• Telcos are constantly seeking news ways to boost their revenues and improve customer satisfaction
• Recent moves in Europe and the Middle East show an increasing shift towards the launch of so-called super apps
• Belgium’s national operator Proximus has joined the party with a ‘digital companion’ for its customers

Belgium’s national operator Proximus is the latest telco to launch a super app in an effort to improve customer satisfaction and retention, increase its revenues and enhance its digital services portfolio.

Telcos around the world are exploring multiple ways to innovate and develop new business opportunities and it seems like super apps are regarded as a good way to deliver the digital services that customers increasingly rely upon in their everyday lives.

Joining an increasing number of its peers, the Belgian operator recently took the wraps off Proximus+, an app it is pitching as “the digital companion in every user’s daily life” that leverages numerous “strong partnerships” to deliver a wide range of services.

Proximus+ will act as an evolved version of existing MyProximus, which already provides a range of telecom service-related applications, such as checking details on products, tracking Wi-Fi experience, monitoring data usage and bills, as well as accessing customised support.

And while these services are set to remain centre stage in the new app, Proximus highlighted a plethora of additional features integrated in the new app. These include services for tracking energy and water consumption in real time, checking weather forecasts and traffic conditions, discovering events nearby, making bookings and watching multimedia content.

Touting its user-friendly nature, Proximus explained the services are “more seamlessly integrated” in the new app, so that users don’t have to sign in with different partners or provide payment details every time.

According to the telco, all these options have been made possible through creating an ecosystem that “connects all Proximus digital platforms and expands them through unequaled partnerships”.

The company explained it has plans to add new service in the future, such as features for budget management, navigation and real-time traffic alerts.

With the release of the new app, the 1 million active users of MyProximus will be gradually migrated to the Proximus+ app.

“Proximus+ has all it takes to make our customers’ daily life easier by fully leveraging the digital opportunities available. The focus isn’t only on telecom interactions: we also address many other aspects of their daily lives, working closely with local and international players”, stated Jim Casteele, consumer market lead at Proximus.

He further described the launch as “a bold move that puts us ahead of other telecom companies and enables us to rival with the most prominent digital brands in our country.” The telco’s main domestic competitors are Orange and Telenet. 

Proximus is not the only telco to have launched such a super app in recent times. At the end of last year, Orange unveiled plans to launch a super app called Max it initially in five markets in Africa before a larger expansion to 12 additional countries in the region – see Now Orange has a super app.

Just weeks before, EE, the consumer brand of UK national operator BT, unveiled a range of services and products via an EE ID digital platform – see BT’s EE unveils its super app.

And earlier in 2023, Middle East telco giant e& splashed $400m for a majority stake in a super app developed by Careem, the Middle Eastern division of Uber Technologies – see e& boosts its digital services play with $400m investment into super app.

- Yanitsa Boyadzhieva, Deputy Editor, TelecomTV