Swiss operators Salt and Sunrise announced plans to partner on rolling out fibre broadband services. They will set up a joint venture company to manage the roll-out of the broadband network, called Swiss Open Fiber. The roll-out is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. Swiss Open Fiber plans a total investment of up to CHF 3 billion over the next 5-7 years to reach 1.5 million households in areas of Switzerland not adequately supplied with broadband.
Although the companies run the fibre-optic platform, the infrastructure will be available to other competitors in order to provide customers with high-speed services. Sunrise and Salt have also already started discussions with potential capital partners and banks and said they expect to sign agreements in the coming months. They invited municipalities around Switzerland to contact them if interested in pursuing a FTTH network roll-out.
Projects such as Swiss Open Fibre have already been implemented in several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, the operators noted. They plan to partner with Swiss Fibre Net, an existing alliance of local fibre networks in Switzerland, to support the set-up and operating activities in a strategic partnership. They've also hired Marc Furrer, the former director of regulator Bakom and president of Comcom, to chair the new company.
