Swisscom adds 9k TV subs in Q3
November 1, 2018
In spite of pressure from competitors, Swisscom says it was also able to expand its TV business in Q3. The number of TV connections rose by 57,000, or 3.9 per cent over the last 12 months, to reach more than 1.5 million. In the third quarter, the figure grew by 9,000.
The Swiss telco reported that broadband expansion is proceeding to plan. By the end of September 2018, Swisscom had connected about 4.1 million homes and businesses to its ultra-fast broadband service (speeds in excess of 50 Mbps). Some 2.8 million homes and offices benefit from connections with bandwidths of more than 100 Mbps. Swisscom intends to make fibre-optic technology available in every Swiss municipality by the end of 2021 and thus give even remote locations access to ultra-fast broadband.
Swisscom is in the final furlong of the switch to IP technology. By the end of September, 98 per cent of residential customer connections had already been migrated. The complete transfer of business customers is also on schedule at the regional level. Four major regions of Switzerland are due to be completely converted to IP by the end of 2018.
At the end of September, the nationwide coverage of Swisscom’s 4G/LTE network was 99 per cent. Eighty per cent of the Swiss population can already surf at speeds of up to 300 Mbps, while 40 per cent benefit from bandwidths of up to 500 Mbps. In addition to mobile coverage, Swisscom is continuing to drive the expansion of its capacity: eleven towns and cities and 15 Swisscom shops are currently hooked up to the gigabit network (maximum speed subject to ideal conditions), which is due to be rolled out to 30 per cent of the Swiss population by the end of 2018.
At CHF 8,689 million (€7609m), Group revenues were slightly higher (+1 per cent) than last year’s.
“In recent months, we have once again been able to defend our technology leadership. Together with Ericsson, we set up the 5G network in Burgdorf; the first complete network that meets the latest 5G standard,” said CEO Urs Schaeppi. “Our investment in the network is paying off. We will continue driving 5G development forward. In so doing, we are making an important contribution to the competitiveness of the Swiss business community. The digitisation of our fixed telephone network is likewise on schedule. About 98 per cent of all our residential customers already communicate over IP. What’s more, our bundled offerings have become even faster. Since October, the majority of our customers have been surfing with higher upload and download speeds. More than 2 million customers already use inOne.”