Sunrise and Salt work together: 1.5 million households should receive fiber optics
Surprising cooperation on the Swiss telecommunications market: The two companies Sunrise and Salt are working together to expand the fiber optic network.
They are bitter competitors. But in the area of fiber optic expansion, Sunrise and Salt want to work together in the future and thus form a counterpart to the industry leader Swisscom.
The two companies announced on Tuesday that they had agreed on a strategic partnership in order to create a leading platform in the field of fiber to the home (FTTH). FTTH means that the fiber is placed right in the house.
Glass fiber for 1.5 million households: Sunrise and Salt work together. Picture: dpa
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The goal is to reach 1.5 million households over the next five to seven years with a total investment of up to CHF 3 billion, the report said.
Prominent President
According to the information, the expansion should take place in areas that are not adequately supplied with broadband today. Digitalization should also be promoted in non-urban areas.
For their plans, Sunrise and Salt found the joint venture Swiss Open Fiber, which they want to keep with a capital partner in the future. Talks with potential partners and banks have already started. The network construction should then start in the fourth quarter of the current year, it is said.
Marc Furrer, former Comcom President. Picture: PPR
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Marc Furrer, the former President of the Swiss Federal Comcom Communication Commission, is to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new company.
Open platform
The communication speaks of an “open platform that is accessible to all providers”. Sunrise and Salt want to be the main tenants of the platform, but it is available to all competitors, it is emphasized.
Specifically, Swiss Open Fiber wants to work with Swiss Fiber Net, the joint venture of regional energy providers. This supports the new company as part of a strategic partnership.
The initiative will accelerate the spread of state-of-the-art broadband offers and “significantly improve Switzerland’s supply of fiber optic infrastructures compared to other European countries,” says Sunrise CEO André Krause in the message.
Salt CEO Pascal Grieder speaks of a “unique project”. It also encourages municipalities and utilities that are involved in the deployment of an FTTH network to “contact us”. One is open for business. (awp / sda)
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