In its attempt to provide high-speed internet everywhere in Switzerland, the Federal Council is putting a broadband promotion law out for consultation.
Internet coverage in Switzerland differs from one mobile service provider to another.
The largest, Swisscom, is providing 99.9 percent of the Swiss population with its network coverage, according to Comparis platform.
Compared to Salt and Sunrise UPC, Swisscom also has the highest 5G coverage as well.
However, the government wants to further support the expansion of the network, including in rural regions.
“The Federal Council intends to create an incentive program for the deployment of broadband, and thus combat the urban-rural digital divide.”
“All of Switzerland must have access to high-speed internet,” the Federal Council added.
“The goal is for the entire country to benefit from a download speed of at least 1 Gbit/second.”
A generous budget
To reach this goal, he government has earmarked a budget of 730 million francs, to be provided by both federal government and cantons during seven years, especially in areas “where the deployment of high-speed connections is not profitable, namely, in sparsely populated regions.”
This financial support will go towards expanding fibre-optic networks or wireless infrastructure – the latter in particular where the cost of expanding the fibre-optic network is very high.
The consultation on this proposal will last until June 23rd 2025.
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Which areas of Switzerland have the strongest and weakest wifi coverage?
According to a study by Open Signal, the Zurich and Lake Geneva region (which encompasses Geneva and Vaud) have the best coverage in the country .
They are followed (in the descending order) by central Switzerland, eastern Switzerland, and the Mitteland.
The ‘worst’ region, in terms of coverage, is Ticino.
