Swiss incumbent Swisscom has announced plans to form a JV with local utility Groupe E to deploy fibre throughout the canton of Fribourg from mid-2011.
Of the undisclosed investment costs, Swisscom will bear 60% and Groupe E has committed to the remaining…
Swiss incumbent Swisscom has announced plans to form a JV with local utility Groupe E to deploy fibre throughout the canton of Fribourg from mid-2011.
Of the undisclosed investment costs, Swisscom will bear 60% and Groupe E has committed to the remaining 40%.
The operator expects Switzerland’s Competition Commission (Comco) to decide whether to allow the partnership to go ahead by May this year.
However, reports suggest Comco has already identified indications that the partnership strengthens or establishes a dominant market position. A similar agreement between Swisscom and utilities firm St. Gallen Public Utilities is reportedly also being investigated.
Late last year Swisscom announced utility partnerships with EWB to connect the entire city of Berne to fibre by 2020 for SFr172m (E137m), and IWB to fully connect Basel to fibre by the end of 2017 for SFr170m (E136m).
In addition, the operator is working with Geneva Industrial Services for the construction of high-speed networks in Geneva, and a similar agreement is being finalised for Zurich.
Swisscom declined to comment.
