Sunrise Communications : SUISSEDIGITAL, UPC, Sunrise, Salt, Green, Init7, VTX, Swiss Fibre Net, and openaxs welcome the Federal Council’s announcement on the revision of the Telecommunications Act, and demand a swift revision of the outdated TCA

Since the current TCA addresses the outdated copper technology only, there has not been any fair competition for quite some time. In the event of a market failure, which has repeatedly been found to benefit Swisscom in the past, the Federal Council must, with this TCA revision, be able to intervene quickly and effectively to guarantee effective competition in broadband infrastructure access.

'Legislation to date has favored Swisscom's home protection, resulting in a distortion of the market at the expense of all other market players. We welcome the proposed revision as a first and important step from the Federal Council towards rectifying this imbalance,' confirms Eric Tveter, CEO of UPC.

'Today customers in cities and metropolitan areas can choose from several broadband offers and attractive prices. From now on, this needs to be guaranteed in rural areas as well. To ensure continued investment from all providers, the Federal Council must be able to take corrective action if competition is prevented,' insists Olaf Swantee, CEO of Sunrise.

'Neither the economy nor the Swiss people should be subjected to yet another monopoly situation. And this includes rural areas. After the copper network monopoly, we must not have yet another high-broadband network monopoly. That is why the Telecommunications Act must be revised quickly, as proposed by the Federal Council,' demands Andreas Schönenberger, Salt CEO.

Broad alliance supports proposed TCA revision

SUISSEDIGITAL, UPC, Sunrise, and Salt are calling for the urgent revision of the Telecommunications Act, backed by other competitors, such as Green, Init7 and VTX. Other supporters of a swift TCA revision and delegation of authority to the Federal Council include Swiss Fibre Net AG, the cooperative of local and regional utility companies, which represents large cities and smaller municipalities with open fiber-optic networks, and openaxs, the association of Swiss electricity supply companies for the promotion of open broadband networks. This is particularly important in areas with no competition in terms of broadband infrastructure access to fiber-optic and copper hybrid networks (FTTC, FTTB and FTTS). Unnecessary delays in the revision of the Act will be detrimental to competition, and the only beneficiary would be Swisscom, which would be able to further expand its dominant market position.

Collaborative efforts create even better mobile network coverage

The technology-neutral design of mobile network concessions has already resulted in a considerable surge in innovation and investments. New, more liberal provisions in network cooperation and frequency transfers increase the efficient handling of scant resources. Because of this, Switzerland benefits from further investments in new technology and competition, with the resulting improved supply being particularly beneficial in remote areas.

Security and consumer protection

People, the state, and the economy must be able to rely on the security of telecommunications networks and services. Security protocols must be defined and applied consistently for all providers. The revision of important security-related provisions creates legal security and gives the Federal Council the authority it needs to be able to act quickly and appropriately in emergency situations.

The same holds true for consumer and youth media protection. Clear, business-friendly regulations support innovation and market dynamics, and create a binding legal basis for all providers that promotes competition.