Swiss incumbent Swisscom has announced the suspension of its fibre deployments in the country in accordance with a “de facto ban” from Switzerland’s Competition Commission (ComCo).
The group is reviewing all fibre partnerships previously secured…
Swiss incumbent Swisscom has announced the suspension of its fibre deployments in the country in accordance with a “de facto ban” from Switzerland’s Competition Commission (ComCo).
The group is reviewing all fibre partnerships previously secured with utility companies in Basel, Berne, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich, after ComCo “criticised various clauses in the agreements that are elementary key aspects of the partnership model”, states Swisscom.
Under the terms of these partnerships, the utilities would own the rights to lease fibre lines to third parties, whilst Swisscom utilises several itself. Regulators are concerned that Swisscom would be able to influence the pricing structure of rivals using its fibre network through setting minimum prices for certain services.
“In view of the ComCo Secretariat’s position, Swisscom feels compelled to enter into negotiations with its partners in order to determine whether the partnership model and the agreements concluded to date can be adapted to ensure that they can still be implemented at reasonable business risk,” the operator stated.
“If not, Swisscom cannot rule out the possibility of having to go it alone. Agreements that have not yet been signed must therefore be suspended for the time being due to the need for new negotiations. These new agreements represent an investment volume of CHF 800m (US$906m).”
Overall, Swisscom’s partnership agreements total CHF 1.7bn (US$1.9bn). According to the group, its agreements to date would have brought fibre to around 16% of Swiss homes and businesses, and its partnerships that are still to be concluded would have added around 14% more.
“Swisscom regrets this development and still believes that the partnerships are vital for the rapid rollout of FTTH in Switzerland, and that they permit competition and secure investment going forward,” the company continued.
“If Swisscom were to have to go it alone, this would slow the pace of fibre-optic expansion considerably and result in less competition. This would have serious consequences for investment in future infrastructure.
