connect test: Swisscom wins for eleventh year

For the eleventh year, Swisscom has taken first place in the mobile network test conducted by connect magazine with an “outstanding” rating. The test covers Switzerland and compares Germany and Austria. Swisscom picked up 960 points from a possible 1000, placing it top in the connect mobile network test alongside a host of other tests in 2020. Swisscom was also awarded the 5G Innovation Award by connect, demonstrating that Swisscom does indeed offer its customers the best network and represents the provider of choice – although difficult expansion conditions will make it increasingly difficult to achieve similar results in future.

By Armin Schädeli

1 December 2020

Swisscom has long pursued the aim of offering its customers the best mobile phone network in Switzerland, a claim borne out by its continued dominance in independent tests. This year again, Swisscom had cause to celebrate in all relevant tests, including CHIP, PC Magazin, nPerf and Ookla. And now it has won the mobile network test run by connect magazine for the eleventh year. This shows that, together with its partner Ericsson, Swisscom is optimally expanding the mobile network for its customers within the constraints of difficult expansion conditions – winning this year's test with an "outstanding” rating of 960 points out of a total 1000. connect also measured Swisscom's 5G network and presented it the Innovation Award. connect considers Swisscom to be at the forefront in 5G coverage with high reliability in the network where it is currently available.

connect magazine is unequivocal: “In the fiercely contested battle within Switzerland, Swisscom has managed to outdo its strong rival Sunrise for the third time in a row. But the biggest winners are the customers who benefit from a very good to outstanding mobile network in Switzerland.” Christoph Aeschlimann, CTIO of Swisscom agrees: “We want to offer our customers the best network and are delighted about this award. In the future, however, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve outstanding results in such tests under more difficult expansion conditions.”

Swisscom's mobile network expansion

Swisscom continues its visionary expansion of the mobile network every year, ensuring that it creates capacities today that customers will want and need in the future. Mobile data traffic increased by 29% last year, yet we were only able to expand our network capacity by 5% over the same period due to obstructions in many regions. If these far-reaching delays in the expansion of 4G and 5G continue for longer, data congestion is inevitable, to the detriment of our customers.

Wherever possible, Swisscom has renewed some of its network, especially in tunnels, where 4G capacity was added to the network in 2020. In its test, connect also highlights the availability of mobile telephony on trains: “Even on rail journeys that place high demands on mobile technology, Swisscom offers a success rate for smartphone calls of 99%.” The roll-out of 5G has improved in regions that support the expansion in line with current regulations. With its full 5G+ version, Swisscom now covers around 1100 sites in 477 locations. All leading smartphone manufacturers introduced 5G-enabled devices in 2020. A growing number of customers are thus benefiting directly from the 5G expansion and increased network capacity.