Despite all of the difficulties and restrictions during the corona pandemic, Switzerland continues to function – not least thanks to digitisation, which has already advanced significantly. At Swisscom, we have been doing everything we can for many months now to support our customers during this difficult time.
"COVID-19 brings many uncertainties with it. I am grateful and proud of what the Swisscom employees achieve under such difficult conditions."
CEO Urs Schaeppi
The coronavirus has given digitisation a real boost in our country. People work in their home offices, play music via video calls and get involved in online games. And even if it's difficult over a longer period of time: contact with friends and family can be maintained via telephone or video conferencing. This is how "closeness" can be experienced in a different way. Despite the global pandemic, the economy and society continue to function – which is also thanks to the powerful infrastructure of Swisscom.
Our greatest concern is the protection of our employees, customers and partners. At the same time, we are doing everything we can to ensure our customers can easily take advantage of the opportunities offered by the networked world. We are monitoring the situation carefully and will implement any other measures necessary to protect our employees, customers and partners.
What we pay attention to:
General rules:
Surf speed
More bandwidth or data volume for over 1 million customers
Roaming
Roaming charges were waived for over 70,000 customers stranded abroad
Course offers
Support with the installation and use of smartphones and apps for over 5000 older people.
Home office
Free home office solutions for hundreds of business customers with several thousand employees
The COVID-19 pandemic shows how important high network performance is for customers. Expectations for the stability and availability of the networks will continue to increase. The pandemic is accelerating digitalisation once again, and its reach into all areas of life is constantly increasing. The overall impact of COVID-19 on the financial results of the first quarter of 2021 has been minor.
The pandemic has permanently changed customers’ usage behaviour. This is indicated, among other things, by the increased use of online channels for shopping and making contact and the rise of contactless payment. The demands on the stability and availability of the networks have also risen sharply. Swisscom is expanding its network infrastructure with an eye towards the future. For example, in 2020, Swisscom invested CHF 2.2 billion into the expansion of its IT and infrastructure, including around CHF 1.6 billion in Switzerland. The COVID-19 pandemic is acting as an additional catalyst for the digitalisation of companies. As an integrated telecommunications and IT company, Swisscom is ideally positioned to meet the growing demand for cloud, security and unified communications & collaboration solutions.
The pandemic had a direct impact on Swisscom’s business performance – in particular through sharply reduced roaming revenues. Although up to more than 80% of employees worked from home in 2020, we kept our productivity high and generated a solid financial result. Swisscom held its ground among intensely fierce competition with high price pressure. For the current financial year, Swisscom plans to propose an unchanged dividend of CHF 22 per share to the 2022 Annual General Meeting if the financial targets are met.