Basic service provision

We are re­spon­si­ble for providing basic telecoms services in Switzer­land, and have been mandated to do so in accordance with the current universal service licence. In this way, we ensure com­pre­hen­sive network coverage for the Swiss population with network access and a basic range of services. This coverage of a mobile network primarily includes voice tele­phony and broad­band Internet access. Since 2020, the guaranteed minimum transmission speed for a broad­band Internet connection has been 10 Mbps (downloads) and 1 Mbps (uploads). As part of basic service provision, we also maintain special services for persons with disabilities (see ‘Accessibility’).

The current provisions on the universal service have been revised and the updated Ordinance on Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions Services (OTS) will come into force on 1 January 2024, together with the new universal service licence. Specifically, the new universal service provides for a significant increase in the minimum bandwidth, facilitating a download speed of up to 80 Mbps. We contributed during the consultation.

The increase in minimum bandwidth in the basic service provision is also in the context of the political debate for high-per­for­mance networks, for everyone, as affordable and available as possible. In addition, parliamentary motions have been submitted. The initiative of the canton of Ticino is currently suspended in parliament. This calls for a nationwide high-bandwidth coverage network. In spring 2021, the TTC adopted the ‘High bandwidth strategy of the Con­fed­er­a­tion’ postulate (postulate report 21.3461), which is intended to examine the issues surrounding future network expansion and its funding in greater depth and to identify a targeted im­ple­men­ta­tion of a high bandwidth in­fra­struc­ture in Switzer­land. This report is being prepared by the relevant au­thor­i­ties and is not yet available.