Swisscom AG is a big company in Switzerland that provides telecommunication services. Its main office is in Worblaufen, close to Bern. The Swiss government owns more than half of Swisscom AG, holding 51% of its shares.

Swisscom is a leader in the Swiss market. It serves 56% of mobile phone users, 50% of broadband internet users, and 37% of TV customers in Switzerland. It also has a company in Italy called Fastweb. Fastweb serves many home and business internet customers in Italy and is also active in the mobile phone market there.

The story of Swiss communication started in 1852 with the first telegraph network. Then, in 1877, telephones arrived. In 1920, these networks joined with the postal service to form the PTT. In 1997, the Swiss communication market became more open to competition. Telecom PTT became Swisscom and was partly sold to private investors. Today, Swisscom owns the special brand name NATEL, which is well-known for mobile phones only in Switzerland.

In 2001, Swisscom sold 25% of its mobile division to Vodafone. Later, in 2007, Swisscom bought a large part of Italy's second-biggest telecom company, Fastweb.

Swisscom's Journey Through Time
How Swisscom Works
Swisscom Brands
Who Swisscom Competes With
- Connect Network Test Results
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Swisscom's Journey Through Time

Early Days of Communication (1852–1911)

Switzerland entered the age of telecommunications in 1851. The Swiss government decided to control how the telegraph network would grow across the country. They planned to build three main telegraph lines and several smaller ones. To make the equipment, the government created a special workshop called the Federal Workshop for the Construction of Telegraphs.

In July 1852, the first part of the country's telegraph system started working. It connected St. Gallen and Zürich. By the end of that year, most major cities in Switzerland were linked by telegraph. In 1855, the network expanded with the first underwater cable, connecting places like Winkel-Stansstad and Bauen-Flüelen. Night service also began that year in cities like Basel, St. Gallen, and Bellinzona.

More and more people used the telegraph over the next ten years. However, the telephone soon became even more popular.

Switzerland started using telephones in 1877. The first test telephone lines appeared, connecting the post office to the Federal Palace. Another line used an existing telegraph line to link Bern and Thun. The next year, the government made a rule to have a monopoly (meaning they were the only provider) over the country's telephone network. By 1880, Zürich had Switzerland's first private telephone network, which could handle 200 lines.

Cities like Basel, Bern, and Geneva launched their own local networks between 1881 and 1882. A year later, the first telephone line between cities was set up, connecting Zürich's private system with Winterthur's public system. Telephone numbers were introduced in 1890. Before that, callers had to ask for people by name.

Switzerland began testing its first public phone booths in 1904. At first, you could only make local calls. But in 1907, you could make national calls from these public phones for the first time.

Growing the Network (1912–1965)

The first automatic telephone exchanges were installed by private networks in 1912. By 1917, a semi-automatic exchange was set up in Zürich-Hottingen.

In 1920, the Swiss government created the Swiss PTT. This combined the country's postal services with the telegraph and telephone systems into one government-controlled group.

PTT started telex services in 1934. By 1936, it had connected Zürich, Basel, and Bern, which then linked to the international market through Zürich.

Space-Age Communication (1966–1981)

The original Telstar, the first telecommunications satellite to be launched into space.

Telstar was the first telecommunications satellite launched into space in 1962. In 1974, the Leuk satellite earth station started working in the canton of Valais. This station helped with satellite communication.

Mobile Communication in the 1980s

New technology allowed PTT to introduce pulse-metering for local calls in 1963. In 1966, PTT started automated international dialing services, beginning in Montreux. By 1982, this service was available everywhere.

In 1970, PTT worked with other Swiss telecom groups to create an integrated digital telecommunications network.

In 1976, the company launched facsimile transmission services from its customer service centers. Two years later, PTT set up its first mobile telephone network, called NATEL.

In 1980, PTT made it possible to send faxes from homes and offices.

The telecommunications part of the business became known as Swiss Telecom PTT.

Becoming a Public Company (21st Century)

Telecom PTT created an internet service provider called Blue Window (later Bluewin). This became the top Internet service provider (ISP) in Switzerland.

In 1997, the Swiss government passed new laws that fully opened up the Swiss telecommunications market. As part of this change, Telecom PTT became a special public company. Its name changed to Swisscom on October 1, 1997. Its shares were listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange, and it offered shares to the public in 1998.

In 1999, Swisscom bought Debitel in Germany. Debitel was the third-largest mobile service provider in the German market at that time.

The company formed six main business groups. In 2001, it sold a 25% share of Swisscom Mobile to England's Vodafone. Vodafone was a big investor in 3G (third-generation) mobile phone technology.

In 2000, Swisscom received a license for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems), which is a 3G mobile technology.

In the early 2000s, Swisscom also began offering DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband internet. By early 2003, 200,000 customers had signed up for it.

In 2002, Swisscom Eurospot was founded (later called Swisscom Hospitality Services, or SHS). This company provided High-Speed Internet Access (HSIA) services to hotel guests in European 4- and 5-star hotels.

In May 2003, Swisscom Eurospot merged with Aervik from the Netherlands.

Modern Times

The former state-owned PTT was privatized in steps from 1988 onwards. It became a public company with a special legal status in October 1998. The Swiss Confederation (the Swiss government) still owns 51.0% of the company's shares. A law limits how much outside investors can own to 49.9%.

