BERNE, Switzerland -- To continue to satisfy the huge demand for mobile data services in the future, Swisscom is to completely overhaul its mobile network and invest several hundred million Swiss francs over the next five years. Swisscom will update the technology of all mobile base stations. It will also increase network capacity at heavily frequented locations and press ahead with LTE expansion. Swisscom has chosen Ericsson as its strategic partner for the network expansion.

Technical publication “connect” recently confirmed for the third time in a row that Swisscom has the best mobile network in Switzerland, a view that was also shared by the TV programme “Kassensturz”. To ensure that it remains able to handle the growth in mobile data transmission in the future, Swisscom is to give its network a complete overhaul.

In mid-2011 Swisscom invited five leading technology providers to submit tenders for the renewal of the entire mobile network. Ericsson came up with the best offer in operational terms and was awarded the contract for the upcoming modernisation. Swisscom and Ericsson have already been working together for many years, which means that the processes are well established and new technologies can easily be implemented, offering substantial potential savings for Swisscom with regard to operating costs. The investment plans remain unchanged: over the next five years Swisscom will invest several hundred million Swiss francs in its mobile network.

Swisscom will begin to implement measures in January 2012. By mid-2014 Swisscom will have upgraded all 6,000 mobile base stations with new hardware and software and connected them to fast fibre-optic lines. These mobile transmission sites will thus be ready for the launch of the new LTE mobile technology. The more than 300 new mobile sites established each year will also be similarly fitted out. The antenna systems will not be affected, and the stringent radiation limits will continue to be met.

Swisscom AG