• Opinion of 29 April 2024 on the draft resolutions examining of the possibility of merging market regulators with a view to improving their functioning

    Publications › Opinion -
    BIPT Opinion on the possibility of merging market regulators with a view to improving their functioning.
  • Operators envisage cooperation for fibre deployment

    Publications › Press release -
    Certain operators have informed the BIPT that they have initiated negotiations in order to cooperate to roll out fibre.
  • The BIPT publishes its price study on fixed and convergent telecom services for 2019-2024

    Publications › Press release -
    Prices for fixed internet subscriptions that are purchased alone ("standalone") or together with a mobile subscription have remained stable or even decreased over the past five years.
  • 5G roll-out in Belgium: network mapping and quality

    Publications › Press release -
    The Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) has published 5G coverage maps showing the progress made by operators and highlighting the role of 5G in offsetting the saturation of 4G networks. Operators are gradually deploying 5G in Belgium.
  • FAQ

    PLEASE NOTE THAT:

    • Persons finding themselves in one of the situations below and that applied for the social discount (old social rate) before 01/03/2024 can continue to enjoy this discount, with a few exceptions laid down in legislation. From 01 March 2024  you may be eligible for the social Internet offer if you meet the conditions
    • In one and the same household only one person can benefit from either the social discount (old social tariff) or from the social Internet subscription.

    First situation: Persons older than 65

    Summary of the conditions

    Be older than 65:

    In that case two additional conditions have to be met:

    1. Live alone or live together with one or more persons older than 60. In addition it is allowed to live together with one’s children or grandchildren. In that case the grandchildren have to be orphans who have lost both of their parents or who have been entrusted to their grandparents by a court ruling.                
    2. Have a gross taxable income for the entire household that does not exceed the cap set by the RIZIV/INAMI to be eligible for the increased financial intervention for health care.

    Second situation: disability

    Summary of the conditions

    Have a disability of at least 66%: be recognised as a person disabled or unable to work for more than 66% by an administrative or court ruling, be recognised by the FPS Social Security as a person disabled for more than 66% or as a person whose self-reliance is diminished by at least 9 points, or be recognised by the sickness insurance agency to be invalid for more than 66%.

    In that case three additional conditions have to be met:

    1. be older than 18 AND
    2. live alone
      or live together
           -    with maximum two persons
          -    or with relatives or in-laws of the first or second degree (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, stepparents, stepchildren) AND
    3. have a gross taxable income for the entire household that does not exceed the cap set by the RIZIV/INAMI to be eligible for the increased financial intervention for health care.

    Third situation: guaranteed minimum income

    Summary of the conditions

    Receive a guaranteed minimum income pursuant to the Act of 26 May 2002 on the right to social integration.

    Fourth situation: hearing loss

    Summary of the conditions

    Suffer from at least 70 dB hearing loss in the best ear or live together with a child or grandchild that suffers from at least 70 dB hearing loss in the best ear.

    Fifth situation: laryngectomy

    Summary of the conditions

    Having undergone a laryngectomy or live together with a child or grandchild that has undergone a laryngectomy.

    Sixth situation: military war-blinded

    Summary of the conditions

    Be a military person who has been blinded in war.

  • FAQ

    Per household only one social discount/social Internet offer can be used.

    As long as you benefit from the social discount on your telecom bill, your family member is not eligible for the social Internet offer.

    So check, before changing, if the social internet offer corresponds to the needs of your household.

  • FAQ

    You may be eligible for the social Internet offer.

    You do not meet the granting conditions or the social Internet offer does not appeal to you?
    Go to besttariff.be, the government’s telecom tariff comparison tool, and find the telecom tariff plan that does meet your needs, which may be cheaper for you. All telecom tariff plans available on the market are listed there, ranging from inexpensive to more expensive.

  • FAQ

    No, even if your personal situation has not changed in any other aspect, it becomes impossible after 1 March 2024 to get a social discount on your new tariff plan, if the subscription which the social discount applies to is cancelled to switch to another tariff plan - whether the operator is the same or not.

    If you meet the conditions to be granted the social Internet offer, you can apply for it to a provider.

    You do not meet the granting conditions or the social Internet offer does not appeal to you?
    Go to besttariff.be, the government’s telecom tariff comparison tool, and find the telecom tariff plan that does meet your needs, which may be cheaper for you. All telecom tariff plans available on the market are listed there, ranging from inexpensive to more expensive.

  • FAQ

    No, even if your personal situation has not changed in any other aspect, the “old” social tariff stops if the address where the fixed Internet is provided changes because of a move.

    If you meet the conditions  to be granted the social Internet offer, you can apply for it to a provider.

    You do not meet the granting conditions or the social Internet offer does not appeal to you?
    Go to besttariff.be, the government’s telecom tariff comparison tool, and find the telecom tariff plan that does meet your needs, which may be cheaper for you. All telecom tariff plans available on the market are listed there, ranging from inexpensive to more expensive.

  • FAQ

    That is possible.

    If you think you meet the conditions applicable to the social Internet offer:

    1. you should check whether the characteristics of your operator’s (or another operator’s) social Internet offer for fixed Internet meet your needs;
    2. if that is the case, you choose a provider of the social Internet offer to apply to;
    3. The latter will forward your application to the FPS Economy, which will check the granting conditions.

    Mind you, after you have cancelled the subscription on which the social discount was granted (“old” social tariff), you lose that discount forever. After 1 March 2024 only applications for the social Internet offer can be submitted.

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