BICS (Belgacom International Carrier Services) is a global telecommunications and digital communications enabler headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It is a subsidiary of Proximus Group (Proximus Global). The company provides international voice, messaging, roaming, IoT, cloud communications, and fraud prevention services to mobile network operators, enterprises, and service providers worldwide.
Overview
BICS operates a high-capacity MPLS-enabled global network with over 700 direct connections in more than 180 countries, capacity on 75 submarine cables, and 143 Points of Presence (PoPs) worldwide. The company carries approximately 50% of the world's data roaming traffic and partners with more than 500 mobile operators. In 2021, BICS carried over 20.8 billion minutes of international traffic and generated revenues of €999 million.
History
- 1997: Belgacom (now Proximus) created its International Carrier Services business unit.
- January 2005: The international carrier activities were transferred into a wholly owned subsidiary: BICS SA (Belgacom International Carrier Services SA).
- July 2005: Belgacom and Swisscom agreed to consolidate their international carrier businesses into a joint venture, with Belgacom holding 72% and Swisscom 28%.
- June 2009: BICS announced an agreement with South Africa's MTN Group to combine international carrier services. MTN took an equity stake in BICS, resulting in a share distribution of Belgacom 57.6%, Swisscom 22.4%, and MTN 20.0%.
- October 2017: BICS completed the acquisition of US-based CPaaS provider TeleSign.
- February 2021: Proximus acquired full ownership of BICS, buying out MTN and Swisscom's shares.
- June 2021: BICS launched a 5G test lab environment.
- December 2021: BICS acquired CPaaS specialist 3M Digital Networks (MobTexting).
- 2022: BICS launched its Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) platform.
Products and Services
BICS offers a portfolio of solutions under its Mosaic product portfolio, including:
- Voice: International voice traffic routing and management.
- Messaging: Person-to-person (P2P) and application-to-person (A2P) SMS, including SMS firewall solutions.
- Roaming: Global roaming services for mobile operators, including 4G, 5G, and IPX-based roaming.
- Network & Connectivity: IPX transport, capacity services, and global data connectivity.
- Cloud Communications: Cloud numbers, APIs, SIP trunking, and CPaaS solutions for enterprises.
- IoT: Global IoT connectivity and eSIM solutions.
- Fraud Prevention & Security: Telecom fraud detection and prevention using machine learning.
- Advanced Analytics: Network data collection and analysis.
Network Infrastructure
BICS owns and operates a high-capacity MPLS-enabled DWDM network in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the UK, and Belgium, augmented with leased capacity and submarine cable assets. The company has capacity on 75 submarine cables (including TAT-14, SMW3, FLAG, Yellow/AC-2, and SAT-3/WASC) with 200 landing points, and participates in Intelsat and Eutelsat satellite systems. BICS also fully owns a teleport in La Ciotat, France.
Key Milestones
- 2013: BICS announced the first intercontinental 4G roaming connection over its IPX platform, between Europe and Asia.
- 2019: BICS launched the first 5G intercontinental roaming service and enabled Europe's first 5G roaming service.
- 2024: BICS was recognized as a "Champion Roaming Vendor" by Kaleido Intelligence.
Corporate Structure
BICS is part of Proximus Global, an entity created by Proximus Group that also includes Route Mobile (a CPaaS provider) and Telesign (a digital identity firm). The company has over 1,000 employees representing more than 50 nationalities, with offices worldwide including in Brussels (headquarters), Dubai, Singapore, Bern, San Francisco, New York, and Beijing.
