Switzerland Plans New Mobile-Spectrum Auctions Worth More Than 1 Billion Francs, Angering Operators

Switzerland’s apparently settled mobile-phone market could be heading for a major reshuffle. Swisscom currently holds 53% of the market, followed by Sunrise with 24% and Salt with 18%, but the stability may be misleading.

On August 24, Sunrise and Salt announced plans to share their networks outside urban areas. Then, on September 1, the Swiss Confederation launched a new process to auction mobile-frequency licenses. The move could change the balance among the existing operators and, in an extreme case, open the door to a new competitor.

The Federal Communications Commission, known as ComCom, is handling the process. The frequencies include the 800 MHz bands, which offer long range and are useful in rural areas, and the 2600 MHz bands, which provide high data speeds over shorter distances.

All three operators currently hold licenses for these different frequencies. ComCom now wants to put all of them back up for auction. The allocation process is due to begin in the second quarter of 2027 and could bring more than 1 billion francs into the federal budget.

ComCom is defending the procedure as transparent. Market participants, however, had asked for a straightforward extension of their existing licenses instead. That disagreement has fueled the operators’ anger as Switzerland prepares to reconsider who controls a large part of its mobile spectrum.