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TMCNet: 'Court dismisses Swisscom claims against bitstream regulation'

[February 20, 2009]

'Court dismisses Swisscom claims against bitstream regulation'

(DMeurope Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Swiss federal administrative court has dismissed Swisscom's complaints against the decision of the Swiss telecommunications regulator ComCom to enforce bitstream LLU. In 2007, ComCom decided that Swisscom has significant market power (SMP) on the Swiss broadband market and launched regulation forcing Swisscom to open its DSL network for alternative operators using LLU. Swisscom filed a lawsuit against this decision, but the court also found that Swisscom has SMP on the last mile in Switzerland, despite Swisscom's claims that ComCom defined the last mile market too narrow as it did not take mobile broadband and wireless broadband into account. This verdict does not set the way and when ComCom has to calculate the prices for LLU access, Swisscom now has present an offer with cost-oriented prices, which alternative operators can protest against at ComCom. In a first reaction, Swisscom said that it accepts the decision and waives any appeal to the Federal Court. At the same time, the operator dampens expectation of a quick realisation of LLU as substantial technical and contractual regulation is necessary. The operator expects at least three months before the appropriate framework contracts are available to send to the alternative telecommunications operators and the regulated bitstream access to be available at the earliers in November of this year.


Swisscom's largest competitor Sunrise has welcomed the verdict and hopes that the Swiss government will take faster steps to ensure fair access to FTTx networks as well.

(Distributed for DMeurope.com via M2 Communications Ltd (www.m2.com)) Copyright ? 2009 M2 Communications Ltd.

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