Orange Belgium agreed an initial five-year deal to provide mobile connectivity and IoT services to the Flemish government, enabling all public administrations in the region to benefit from its network.

The operator revealed the agreement is worth €23 million and will run until 2028, with an option to extend it by a further two years.

It was selected by the government following a tender process which invited companies to bid for a contract to support the administration’s innovation and digital transformation goals.

Orange has been a partner of the Flemish government since 2003.

Under the terms of the deal, Orange will provide a variety of administrative entities with mobile telephony, data communications and machine-to-machine and IoT services, with the promise of developing tailored value propositions.

In total, Orange said more than 75,000 SIM cards and 9,500 cards for IoT and M2M services will be activated, in line with a government aim of ensuring its employees have access to well-functioning communications solutions.

In addition, Orange will provide access to its phone app, security offering Mobile Threat Protection, smart parking capabilities for electric vehicles, mobile antennas for events and mobile intelligent voice services.

The agreement builds on other moves made by Orange in the Flanders region, including installing a 5G lab in Antwerp.

Xavier Pichon, CEO of Orange Belgium, said its continued collaboration with the Flemish government was driven by a “constant pursuit of offering a smooth, innovative and reliable service”.