In 2007, Swisscom bought back the 25% share of Swisscom Mobile AG that it had sold to Vodafone six years earlier. The mobile phone, fixed network, and solutions businesses were then combined into a new company called Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd. In the first half of 2007, Swisscom bought a majority share in the Italian telecom provider Fastweb. Fastweb owns the second-largest broadband network in Italy. Swisscom bought 80.7% of Fastweb's shares, costing about 6.9 billion Swiss Francs.

Swisscom showed its new look on December 14, 2007. The old names like Swisscom Fixnet, Swisscom Mobile, and Swisscom Solutions stopped being used on January 1, 2008. As part of this change, Swisscom worked with an agency to redesign its logo. They made it a moving picture, which was new for Switzerland and the industry.

On July 23, 2013, the CEO of Swisscom, Carsten Schloter, passed away. Urs Schaeppi was then appointed as the temporary CEO. His appointment became permanent in November 2013. In June 2018, Swisscom was ranked 520th on Forbes' "The World's Largest Public Companies" list, known as the Global 2000.

In June 2015, Swisscom Hospitality Services became part of a new company called Hoist Group.

In June 2018, a Danish software company called Nordija partnered with Swisscom to create TVaaS 2.0.

In 2019, Swisscom paid CHF 240 million to TX Group to buy the remaining 31% share in Swisscom Directories AG.

On April 17, 2019, Swisscom started to set up its 5G network. Today, the company offers 5G service in 110 cities and villages. This includes big cities like Zürich, Geneva, and Bern, as well as smaller rural and tourist areas.

In June 2019, Swisscom, SK Telecom, and Elisa launched the world's first 5G roaming service together. From July 17, 2019, Swisscom customers with a 5G phone could use the new 5G data network in Finland and later in South Korea. At the same time, Swisscom had more than 6 million mobile subscriptions.

On June 1, 2022, Urs Schaeppi stepped down as CEO of Swisscom. Christoph Aeschlimann took over his position.

On March 15, 2024, Swisscom bought 100% of Vodafone Italy for 8 billion euros. This means Vodafone Italy will merge with Swisscom's company, FASTWEB. As part of the deal, Vodafone will still provide some services, like branding, to FASTWEB for up to 5 years.

How Swisscom Works

Bluewin tower in Zürich

Swisscom is organized into different parts: Residential Customers, Business Customers & Wholesale, and IT, Network & Infrastructure. The company also has a Digital Business division and other companies like Fastweb in Italy.

Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd

Since January 1, 2008, all of Swisscom Ltd's work in Switzerland has been handled by Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd. Swisscom Ltd now acts mainly as a holding company. Its fully owned company, Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd, includes the former Fixnet, Mobile, and Solutions business units. These are now organized into Residential Customers and Business Customers. Also, the IT systems and the fixed-network and mobile communication infrastructure have been combined into the IT, Network & Infrastructure division.

Services for Home Customers

The Residential Customers part of Swisscom offers mobile and fixed-network phone services. It also provides IPTV digital TV (called blue TV) and broadband internet access (DSL). From 2020, Swisscom combined all its entertainment services under the "blue" brand. Old names like "Swisscom TV" and "Bluewin" are no longer used.

Services for Businesses

The Business Customers part helps companies plan, set up, and run their information and communication systems (ICT). They offer services like cloud solutions, outsourcing, and IoT solutions. They also provide mobile communication, network solutions, office networking, and security services. The Swisscom Digital Business unit focuses on digital services for small and medium-sized businesses. Swisscom Wholesale provides voice, data, and broadband products to other Swiss telecom companies.

IT, Network & Infrastructure

The main jobs of Swisscom IT, Network & Infrastructure are to build, run, and maintain Swisscom's large fixed-network and mobile communication systems. This division also handles the computer systems that support these networks.

Fastweb in Italy

Fastweb runs the second-largest network in Italy. It offers phone, data, internet, and IP TV services to both homes and businesses. In the first half of 2007, Swisscom bought a majority share in Fastweb. This purchase cost about five billion Swiss francs.

Telecommunication Tower in St. Chrischona is the most important in north-west of Switzerland

Other Business Areas

Swisscom also has other business areas. These are related to its main telecom and IT work but are not directly part of them.

Swisscom Brands

In Switzerland, Swisscom offers products and services under its main Swisscom brand. Swisscom also sells cheaper products and services under the Wingo brand. It also works with other mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) like Coop Mobile and M-Budget Mobile. Other brands, such as cablex and localsearch, are also part of Swisscom and show the company's other business areas. Outside Switzerland, Swisscom is mainly known through the Fastweb brand in Italy.

Who Swisscom Competes With

In the Swiss telecom market, Swisscom's main competitors are Sunrise and Salt. In Italy, Swisscom's main competitors are Telecom Italia (TIM), Vodafone Italy, and Wind Tre.

Connect Network Test Results

In 2021, the trade magazine "Connect" named Swisscom as the Swiss mobile communications provider with the best network. This was the second year in a row. The test results for all three Swiss providers are very good each year, especially when compared to providers in Germany and Austria.

Images for kids

The original Telstar, the first telecommunications satellite to be launched into space.
Bluewin tower in Zürich
Telecommunication Tower in St. Chrischona is the most important in north-west of Switzerland

Swisscom facts for kids

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