Social tariff for internet: who qualifies, what it costs

Yes, the social tariff for internet still exists in Belgium, under the name social internet offer: 19 EUR a month for internet only, 40 EUR with TV, prices surveyed on 7 October 2026 at Proximus and VOO. You qualify if someone in your household receives one of a short list of benefits. Age alone no longer counts.

Who qualifies for the social tariff for internet in Belgium?

Households in which one member receives a benefit listed by the FPS Economy (the federal economy ministry, SPF Économie in French). Nobody else.

The old system, the one before 1 March 2024, worked by profile: 65 years old and a modest income, and the discount applied. The new one works by benefit. The FPS Economy sorts eligible people into three categories, which I reproduce here as they appear in its leaflet.

Two rules sit on top. One contract per household. And no combining with the old social tariff, even if another family member is the one holding it.

Around 600,000 households fit those boxes. A year after launch, the FPS Economy counted 20,722 contracts, a figure dated 27 February 2025. Three or four households in a hundred. When I was fitting modems around Namur, I already saw the same gap with the old scheme: people who were entitled found out from a neighbour, never from their bill.

Is BIM status enough?

No.

BIM is the preferential reimbursement status that health insurance funds grant to low-income members. VOO says it in plain words on its page: BIM status does not automatically give access to the offer. The benefit is what counts, not the sticker from the health fund.

How much does social tariff internet cost at Proximus, Telenet and VOO?

19 EUR a month everywhere. For connections that are nowhere near equal.

The law sets a floor: 30 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 150 GB a month, and 50 percent off installation fees. Each operator is free to give more. Proximus chose not to.

These prices carry no promotion and no second-year step: the amount on the first bill is the amount on the thirteenth, subject to the indexation I come to below. That is rare on this market, and worth saying.

At 19 EUR, VOO gives two and a half times the speed of Proximus and more than three times the volume. Telenet goes up to 100 Mbps but stays at 150 GB. You still need to be able to choose. Telenet does not serve Wallonia, VOO does not serve Flanders, and at your address, as opposed to on the coverage map, there is often only one of the three. A household in Marche-en-Famenne chooses between Proximus and VOO. A household in Hasselt, between Proximus and Telenet.

Scarlet, the low-cost Proximus brand, does not sell the offer. Orange published social tariff terms in March 2024, and the consumer organisation Testachats listed it at 19 EUR for 30 Mbps and 150 GB on 12 May 2025. I could not confirm that price on a public page of the operator at the date of this article.

Can TV be added, and at what price?

Yes, for 21 EUR more. The internet and TV bundle costs 40 EUR a month at all three operators.

At Proximus, the social bundle includes more than 80 channels, the Pickx app, recording and 7-day replay, surveyed on 7 October 2026 on the Proximus social internet offer page. Telenet supplies its TV box. VOO advertises "TV channels" without giving a number on its offer page, and I am not going to invent one: ask for the channel list for your municipality before you sign.

The saving is measured against the post-promotion price of an ordinary bundle.

The speed is not the same, and I say so before anyone objects. But for a household that watches television, reads its email and makes a video call on Sundays, 30 Mbps is enough.

One limit, and it is a serious one. The bundle stops at internet and TV. No mobile plan and no landline at the social rate under the new scheme, whereas the old discount also applied to telephony.

Why do you pay 19 EUR when the legal ceiling is higher?

Because operators have not passed the indexation on. For now.

The maximum prices are adjusted every 1 February in line with the smoothed health index, the Belgian inflation measure used for wages and rents. On 27 February 2025, the FPS Economy was already writing 20 EUR at most for internet only and 41 EUR for the bundle. On 7 October 2026, Proximus and VOO still display 19 EUR and 40 EUR. So operators have room to raise prices without any change in the law, and I doubt they will leave it unused forever.

How do you apply for the social tariff with your operator?

In three steps, and without going through the CPAS.

1. Check your eligibility on offreinternetsociale.be, the FPS Economy tool. In 2024, more than 52,000 people ran the test and around 23,000 learned they qualified.
2. Contact Proximus, Telenet or VOO, in a shop or by phone. The operator sends your national register number to the FPS Economy, which confirms or refuses.
3. Sign within seven calendar days of the confirmation. After that, the check has to be redone.

Proximus asks you to visit a shop or call 0800 33 800. VOO accepts a shop visit, a phone call, or an online form for existing customers. The contract has no minimum term.

Unsure about your category? The FPS Economy answers on 0800 120 33, free of charge, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

Should you give up the old social tariff for the new offer?

Not necessarily. Do the sums first.

If you had the old social tariff before 1 March 2024, you keep it as long as nothing moves. The Telecommunications Ombudsman Service lists the events that end it: a change of operator, of subscription plan, of address or of technology. Moving house is enough. So is going from copper to fibre.

The old discount tops out at 11.50 EUR a month, but it applies to your current subscription, telephony included. Take out your bill. If you pay less than 40 EUR today for internet and TV, or if your discounted landline matters to you, stay where you are. If your bundle is above 51.50 EUR before the discount, the new offer wins.

I have seen elderly customers lose their discount for accepting, over the phone, a "better bundle" they had never asked for. The change of plan was enough. And there is no going back.

What happens if you lose the qualifying benefit?

Nothing on the day itself.

The FPS Economy rechecks eligibility every six months. If the benefit stops, the operator writes to you, and you have three months to choose another tariff plan. If you do not reply, the contract is not cancelled: you are moved to the commercial subscription judged most advantageous for your profile. At Proximus, that means going from 40 EUR to a bundle that costs 75.99 post-promotion, so 35.99 EUR more on a single bill. Use the three months to compare.

150 GB a month, the limit that decides everything

It is the figure that separates the three offers, far more than speed.

Netflix states up to 3 GB an hour in high definition. At that rate, 150 GB is 50 hours of streaming a month, or 1 hour 40 minutes a day, for the whole household. A single person watching television through the set-top box will never get there. A family with two teenagers will be there by the 15th.

At Proximus, speed is then reduced until the end of the month, and the 20 GB top-up costs 5 EUR according to L'Avenir of 26 August 2024. At VOO, the 500 GB cap leaves 166 hours of video, and overage is billed at 1 EUR per extra block.

To place these amounts in the wider market, see how much a TV subscription costs in Belgium and the real price of a Proximus promo once it ends. If you fit none of the categories, the TV subscription comparator ranks bundles on their post-promotion price.

Sources. FPS Economy leaflet "L'offre internet sociale est disponible" (eligible categories, seven-day window, six-monthly check, three months on loss of entitlement); FPS Economy press release of 27 February 2025 (20,722 contracts, ceilings of 20 EUR and 41 EUR); "Social tariff" page of the BIPT (Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications, the telecoms regulator); Telecommunications Ombudsman Service, information on the old and new social tariff; social internet offer pages of Proximus, VOO and Telenet, surveyed on 7 October 2026; Testachats, 12 May 2025; L'Avenir, 4 March 2024 and 26 August 2024; Proximus Flex+ post-promotion prices surveyed on 27 September 2026 and VOO price grid of 1 January 2026.