News

A New Generation of Mobile Radio Frequencies in Switzerland

The Swiss Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) is paving the way for even faster mobile Internet and in order to do so is putting out to public tender mobile radio frequencies. In an auction, existing and new mobile network operators are being given a chance to acquire the frequency blocks necessary to set up a long-term network operation. Along with existing frequency bands for 2G (GSM, EDGE) and 3G (UMTS), frequencies for the new 4G technologies such as WiMAX and LTE are also up for bid. These data transfer technologies make the launch of even faster mobile data services possible.

Quelle: Comcom / BAKOM

Smartphones und ihre Medienapps benötigen immer mehr Bandbreite

Swiss mobile network operators Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise had, for a long time, been looking for content to use the capacity of their digital networks. Now, the mobile Internet has – finally – taken off and the networks are increasingly reaching their capacity limits. Subscribers to data flat rates quite often experience decreasing bandwidths on their mobile devices once they have reached a certain data volume. Apps that require large data volumes slow down and videos or TV programs viewed via a wireless connection on a mobile device buffer more frequently.

 

With mobile telephony’s fourth generation, bandwidths are due to increase from today’s 0.5 Mbps to 100 or even 300 Mbps. Coupled with further technological developments, which make ever increasing data transfer volumes on limited bandwidths possible, “data hungry† applications, such as mobile TV, run smoothly. Before the mobile operators can bring the new services to their mobile devices, though, they must be awarded a frequency spectrum in the upcoming auction.

 

The Communications Commission (ComCom) has instructed the Federal Office for Communications (OFCOM) to put up for public tender all of the frequencies that are still available today or will become so in the foreseeable future. The bid is intended to make optimal use of the future frequencies and should also enable new operators to enter the Swiss mobile telephony market. Today’s GSM and UMTS licences expire end 2013 and end 2016 respectively.

 

Sources:

  • ComCom news release here

  • In a white paper, Swisscom explains in a most comprehensible manner the different mobile radio technologies and their history. 
    Link to the white paper as pdf.  (Text in German)