Ekinops Secures 10-Year Contract for Proximus Belgian Network Upgrade
Proximus has tapped Ekinops for a decade-long partnership to overhaul Belgium’s telecommunications backbone. The initiative, dubbed NEURON, will see the French provider deploy high-speed optical infrastructure across more than 600 sites, transitioning the nation’s network to 800 Gbit/s capacity with future-ready support for 1.6T speeds.
The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed in March, cementing Ekinops as the primary supplier for the Next generation Enhanced Uniform Reliable Optical Network project. Proximus selected the vendor’s WDM platform for its scalability, allowing the operator to manage diverse traffic rates within a single chassis architecture. Beyond hardware, the deal includes the integration of Ekinops’ Celestis NMS software and professional services to oversee the backbone and metro network transition.
Geert Standaert, CTO of Proximus, cited the technical rigor demonstrated during the RFP process and the long-standing rapport between the two firms as critical factors in the selection. For Ekinops, the contract represents a significant expansion of its footprint in European infrastructure. Lionel Chmilewsky, CEO of Ekinops, noted that the project underscores the firm’s focus on high-capacity, flexible optical solutions. The transition begins immediately with lab and field trials, with the first phase of network deployment scheduled for the second half of 2026.
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