Switzerland to Permit 3G at 900Mhz - Extends Licenses

Switzerland's telecoms regulator, ComCom has renewed the GSM mobile telephony licences of Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom until the end of 2013. All the countries GSM licences, which were provisionally extended in April 2008, will now all expire at the same time (Swisscom, Sunrise, Orange and In&Phone). This gives ComCom an opportunity to implement a comprehensive reallocation of all the mobile telephony frequencies which are free today or which will become free in 2013 or 2016.

Thanks to a minor reallocation of frequencies, ComCom is also enabling all three licensees to use the 900 MHz frequency range for 3G (WCDMA) networks. A minor reallocation of frequencies is necessary to achieve this: Orange, which owned too few 900 MHz frequencies for this purpose, is receiving additional 900 MHz frequencies from Sunrise and Swisscom. This is offset in the 1800 MHz frequency range, where Orange must give up frequencies to Sunrise and Swisscom.

Background: GSM licences awarded to date

In 1998, ComCom awarded two GSM licences for a ten-year term within the framework of a "beauty contest" (to Orange and Diax/Sunrise). Another licence with the same term had already been granted to Swisscom under the Telecommunications Act. Since the renewal of licences decided upon in 2007 led to unexpected delays, ComCom provisionally extended the licences which expired at the end of May 2008.

In December 2003, ComCom had awarded a GSM licence to Tele2 and In&Phone respectively. The Tele2 licence was surrendered when the company was taken over by Sunrise in autumn 2008; In&Phone's licence expires at the end of 2013.

Posted to the site on 26th May 2009