Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter sees consolidation within the local telecoms sector as inevitable.
In a Q&A with TelecomFinance magazine, Schloter said that in his view, it is only a matter of time before a new merger attempt among operators in the nation…
Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter sees consolidation within the local telecoms sector as inevitable.
In a Q&A with TelecomFinance magazine, Schloter said that in his view, it is only a matter of time before a new merger attempt among operators in the nation of about eight million will be launched.
“[In Switzerland, it’s obvious that, at some point in time, there must be in-market consolidation between smaller players,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that much will depend upon regulators, referring to the proposed Orange Switzerland–Sunrise merger blocked by Swiss authorities in 2010.
Schloter said he expects the government to keep its majority stake in Swisscom, making long-term investments in infrastructure more feasible. He questioned whether rival operators with shareholders with shorter time horizons will have the opportunity to make similar investments.
Switzerland’s three mobile network operators are Swisscom, CVC Capital-owned Sunrise and Apax Partners-owned Orange Switzerland.
To read the full interview with Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter, please see the next edition of TelecomFinance, out later this week.
