Communication of 27 November 2023 on the benchmarking of the fixed service and convergent bundle rates on the residential market [Tariffs applied in Q4 2023]

The telecommunications market is a dynamic and constantly evolving market. Offers change rapidly and comparing them is not easy for ordinary users.

To help them, the BIPT carries out a national price benchmarking each year. This study takes demand as its starting point, i.e. the needs that different types of telecoms service users have to satisfy.

The user profiles studied are those of households with sufficiently varied profiles to give a broad and varied picture of the Belgian residential telecoms market. For a better understanding the BIPT chose for this ninth edition to split the profile analysis into 2 studies. The first one focusses on postpaid mobile profiles while the other focusses on fixed and convergent services. The BIPT considered all the plans included in the tariff simulator www.besttariff.be.

The telecom solutions taken into account to satisfy the needs associated with each profile may include:

• a standalone service;
• a bundle (2P, 3P, 4P) with one or several mobile subscription(s);
• a “tailor-made” solution combining several standalone services by the same operator or a “mixed” solution combining providers, i.e. picking a different operator for the fixed needs (Internet, TV, fixed telephony) and the mobile needs, for instance.

The monthly cost of the plans include the cost of the plan as well as the cost of the add-ons and/or out-of-bundle costs and the activation and/or installation costs depreciated over a period of 3 years.

Given their temporary nature, promotions have not been taken into account in this eighth edition.