Salt set to enter the landline telecoms market

Salt, formerly called Orange, is already established in the Swiss mobile market. Keystone

Mobile telephone operator Salt has announced that it will begin offering landline services in Switzerland, in a move set to intensify competition amongst current providers.

Salt, which is already an established player in the mobile market, announced on TuesdayExternal link that it would be proposing “a complete range of telecommunication services in Switzerland, including a ‘triple play’ offer based on high-speed broadband technology”.

In practice, this will mean a package offering high-speed internet connection, over 300 television channels, and unlimited calls throughout the country. Salt says that the monthly subscription to this ‘triple play’ would be CHF49.95 ($52.30).

Existing subscribers to Salt mobile will receive a CHF10 reduction on the new package, which would bring their total monthly fee – for mobile, landline, TV, and internet – to CHF64.90, well below current prices offered by other major providers Swisscom, Sunrise, and UPC.

A comparable offer from Swisscom comes to CHF170 per month, while Sunrise offers a package of mobile, telephone, internet, and TV at CHF139 monthly. UPC’s package comes to CHF159.

According to stats from the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), as of the end of 2017 Swisscom had a 72.7% share of the Swiss broadband market, while Sunrise held 14.5%.

Swisscom and Sunrise shareholders appeared to take heed of the announcement, which is sure to intensify competition and potentially drive down prices; both companies had lost 3-4% of their stock-market value as of lunchtime on Tuesday.