Schaffhausen to get a high speed fibre optic network

Swisscom is to install the next generation high speed fibre optic communications network in the city of Schaffhausen over the next few years. Construction of such a network is necessary to be able to meet the future bandwidth needs of businesses and private households, i.e. the demand for even faster Internet access. Construction work started in the district of Herblingen at the beginning of July. Although the fibre optic cables will in principle be laid in existing cable ducts, various types of excavation work will still be necessary over the next few years. Swisscom will coordinate the expansion work in close collaboration with the Schaffhausen civil engineering office to ensure that emissions for the local population are kept as low as possible.

Swisscom will construct the fibre optic network on its own and will lay at least four fibre optic cables per household and business. Thanks to non discriminatory access to the Schaffhausen fibre optic network, providers not wishing to invest in the new network will also have access. As a result, competition in the telecommunications market will continue to be promoted. Customers in particular will benefit from supplier diversity since they will be able to choose from a wide range of offerings.

Fibre is rolled out to a new household or business in Switzerland roughly every two minutes. By March 2012, Swisscom and its cooperation partners had run fibre optic cables to the basements of around 388,000 homes and businesses. This figure is expected to reach a million, or around a third of all households, by 2015. The current figure is 10%.

Media Contact:
Swisscom (Switzerland) AG Alte Tiefenaustrasse 6 3048 Worblaufen BE Tel: 0800 800 800 Fax: 0800 800 802

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