Base

Company Overview

Telenet Group bvba/sprl, trading as Base, is one of three mobile networks operating in Belgium. Base was founded in 1999 under the brand name of KPN Orange. It was a joint venture between Dutch KPN Mobile and British Orange. After the acquisition of Orange by France Télécom, its shares were sold to KPN Mobile. After a few years, the brand name was changed from KPN to Base. In 2015 Telenet Group agreed to purchase Base, and by February 2016 the operational takeover was complete.

The company operates a conventional 2G GSM network on 900 and 1800 MHz, and provides 3G services over B1 (2100 MHz), and later in 2008 over B8 (900 MHz). 3G services were upgraded to HSPA+ in 2012, and DC-HSPA+ in April 2013.

In 2011 the Belgian telecommunications regulator approved the use of both 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz for LTE services, with Base swiftly deploying B3 and B7 LTE networks on the respective frequency allotments. In November 2013 the 800 MHz spectrum auction concluded with Base securing a 10 MHz block over which it deployed B20 (800 MHz) LTE. Base began trialling LTE-A carrier aggregation of B3, B7, and B20 bands in March 2014, and now advertises the service as 4G+ offering peak data rates up to 250 Mbps.

Base (Telenet) 5G

Base formed a strategic partnership with ZTE, launching a 5G innovation centre in October 2017. Due to controversial delays faced by the national 5G spectrum auction, Telenet does not expect to launch its 5G network before 2021.