Mobile plans are getting more expensive – or are they?
Swisscom, Salt and Sunrise are currently making headlines for raising the cost of their mobile plans. But an expert says it’s never been cheaper to surf the web on your smartphone in Switzerland.
«70% discount on your mobile plan!», «Switch now and save!» – deals like this from mobile providers are all over billboards. When I’m surfing the web, I keep seeing ads from Swisscom, Sunrise, Salt and others. At the same time, many Swiss people are receiving letters or e-mails announcing a price increase. A discount battle on one side, higher plan prices on the other. At the same time. That sounds contradictory, but there’s a logic to it.
Ralf Beyeler, a telecom expert at online comparison service moneyland.ch, explains what it’s all about. He knows the Swiss mobile market inside out, having been closely following it for about 30 years. This market, he says, has split into three segments.
At the top of the pyramid are Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt with their premium primary brands, which promise comprehensive service but also come with a high price tag. The secondary and tertiary brands are positioned in the middle: Migros Mobile, Coop Mobile, Post Mobile and Lidl Connect. These rely on major network operators who use well-known retail brands to reach additional customer segments. For Migros Mobile, for example, Swisscom manufactures the entire product, and the customer actually enters into a contract with Swisscom rather than Migros. Migros essentially provides its brand, its points of sale and its marketing resources.
Yallo, Wingo and Lebara also fall into this mid-range segment. These providers are facing a conundrum, says Beyeler. «Their prices aren’t competitive enough, and the service is often poor. Employees are more focused on selling products than on solving problems.»
Discount players with fixed low prices
While secondary brands from major providers such as CHMobile (Sunrise) and GoMo (Salt) play a role in the third segment – which Beyeler calls the discount segment – independent providers are particularly prominent: Digital Republic, Spusu – and Galaxus Mobile. The price is what matters most here.
Independent providers purchase grid capacity from major operators and pass on fixed low rates to their customers. «They don’t start with exorbitant prices and then offer discounts,» says Beyeler. «The low rates are fixed.»
The market’s more competitive than ever. So why are Swisscom, Salt and Sunrise hiking their prices? The answer can be found by taking a look at their customer base. These are people who are already paying 80 Francs a month for their mobile plan, explains Beyeler. A relatively small price increase won’t make much difference, or so the providers seem to think. As Beyeler explains:
For a long time, Swiss customers were very slow to react, making life easy for providers.
Swisscom’s the top dog
We’re not talking about just a few people here: according to the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), Swisscom held a market share of around 54 per cent at the end of 2024 and had 6.3 million active mobile lines. This high number can be explained by the fact that Switzerland counts SIM cards – and many users have several of them, for instance for their phones, tablets, or smartwatches.
It’s also important to note that Swisscom’s 54-per-cent market share includes its secondary brand, Wingo, as well as its tertiary brands, Coop Mobile and Migros Mobile. Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann told Ralf Beyeler that approximately 64 per cent of all Swisscom mobile plans are under the primary brand, while about 36 per cent are under secondary and tertiary brands.
In any case, former monopoly holder Swisscom still has by far the most customers – more than Sunrise (26.5 per cent market share) and Salt (18 per cent) combined. And since the standard price of what’s likely Swisscom’s most popular plan is around 80 Francs per month, a significant portion of these customers probably pay just under 1,000 Francs for their mobile plan year after year – whether they realise it or not.
Only price-conscious customers switch quickly
Why do customers stick with a provider even though they’re clearly paying too much? The magic phrase from the business textbook is «willingness to pay». There are customers who are willing to pay more for a service that’s essentially the same. Only a portion of the customer base is actually price-conscious and switches providers as soon as a better offer comes along. According to a survey by Bonus.ch (linked page in German), in 2023 around 40 per cent of the Swiss population paid less than 40 Francs per month for their plan – compared to a mere 22 per cent in 2014. Most phone users simply don’t care how much their plan costs. According to the Bonus.ch survey (linked page in German), 54 per cent of respondents said they’d been with the same provider for more than five years – and only about 23 per cent had switched in the past two years. Swisscom customers are especially loyal; 87 per cent of them have been with the company for more than five years. By comparison, more than half of Yallo and Coop Mobile customers have only joined in the last two years. For Swisscom, this means that the majority of its existing customers generally accept price increases without kicking up a fuss. Those who want to leave will do so anyway – and those who stay, will stay.
Big discounts, poor service
The big three have a structural problem. The larger the company, the more inflexible its processes become. «Management often see customer service as a cost centre,» explains Beyeler. Stores are primarily places to make purchases, not places to solve problems. «You get brushed off, sent abroad – it’s all about selling products.» Sure, you can definitely receive a really good service. But there have also been extreme cases like this one: in February, Swiss consumer watchdog programme «Kassensturz» exposed a scheme by a Salt store (linked page in German), where some employees talked unsuspecting seniors into signing useless contracts and buying multiple phones and music players.
