Swisscom in the political arena

As the leading ICT company in Switzerland, we maintain a constant dialogue with the public. We provide transparent and factual information about our political, economic and social interests.

Topics & positions

All Emergency services require secure communication
channels.

On 14 March 2025, the Federal Council launched a consultation on the Broadband Promotion Act.

A motion was submitted by the Telecommunications Committee of the Swiss Council of States.

5G makes the mobile network faster, more reliableand more powerful than ever before.

Facts and figures

Myth versus reality

Fact check: five common statements about Swisscom

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Myth:
«Swisscom is a state-owned enterprise.»

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Reality:
Swisscom is a private-sector, listed company.
  At the end of the 1990s, the PTT (Post, Telegraph and Telephone Administration) was dissolved and split up into Swiss Post (an independent federal institution under public law) and Swisscom. The new company, Swisscom, was established as a listed limited liability company, and the Swiss Confederation retained 51% of the shares. The remaining 49% of the shares are currently held by approximately 80,000 private and institutional investors, including pension funds. Thus, Swisscom is not a state-owned enterprise, but a private-sector company whose majority shareholder is the Swiss government.

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Myth:
«Swisscom is subsidised by the state.»

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Reality:
Swisscom receives no state subsidies and, in fact, pays out an annual dividend to the government.
 

Swisscom receives no state subsidies. It generates an annual profit from its activities on the open market, and the shareholders benefit from this. Because the government owns 51% of the shares, it receives annual dividends of more than CHF 500 million from Swisscom. Since the initial public offering, the government has received CHF 24.6 billion; approximately equivalent to the cost of the New Transalpine Rail Link (NEAT) infrastructure project.

*Figures correct as of 2025; includes payout for the 2024 financial year

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Myth:
«Swisscom has a monopoly on the market.»

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Reality:
The Swiss telecommunications market is completely deregulated and open.
  The Swiss telecommunications market is completely deregulated. No part of the market is protected by the state or monopolised by Swisscom or its services. In many areas, the competitive environment, consisting of many national and international providers, has driven prices down and service quality up.

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Myth:
«Swisscom is protected by the state, which skews the competition.»

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Reality:
No Swisscom areas of activity are state protected.
 

Swisscom operates in open markets and has no competitive advantage because of the government’s majority holding. There are no restrictions on service provision by either Switzerland-based or international companies. The Swiss telecommunications market is also overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), the independent licensing and regulatory authority for the telecommunications sector.

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Myth:
«Swisscom is growing in Italy and turning its back on Switzerland.»

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Reality:
The acquisition of Vodafone Italia strengthens the entire group. Swisscom’s focus remains on the domestic Swiss market.
  Swisscom’s Italian subsidiary Fastweb has made a significant contribution to the overall success of the Swisscom Group for almost 20 years. Today, Swisscom is the leading ICT company in Switzerland and a strong number 2 in Italy with its subsidiary Fastweb + Vodafone. The acquisition of Vodafone was a commercial decision and strengthens the enterprise value of Swisscom as a whole. Switzerland will always be the home and heart of Swisscom.

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