Company Name: Belgacom International Carrier Services
Sponsorship: Bronze
Website: http://www.belgacom.de
  Description: Through its Belgacom International Carrier Services subsidiary, Belgacom provides voice, data and capacity services to telecommunications operators and service providers worldwide.

Belgacom has been active in the international carrier market since 1997 and has grown to become one of the 11 largest operators worldwide in the international voice termination market in terms of traffic volume (Source: Belgacom estimate based on Telegeography 2005), providing services to some of the world's leading fixed-line and mobile operators.

In addition to its headquarters located in Brussels, the International Carrier Services segment has a commercial and technical presence in New York (managing the Americas) and in Singapore (managing the Asia-Pacific region) and Dubai (managing the Middle East and North Africa region).

Belgacom's network is currently composed of the following elements:
- 6 European rings connecting more than 20 European cities,
- 6 Metropolitan Area Networks in Brussels, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf;
- More than 50 PoP's in Europe, United States (New York and Miami) and in the Asia Pacific region (Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo).
- Participations in more than 70 submarine cables, including TAT-14 (Europe and US), SMW3 (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and Sat-3 (Europe and Africa).
Belgacom's international traffic is managed through four international switches, while hard-to-reach destinations are connected through its two satellite-earth. Belgacom's international IP network is equipped with Cisco Global Roaming Servers, class routers, running MPLS to provide data capacity for its mobile customers.

In the context of the segment's consolidation strategy, Belgacom concluded on 22 February 2005, a joint venture agreement with Swisscom Fixnet, aiming at a business combination between Belgacom ICS and Swisscom ICS, a division of Swisscom Fixnet acting as the international carrier arm of the Swisscom group. The actual business combination, subject to regulatory approvals and the integration of the two businesses' billing systems, is planned for the third quarter 2005. The joint venture will be controlled 72% by Belgacom S.A. and 28% by Swisscom Fixnet and will be Swisscom's and Belgacom's preferred provider of international connectivity services. Important costs synergies are anticipated from this transaction.

What to see:
"Belgacom International Carrier Services, fully owned subsidiary of Belgacom Group, is at forefront of the international communications industry, acting as catalyst for growth in terms of traffic and reach. The mission of Belgacom International Carrier Services is to enable global interworking across communication standards. As the world of communication is increasingly turning mobile, Belgacom International Carrier Services renews its commitment to the world of communication with a comprehensive value proposition for mobile operators: ‘the Global Mobile Village’. Global Mobile Village is the brand name of a distinctive portfolio of carrier services tailored to the needs of mobile operators, encompassing infrastructure, global connectivity and value-added services, all designed to provide real benefits in terms of increased quality from traditional services and fast international coverage for new mobile data services, such as Wireless Data Roaming and SMS/MMS Interworking."

Press Releases:
• Press release (Arabic)