Belgian telco Proximus is planning a major real estate divestment program as part of its copper network shutdown.

L’Echo reports the telco plans to sell some 60 percent of its buildings by 2035 as part of the shutdown of its copper network and the pivot to fiber.

Proximus reportedly aims to free up nearly 500 buildings, totalling approximately 500,000 square meters (5.38 million sq ft), over the next ten years.

The sales will occur in two phases, starting next week with around a hundred of Proximus’ “most attractive” locations.

This initial three-year phase will see several properties being put on the market twice a year. In some cases, Proximus will lease back part of some buildings for a few years until the copper network is fully decommissioned.

The second phase, possibly from 2028, will see another 350 buildings hit the market, largely without any leaseback caveats.

Proximus can trace its roots back to the original Belgian telegraph services set up by the government in the late 1800s. It was officially founded as RTT in 1930, before becoming Belgacom in 1992 and rebranding to Proximus in 2014. The Belgian government remains the largest shareholder in the company.

Proximus aims to decommission existing copper networks where fiber optics have been installed after five years. The first switch-off happened around Anspachlaan in Brussels in 2022.

According to its most recent quarterly results, Proximus’ fiber footprint has now reached 2.3 million fiber homes passed; it aims to reach 95 percent (5.9 million) fiber optic coverage of Belgian homes and businesses by 2032.

Copper network shutdowns are ongoing by incumbent telcos globally. Copper networks often include large numbers of exchange buildings (sometimes known as Central Offices), where the physical phone lines are interconnected, which are being sold off and/or repurposed.

Telefónica recently completed its switch-off in Spain, closing more than 8,000 exchanges nationally.

In the UK, BT and Openreach are amidst a program to shutdown the UK’s copper network and close some 4,000 exchanges nationally over the next ten years. BT sold the majority of the sites to Telereal Trillium in a sale-leaseback deal back in 2001 for £2.38bn (around £4.45 billion/$5.27bn today, adjusting for inflation).

In the US, Ziply has upgraded its copper network to fiber and used the excess real estate to start offering retail colocation services. AT&T has signed several sale-leaseback deals for a number of its copper exchanges ahead of its own network retirement plan.

Telecom Argentina started its copper shutdown in 2023; Ethiopia’s Ethio Telecom, Norway’s Telenor, Ireland’s Eir, and Monaco Telecom are others that have or are in the midst of copper retirement.