2017 Switzerland - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Switzerland’s Federal Council passes Telecommunication Act reform

Switzerland has a sophisticated telecom sector and enjoys the highest broadband penetration rate in the OECD. Its competitive mobile market is served by three network operators and a small number of MVNOs while the broadband market is dominated by Swisscom and UPC Switzerland, though there are a large number of smaller players in the market. UPC has gained scale in recent years by acquiring a number of its partner networks and by signing deals to use third-party networks.

The mobile market has undergone a number of changes in recent years, with the operator Salt (formerly Orange Switzerland) having been acquired by NJJ Capital in February 2015, and with Sunrise having been acquired by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The market has also benefited from the entry of UPC Switzerland as an MVNO. As a full-service provider UPC can compete more effectively with Sunrise and Swisscom.

Mobile penetration is on a par with the European average while mobile data use among consumers has increased rapidly in line with the expended reach of technologies including HSPA and LTE. Higher data usage has also encouraged both Swisscom and Sunrise to switch off their 2G networks and utilise network and spectrum assets for LTE and forthcoming 5G services. Swisscom is among the leading telcos in Europe for trialling 5G, with plans to offer commercial services in 2020.

The country benefits from universal DSL infrastructure and an expansive cable broadband network, with effective cross-platform competition. The DSL sector, dominated by Swisscom, has about two-thirds of the market by subscribers. UPC Switzerland also offers cable broadband in most cities and towns, and its extension of 500Mb/s services has helped spur Swisscom to intensify its VDSL, G.fast and FttP network rollouts in a bid to remain competitive. Smaller cablecos such as Quicklime have launched services based on the DOCSIS3.1 standard, while UPC Switzerland has also invested in the technology.

Swisscom has set aside for fibre networks a significant proportion of its planned infrastructure investment over the coming years, and its program has been facilitated by cooperative deals struck with regional utility companies. Separately, the Federal Council in September 2017 passed a draft revision of the Telecommunications Act, aimed at addressing consumer concerns, and promoting competition and deregulation.

This report presents an analysis of Switzerland’s fixed-line telecom market, including an assessment of network infrastructure. It also examines the regulatory environment, noting the status of local loop unbundling as well as the provision of broadband as a universal service. In addition the report evaluates the strategies and performance of major service providers including Swisscom, UPC Switzerland and Sunrise. The report also covers the fixed-line and wireless broadband markets, providing an assessment of technological developments, regulatory issues related to municipal fibre, and subscriber forecasts. In addition the report analyses the mobile market, presenting a review of the regulatory environment and emerging new technologies, and profiles of the main providers.

Key developments:

• Federal Council adopts changes to Telecommunications Act;
• Regulator redefines USO minimum broadband speed at 3Mb/s;
• Swisscom has USO licence renewed to 2022;
• OFCOM consults on the use of a range of spectrum to be released from 2019;
• Swiss MNOs using Mobile ID;
• Salt extends 300Mb/s LTE-A coverage to 45% of the population;
• Sunrise announces plans to switch of 2G infrastructure by 2018;
• Swisscom and Ericsson trial 10Gb/s 5G, prepares to decommission 2G infrastructure in 2020;
• Swisscom trials three-band LTE-A offering data at up to 450Mb/s;
• Swisscom to concentrate on G-fast to deliver fast broadband to 2020;
• Regulator measures eliminate FttP network duplication;
• UPC extends footprint reach with third-party network agreements;
• Laussane connected with FttP;
• Swisscom contracts Huawei for FttS network upgrade;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data for 2016, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q2 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Swisscom, Sunrise, UPC Switzerland, Swisscom Mobile, Salt, Cybernet.