WAN-II
The Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) has closed its investigation into Swisscom in relation to the construction and operation of a wide area network for company locations (WAN-II). No evidence has been found of Swisscom imposing unreasonable prices, discriminating against trading partners or squeezing competitor margins.
COMCO has concluded that abusive discrimination was impossible given that the prices were set through negotiations, which were therefore the reason for the price differences. Consequently, there was no unequal treatment of trading partners.
COMCO opened the investigation at the end of August 2020, stating that there was evidence to suggest that Swisscom had discriminated against its competitors and trading partners by demanding unreasonable prices, resulting in a margin squeeze.
Swisscom considers COMCO's ruling logical following the precedent judgement in favour of Swisscom announced on 5 March 2024 by the Federal Court in a similar proceeding (WAN-I). In this judgement, the court found that Swisscom had not demanded unreasonable prices nor achieved excessive profit margins. Moreover, the prices were the result of negotiations and were not determined unilaterally by Swisscom, precluding the existence of a margin squeeze.
The latest ruling by COMCO provides legal certainty and confirms that Swisscom has acted correctly.