The Belgian telecomms company Verixi, specialising in fibre optics, has taken up a new challenge: to offer a complete range of services for connecting to government databases. A major step forward in the public institutions sector for this player, hosted by LCL since 2017. Piery Garot, CEO of Verixi, tells us more about this project.

The Belgian telecomms company Verixi, specialising in fibre optics, has taken up a new challenge: to offer a complete range of services for connecting to government databases. A major step forward in the public institutions sector for this player, hosted by LCL since 2017. Piery Garot, CEO of Verixi, tells us more about this project.

Secure access is mandatory

The Belgian National Register is a database containing information about people legally residing in Belgium, as well as Belgians registered with consulates. Via its digital network, local authorities are obliged to connect to it in order to share information such as place and date of birth, main residence, civil status, etc. in a controlled and secure manner.

"Access to federal databases, in particular the National Register, is compulsory for Belgian municipal administrations. Whether it is for the issue of an identity card, a driving licence or the allocation of benefits, these are the official sources of information about our fellow citizens," explains Bruno Rodens, IT Assistant for the city of Ath.

A challenger's position in a market dominated by two players

Unlike its main competitors whose major shareholder is public, Verixi is a private Belgian company under the control of its management. This distinctive feature enables this company, which has a turnover of €3 million, to set itself apart by emphasising the quality of its services, its knowledge of its customers and its responsiveness to their demands. These assets have enabled it to enter the B2G market against major players, the two main ones being the PubliLink (Proximus) and Publiwin (Tecteo) platforms.

"Our business model aims to offer, for a given budget, a tailor-made service product with better performance and higher bandwidths (up to 10 times higher),” explains Piery Garot.

In addition, the telecomms operator has a versatile product range (cable, VDSL, fibre optics), which enables it to respond more broadly to its customers' needs. Verixi also has its own fibre-optic network that extends over 2,000 km in Belgium and is able to connect both business centres (B2B) and public institutions (B2G).

"Verixi has met all of our specifications. Relying on a telecomms operator that understands our needs perfectly and offers us a full range of services at a competitive price is essential for us," adds Bruno Rodens.

An ambitious goal in the service of the B2G sector

This B2G segment of the connection market has great potential for Belgian telecomms operators, provided that they meet all the eligibility criteria for calls for tenders from municipalities (multiple connections, customer history, etc.). This requires specific skills and positioning that few stakeholders have been able to demonstrate so far.

"We meet the eligibility criteria necessary to win other public contracts. Our ambition for 2024 is to reach a market share of 10% of the Belgian municipalities. In concrete terms, the aim is to offer our connection services to 50 municipalities within 3 years. We are mobilising to achieve this bold objective and are working towards a secure, high-quality connection in the B2G sector,” concludes Piery Garot.