Switzerland - Key Statistics, Telecom Market and Regulatory Overviews

Synopsis

Switzerland enjoys one of the highest broadband penetration rates in the OECD and a competitive mobile market served by a triopoly of international players. The country’s mountainous topography helped to establish a number of cable networks, though in recent years DSL has become the preferred means for accessing broadband and triple-play services. These platforms have been supplemented by a rapidly emerging fibre-optic sector, spearheaded by Swisscom and a number of regional utility companies.

Although not a member of the EU, the country’s economic integration has meant that its telecom market deregulation has followed the EU’s liberalisation framework, including the recent regulations on international voice roaming. This report presents a statistical profile of Switzerland’s fixed network in 2011. It assesses the regulatory environment, noting the status of local loop unbundling, legislated in early 2007, as well as the provision of broadband as a universal service. It also evaluates the strategies and performance of major service providers Swisscom, UPC and Sunrise, and looks ahead to market developments in coming years.

Key developments:

Regulator reconsiders wholesale access prices; Swisscom takes €973 million write-down on Italian subsidiary Fastweb; regulator’s updated market report; operator data for Q3 2011; market developments to 2012.

Companies covered in this report include:

Swisscom, Sunrise, UPC Cablecom.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Key statistics
• 3. Telecommunications market
  • 3.1 Overview of Switzerland’s telecom market
  • 3.2 Government ICT strategy
    • 3.2.1 eGovernment
    • 3.2.2 eEconomy
    • 3.2.3 eHealth
    • 3.2.4 Economic stimulus
• 4. Regulatory environment
  • 4.1 History
  • 4.2 Regulatory authorities
  • 4.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Switzerland
  • 4.4 Privatisation of Swisscom
  • 4.5 Interconnect
  • 4.6 Leased lines
  • 4.7 Access
    • 4.7.1 Bitstream access
  • 4.8 Number portability
  • 4.9 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
  • 4.10 Universal Service Obligation (USO)
• 5. Fixed network operators in Switzerland
  • 5.1 Market overview
  • 5.2 Swisscom
    • 5.2.1 Company reorganisation
  • 5.3 Sunrise
  • 5.4 UPC
• 6. Telecommunications infrastructure
  • 6.1 National telecom network
• 7. Related reports

• Table 1 – Country statistics Switzerland – 2011 (e)
• Table 2 – Telecom revenue and investment statistics – 2010
• Table 3 – Telephone network statistics – 2011
• Table 4 – Internet user statistics – 2011 (e)
• Table 5 – Broadband statistics – 2011 (e)
• Table 6 – Mobile statistics – 2011 (e)
• Table 7 – National telecommunications authorities
• Table 8 – Fixed telephony connections – 2000 - 2012
• Table 9 – Telecom sector revenue, profit and investment – 2000 - 2012
• Table 10 – Telecom revenue by sector – 1998 - 2012
• Table 11 – Telecom investment by sector – 1998 - 2012
• Table 12 – Interconnection revenue – 2000 - 2010
• Table 13 – Unbundled lines – 2008 - 2011
• Table 14 – CPS as proportion of total lines – 1999 - 2010
• Table 15 – CPS lines – 2002 - 2009
• Table 16 – Share of fixed-line connections by operator – 2007 - 2010
• Table 17 – Fixed-line revenue – 2000 - 2012
• Table 18 – Fixed-line voice traffic – 2000 - 2012
• Table 19 – Swisscable telephony subscribers – 2003 - 2012
• Table 20 – Swisscom Group net revenue, EBITDA and net income – 2004 - 2011
• Table 21 – Swisscom (Switzerland) financial data by sector – 2007 - 2011
• Table 22 – Swisscom subscribers by sector – 2008 - 2011
• Table 23 – TDC Switzerland financial data – 2006 - 2010
• Table 24 – TDC Switzerland revenue by type – 2006 - 2010
• Table 25 – Sunrise revenue and annual change – 2009 - 2011
• Table 26 –Sunrise subscribers by sector – 2005 - 2011
• Table 27 – UPC financial data – 2005 - 2011
• Table 28 – Fixed lines in service, teledensity and traffic in minutes – 1997; 1999 - 2011
• Table 29 – ISDN subscribers – 1999 - 2010

• Chart 1 – Fixed telephony connections – 2000 – 2012
• Chart 2 – Telecom sector revenue, profit and investment – 2000 – 2012
• Chart 3 – Swisscom Group net revenue, EBITDA and net income – 2004 – 2011
• Chart 4 – Swisscom (Switzerland) financial data by sector – 2007 – 2011
• Chart 5 – Sunrise revenue and annual change – 2009 – 2011
• Chart 6 –Sunrise subscribers by sector – 2005 – 2011
• Chart 7 – UPC financial data – 2005 – 2011

• Exhibit 1 – Access and the local loop