Ad-supported free mobile network Blyk has appointed Carat Belgium’s MD Eric Samson as its CEO in the country, as it gears up to launch there. The MVNO running on Orange will open there in the first half of 2009; launches in Holland, Spain and Germany are also planned.

Blyk targets 16-to-24-year-olds with free calls and texts in return for receiving ads; it last week announced 200,000 subscribers for its UK service, the only territory to launch so far - doubling its one-year target, though it’s unclear how many are active users. In Samson, Blyk is hiring an advertising man.