Full changeover to IP is on course!
All over the world, communications companies are converting to future-oriented IP technology. And Switzerland is no exception – IP is replacing the ageing fixed-line technology. In early 2014 Swisscom announced that it would be converting the fixed-line technology to All IP by the end of 2017. By the end of 2016, more than three-quarters of Swisscom customers, that’s more than 1.6 million people, had already converted to IP technology and are now enjoying its benefits.
At some locations, Swisscom is already converting the obsolete infrastructure entirely to IP. From the beginning of 2018, customer access in four regions of Switzerland will be completely converted to IP, so that the old network infrastructure can be dismantled. The first major regions are Solothurn/Biel/Jura, Schaffhausen/Winterthur/Frauenfeld, Balsthal/Olten/parts of Aargau/Oberaargau and the Rapperswil/Jona/Glarus area. The other regions are currently in planning and will be announced in good time.
Swisscom will continue to support all TDM products until the end of 2017. As part of the progressive dismantling of the old infrastructure starting from 2018, Swisscom may terminate the TDM connection depending on the situation. This means there will no longer be a basis for services such as CPS and BBCS Shared, which is why we recommend all our Wholesale partners to convert their customers to IP technology by the end of 2017.
With the conversion to All IP we will together create the technological requirements for digitalising Switzerland as a location for business and optimising our customers’ competitiveness.
Simple processes and enhanced customer experience with the “Swisscom Ready Vision”
Everyone’s talking about IP. The technology offers many advantages – including the launch of the “Swisscom ready” connection. With Swisscom ready, the connection is ready to go: simply plug in the router, and activate the services straight away. “Swisscom ready” – the name says it all.
From mid-2017, the first end customers will be able to set up their connections straight away when they move house. All connections will be continuously switched to “Swisscom ready”. With “Swisscom ready”, customers are no longer tied to certain switching times, don’t have to wait for an appointment and don’t need any information from the previous resident, no matter whether they book a new service or move house. A quick consultation with the service provider suffices.
So that you too can provide simpler processes for your end customers, we are adding new functions to the Web Service Gateway (WSG). As soon as Swisscom ready is available on the market, your customers can enjoy all these benefits.
Extended coverage with CES Light
As announced earlier, CES 3.0 is being further developed and will be supplemented in the fourth quarter of 2017 with Swisscom's Low-End Fibre (LEF) access.
This means you will benefit from extended coverage with CES Light on the entire fiber-to-th-home (FTTH) network. Bandwidths up to 1 Gbit/s shall be possible, improving your competitiveness, particularly in our Top City zones.
Please note that previous CES product version 2.0 will be replaced with the new CES 3.0 product in July 2017 and will henceforth no longer be available to order.
Customer satisfaction – the key to continual improvement
We were delighted by the great response and valuable feedback from our recent customer survey. The 121 participants gave us a score of 8.6 for overall satisfaction and the average recommendation rate stands at 8.7. Both these scores are at the same high level as the previous year. According to your statements, the main reasons for this were our personal expert support. We once again reduced individual concerns (what we call “pain points”) by around 15%. These good results encourage us to keep going and concentrate on constantly improving our products, services and processes (with the main focus on fibre). As always, we will contact you personally to systematically address the points you raised so that we can further optimise Swisscom Wholesale’s services.
Change of command at Swisscom Wholesale
After eight successful years at the head of Swisscom Wholesale, Daniel Staub has taken on a new professional challenge within Swisscom.
His successor is Robin Hug, who took the helm as the new Head of Wholesale on 1 January 2017. As the long-time Head of Access & Voice Services and a member of Wholesale right from the start, Robin Hug knows the business inside-out and can boast plenty of experience.
Another very experienced Wholesale pro, Gérard Covolo, has taken over the management of Access & Voice Services Wholesale.
Robin, Gérard and the entire management team will ensure that you continue to get the best products and the best service from Swisscom Wholesale
We cut our mobile termination rates
On 1 January 2017, we’re cutting mobile termination rates for Salt, Sunrise and Swisscom Mobile networks by almost half. The price for mobile termination with Salt and Sunrise will be CHF 0.043/min and just CHF 0.031/min for Swisscom Mobile.
Compared with the current price of CHF 0.0735/min for Salt and Sunrise, and CHF 0.0595/min for Swisscom, this is a significant price reduction.
New B2B interface for Carrier Line and Carrier Ethernet services
We can now offer you a B2B interface that makes processing quotes and orders for Carrier Line and Carrier Ethernet services simple.
Your order system will be linked to our IT system. Each work step is processed directly between the systems, from the first price enquiry to go-live, and every step in between is completely transparent, making information exchange easier and more efficient. This replaces current communication by email and telephone, but of course you can always contact one of our employees whenever you wish, just as before.
After the service is live, the entire inventory of active Carrier Line and Carrier Ethernet services can be viewed at any time. That means that you, the customer, always have the same information to hand that we do
The future belongs to All IP
Have you already migrated your customers to IP? If not, it’s high time! Take a proactive approach to migration by offering your customers forward-thinking IP-based solutions, such as BBCS Naked or VoIP interconnection. To date, more than 65% of all Swisscom customers have migrated and more than half of cross-network traffic flows through VoIP interconnection.
New and amended orders for BBCS Shared will no longer be possible after 1 November 2016. BBCS Shared will be available only until late 2017, when TDM is scheduled to replace it.
Switching services means greater value creation for you – with the Swisscom landline connection no longer required, you can offer your end customers a fully integrated service. With no carrier pre-selection and your own VoIP service, your customers will no longer require an affiliation agreement with Swisscom. This puts the customer relationship completely in your hands.
We are happy to help you, so contact us at any time.
Easy payment with mobile bills, now also with Apple
How would you like to pay? This question on the checkout page is key for digital purchases: the easier and more secure the payment, the better. For operators of an online shop or app, the mobile bill payment method is a particularly interesting option. With NATEL® Pay, every Swisscom mobile subscriber can make online purchases securely and quickly.
And now you can use NATEL® Pay for Apple payments – in the App Store, iTunes, iBooks and Apple Music. One of the reasons Apple decided to use NATEL® Pay was the opportunity it offered to reach customers without credit cards.
Add NATEL® Pay to your payment options and profit from an ideal checkout page with complete, mobile-optimised checkout template that you can adapt to your needs. It’s a great way to increase your conversion rate – turn visitors to your website into purchasers from your web store. What’s more, Swisscom will support you with communication channels, both its own and external, to win new customers for your business.
