Swiss Open Fiber: Sunrise and Salt to supply 1.5 million households with FTTH
Salt and Sunrise are setting up a joint venture with the goal of supplying 1.5 million households in Switzerland with fibre-optic broadband connections. The new partner company Swiss Open Fiber is planning to invest up to three billion francs over the next seven years.
FTTH for everyone: Sunrise and Salt have announced a strategic partnership and have set up a joint venture. With Swiss Open Fiber, the two companies are creating an open platform for Fibre to the Home (FTTH), i.e. for fibre-optic broadband connections, which is accessible to all providers. Swiss Open Fiber is particularly interested in setting up their services in places that have been left behind, thus supporting digitalisation in non-urban areas of Switzerland.
The joint venture will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2020. Swiss Fibre Net is taking a supportive role in the construction of the network. Marc Furrer, former president of the Federal Communications Commission, will become president of Swiss Open Fiber. The company is to be held in equal shares with a future capital partner. The third main owner will probably be revealed in the coming months – talks with potential candidates and financing banks are in progress.
Over the next seven years, the new company plans to provide an additional 1.5 million households with high-speed broadband connection services. This expansion requires investments of up to three billion Swiss francs. While it remains to be seen whether enough funds are available, the potential is definitely there: today, not even half of the approximately four million Swiss households have FTTH.
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