, as well as private LTE and 5G. The firm, which owns spectrum in Belgium, is targeting ports and airports, cities, healthcare, warehouses, and logistics, as well as offshore wind and drone communications.
Geert Standaert, in charge of Proximus’s network business unit, said: “This deal illustrates our eagerness to build an open network of reference to the benefit of the entire country. By actively engaging in discussions with different industry players, we want to exploit the full potential of some of our most important assets and provide the Belgian economy with the best Gigabit connectivity possible.”
Mitch de Geest, chief executive officer at Citymesh, said: “The ambition of Citymesh is to become the fourth Belgium operator with a clear focus on industrial use cases. The mobile private networks we build today use our own 4G and 5G licenses and enable mission and business critical communication and innovative mobile services for cities, industries and enterprises.
“This agreement extends our mobile flexibility beyond the customer’s private network and allows us to offer strong integrated public and private telecom services. By signing this agreement with Proximus, Citymesh is uniquely positioned to combine the best private networks with the best public network.”
