Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt face costly spectrum auction
Tuesday 1st September 2026 on 12:01 in
Switzerland
Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt will have to pay at least 854.7 million Swiss francs for new mobile frequency rights, SRF reports. The auction is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2027, with applications due by December 3.
The Swiss Communications Commission, Comcom, set the minimum bidding framework because demand is high for the scarce frequencies needed for mobile services. The current licences, awarded in 2012, expire in 2028.
The new concessions will run for 15 years, from the beginning of 2029 until the end of 2043. The minimum bid in 2012 was 637 million francs, while the three operators ultimately paid 996.3 million francs in total.
The 854.7 million franc figure applies if there is demand for all available frequencies. In previous auctions, some frequencies remained unsold and returned to the federal government. Comcom said it could not reliably predict the final proceeds, which will depend on demand and the participants’ bidding behaviour.
Comcom has increased the starting prices for several frequency bands. For the low-frequency bands at 800 and 900 megahertz, it has tripled the price compared with the legal minimum, as it did in 2012. These frequencies offer long range and good indoor coverage, and only a small number of blocks are available.
In the mid-range bands at 1800 and 2100 megahertz, Comcom has doubled the price. These frequencies are considered attractive because they offer a balance between range and speed. For the high-frequency 2600-megahertz bands, the commission has kept the minimum price at the legal floor.
Comcom rejected criticism from the operators over the higher minimum price. The regulator said it could set higher minimum prices when it considered them appropriate for allocating the frequencies, but stressed that maximising federal revenue was not the aim.
The main objectives are to preserve and develop the three high-quality mobile networks and promote competition in the mobile market for consumers, Comcom said.
The commission has also imposed bidding limits to prevent individual operators from acquiring too many frequencies. A single provider may acquire a maximum of 43 percent of all frequencies subject to restrictions. The limits are strictest for low frequencies and loosest for high frequencies.