Discounts on exorbitant prices
I also ask Ralf Beyeler about the posters that are enticing me with a «70% discount!» To the expert, it’s clear that the plans being advertised with what seem like sensational discounts are almost never available at the supposed regular price. These prices are only advertised so they can be crossed out to attract new customers. Some providers offer promotional discounts that are valid only for a limited time – for example, for the first 12 months of a contract with a 24-month minimum term. This means the customer pays the full price for half the term, explains Beyeler. The discount’s then only half as much as advertised. So it’s worth looking at the total cost when committing to a provider for a certain period of time, for example using Moneyland.
Offers such as a «lifetime discount» are particularly deceptive. With this deal, the provider reserves the right to increase the base price. Customers who thought they were protected from price hikes are left high and dry. It’s a different story with the «lifetime price». In theory. But providers are going back on their promises even for these deals. A case involving Wingo has made headlines. The Swisscom subsidiary raised the price despite its promise of a lifetime price guarantee (linked page in German), citing improved service as the reason.
Are the big players talking about prices?
It’s interesting to note what the heads of the major providers have been saying publicly lately. The CEO of Salt says he would prefer to see less intense discount wars (linked page in German). Max Nunziata’s unhappy about the drop in prices for mobile plans. «It means the entire industry loses out.»
Swisscom announced that it’s not intending to respond to Sunrise’s new discount brand – CHMobile – with a budget brand of its own (linked page in German). For CEO Christoph Aeschlimann, the situation’s clear: «Everyone will end up back in a similar position to before, but with lower prices.»
Our expert Beyeler interprets these types of statements as hidden market signals: the major players are revealing they don’t like the discount trend – and are essentially communicating this publicly, though of course without coordinating their actions. That wouldn’t be legal – just think of the Competition Commission. The problem: «Whoever’s the first to stop offering these deals will lose anyway. Their customers will just go to other providers.» A classic case of the prisoner’s dilemma. Providers are reluctant to take the risk of pulling out of the discount war because they fear their competitors won’t do the same and will therefore gain an advantage in the short term.
Playing dirty to keep customers
Once a provider’s gone to so much effort to attract new customers by advertising low prices, the obvious goal’s to retain those customers for as long as possible. That’s why some companies make it so difficult to cancel contracts. I’m talking about endless waiting on the phone or complicated rules about when a cancellation request has to be submitted. But they’re not getting away with everything. For example, the Zurich District Court handed down a landmark ruling in late April 2026 (linked page in German). It ruled against Sunrise and in favour of the Foundation for Consumer Protection, declaring two clauses in the terms and conditions to be unlawful. However, this ruling’s not yet final.
First, price increases due to rising inflation aren’t permitted if customers aren’t granted an extraordinary right to terminate the contract. Second, it must be possible to cancel in writing – not just by phone or chat. Sara Stalder, director of consumer protection, believes this ruling sends a signal that’ll have important repercussions beyond the specific Sunrise case. After all, Salt and Swisscom would also be likely to raise some of their tariffs without offering the option of early termination. Sunrise has announced that it will appeal the ruling – which means it’s not yet final. For now, nothing will change for Sunrise customers. But the direction we’re heading in is clear. The days when providers could unilaterally raise prices while making it harder to cancel are coming to an end.
Great service without the high price tag
As a customer, how do you choose the right provider for you? «A low price is great, but that’s not to say you should always go for the cheapest option,» says Beyeler. «There are other factors: customer service, the company’s values, fairness.» One thing’s clear – if you know the market well and compare deals, you can save a lot of money. If good customer service is important to you, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pay high prices. For example, in a recent satisfaction survey by Moneyland (linked page in German), Galaxus Mobile scored higher than the big players. This is despite – or perhaps precisely because of – the more agile approach and streamlined structure. «It helps when, as a new provider, you can start almost from scratch and teams can work very efficiently,» explains Beyeler. Over the years and decades, the major players – especially Swisscom – have expanded into more and more business domains. This can sometimes make them inflexible. On the other hand, with so many brick-and-mortar stores, they provide a service to a customer base that’s typically older and less digitally savvy, and that values face-to-face interaction.
Considerable cancellation and porting backlogs were recently reported (linked page in German) following the price hikes. This could be interpreted as a sign that more customers than expected responded, choosing to leave the provider. Beyeler sees this as generally positive: «It’s good when customers take action and stand up for themselves.»
Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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