Woluwe-Saint-Lambert stops fibre optic rollout after complaints

The rollout of fibre optic internet in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has been suspended following a flood of complaints from residents, along with shortcomings directly observed by the municipal administration.

Telecommunications company Proximus has been installing new fibre optic infrastructure in the Brussels region for some time now but the works have generated significant public backlash. Residents report damage to their homes, an inordinate amount of unsightly cables on building facades and a lack of proper notice or consent.

There have also been complaints of excessively long parking bans related to the installations, lack of information and unfinished worksites.

“Firstly, Proximus did not provide correct and complete information regarding the fact that residents can refuse the installation of cables on the facade and demand that they be installed in the road, on the pavements and in trenches,” said mayor Olivier Maingain.

“The second problem is that the subcontractor isn’t very precise about the work periods. It announces parking bans without taking into account the reality of the construction site.

"As a result, some bans are too long. And then there are abandoned materials and construction sites that have not been properly finalised. So there has been a lot of discontent."

Maingain said that the municipality gave Proximus numerous warnings and issued formal notices.

“We didn’t get the follow-up we expected, so at some point, the rules have to be enforced,” said Maingain.

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has therefore decided to suspend, for one month, all authorisations granted to Proximus to proceed with the installation of optical fibre.

Proximus has laid the blame squarely on the part of its subcontractor.

“We are aware that work has been carried out without complying with Proximus’s quality criteria,” spokesperson Haroun Fenaux said.

“Streets have been blocked even though the roadworks have not started there. We apologise to the residents. We will try to respect the planned deadlines as much as possible and only block the streets where necessary.”

Representatives of the municipality and Proximus will meet to review the identified worksites to see if the installation of fibre optic can resume.

“The sooner Proximus corrects the errors and dissatisfactions, the sooner the work can resume on a sound basis,” said Maingain.

About 30% of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is now covered by fibre optics, while coverage in the Brussels region overall is estimated at 75%.