Swiss Road to 4G: Construction Ahead
In late May, Switzerland’s Federal Communications Commission, or ComCom, renewed the mobile licenses of the nation’s three main operators, Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise, through 2013. In doing so, it laid some groundwork for the migration to 4G services over the next five to 10 years. But questions remain regarding exactly how Switzerland’s move to 4G will proceed. The original licenses, which had been granted for a 10-year period in 1998 for the provision of GSM services, had already been extended until late 2009. As a result of the license renewals, the Swiss spectrum map has been reshuffled, with Orange acquiring an equal share of 900MHz spectrum in exchange for scaling back its stake in the 1800MHz band. The 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands in Switzerland are now split equally among Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise. A fourth operator, In&Phone, continues to operate on a limited basis in the 1800MHz band under a 10-year license awarded in 2003.
