Swiss government proposes 730 million francs for rural broadband

The Swiss Federal Council plans to invest up to 730 million Swiss francs to expand high-speed internet in rural regions, SRF reported. It has approved a slightly revised bill on broadband funding, which will now go to Parliament.

The Gigabit Strategy aims to provide homes and business premises in sparsely populated areas with fixed-line connections offering download speeds of at least one gigabit per second.

According to the government’s proposal, around 24 percent of buildings with residential or commercial units in Switzerland currently lack access to speeds of one gigabit per second because they are not connected to fibre-optic or modern cable networks. Fibre connections reaching buildings covered 50 percent of premises in 2024, compared with 69 percent in the European Union.

The government said action was urgent because Swisscom will gradually retire its old copper networks from the 2030s. Without public funding, an estimated 10 percent of Swiss households and businesses could be left without high-speed internet because private providers would not find fibre expansion financially viable in those locations.

The proposed programme would provide up to 730 million francs. The federal government would contribute a maximum of 365 million francs between 2030 and 2037, financed through future revenue from mobile communications licence fees. The affected cantons would provide the remaining half and could pass all or part of the cost on to municipalities.

Participation would be voluntary for cantons and municipalities. Municipalities would submit applications and could seek funding to cover the financial shortfall of expansion projects that are not commercially viable.

Following criticism during the consultation process, the Federal Council reduced some administrative requirements. Municipalities would not need legally binding building permits when submitting applications; the permits would have to be in place before the funding was paid.

Operators receiving funding would also have to give competing providers access to the infrastructure. The Federal Council would set the access prices in an ordinance based on customary industry benchmarks. The programme would run for eight years instead of the originally proposed seven, with the option of extending it by up to three years if funds remained available.

Funding would primarily support fibre-optic networks. For extremely remote buildings, the Federal Council could set maximum amounts per connection. If the cost of a fibre connection exceeded that limit, a cheaper wireless technology would have to be used or the municipality would have to cover the difference.

Parliament will decide on the broadband funding bill, which is subject to a possible referendum, and on a 365 million franc spending authorisation for 2030 to 2037. Communications Minister Albert Rösti has said the programme should help narrow the gap between urban and rural areas and enable more people to work from home without increasing commuting.