A Natural Haven for e-Business Operations

It is over seven years since the European telecoms industry was liberalized (1998) - and the industry has grown at speed. In Belgium, the major player, Belgacom, has been joined by a host of companies large and small - Base, BT, Global One Communications and Mobistar, to name just a few operating in either the fixed or mobile market or both.

In addition to telephone communications, Flanders has cable penetration of more than 90% for television and radio, and, with the arrival of Telenet Vlaanderen on the scene, has expanded to broadband to enable full television, radio, Internet and telecoms penetration by cable. Wireless Internet communications are also being researched by companies and institutes in the region. All of this offers immense communications benefits as the focus of the global movement towards e-commerce shifts to the large potential of the European market.

E-business and its systems are not new to Flanders. E-banking has been available for some time, there are a number of e-tailers such as Proxis online. The data security company Ubizen is located in the region while Vasco Data Security of Illinois has its European headquarters close to Brussels. Traditionally, a number of clearing systems, such as Euroclear, have been based in Brussels.

For e-commerce operations, Flanders is ideally situated and has all the skills available to provide initiating and support bases for the logistics and administrative operations required to ensure that e-companies meet distribution and customer care standards. Flanders is located at the heart of Europe, is a leading European logistics base and has the wide language skills and IT capabilities that global operations require to succeed in the European market.