HC deal with Unifiber: an important milestone for Circet in Wallonia

After one and a half years of negotiations and testing, our HC contract with Unifiber is finally in motion, enabling us to connect homes in Wallonia until June 2029. The contract therefore allows us to build on the fibre roll-out for the same customer. Stijn and Pieterjan tell you more about this important deal for Circet Wallonia.

👉 Who is who?

• Stijn Baert is Head of Sales & Marketing.
• Pieterjan Becuwe is the Operations Manager of the HC project.

“The negotiations with Unifiber were intensive and lasted no less than a year and a half,” says Stijn. “We carried out an initial test in Waterloo – known as ‘proof of concept’ – in the spring of 2023. This enabled us to zero in on the customer’s expectations and fine-tune our pricing. Last month, we finally closed the deal: the signatures were on the Home Connect contract at long last.”

“This contract gives us the great opportunity to build on the fibre roll-out in the Walloon market.”

👉 The contract runs until June 2029. How many home connections does it involve?

Pieterjan: “To date, we have already visited over 8250 addresses ahead of their connection. For this purpose, 12 teams, each composed of 2 technicians, will be on the road in Waterloo, La Hulpe, Rixensart, Jodoigne, Verviers and Huy. So, still quite a limited number, but being able to scale up quickly will be crucial. The number of home connections could suddenly explode. Braine-l’Alleud and several cities around Charleroi are also in the pipeline.”

Stijn: “In addition to Circet, Unifiber has another HC partner for the Walloon territory, which means there is definitely a lot of work coming our way. The key aspect of this contract is that it gives us a great opportunity to build on the fibre roll-out. Once the fibre infrastructure has been installed everywhere, Circet will need other business lines. Connecting homes is one of them.”

Pieterjan: “By the way, in collaboration with Proximus, we are currently conducting a test to combine connection and activation in a single service delivery. The first phase was successful. All going well, there will be a small-scale roll-out in one city early next year.”

👉 What does this deal mean for Operations?

Pieterjan: “A team of 10 Circet colleagues is managing the entire project. Specifically, this concerns dispatch & planning, permits, quality control, project management, etc. Every technician comes to our Circet Academy to obtain the necessary certifications. This means that Unifiber is entrusting us with the entire training and certification process, which is evidence of their high level of trust.”

“Every technician obtains the necessary certifications at the Circet Academy. Unifiber is entrusting us with the entire training and certification process.”

👉 Why is the HC contract a vital project for Circet?

Stijn: “First and foremost, it is an important milestone for Circet Wallonia. We are much less known in the south of Belgium than in Flanders. This long-term contract will give us great visibility in Wallonia in the coming years.”

Pieterjan: “In Flanders, Circet has also built up a lot of experience with the roll-out of digital meters on behalf of Fluvius and the installation of charging stations for electric cars. This deal will open doors to other Walloon telecom players and to utilities, I am sure it will!”