Swisscom announced positive results and a solid performance Thursday amidst increased competition and price pressures in the mobile services market.
The better-than-expected performance came from increased uptake of its bundled TV service, Swisscom TV, as well as a good showing from its Italian operation, Fastweb. Overall net income was up 13.1% to almost 1.2 billion Swiss francs (US$1.23 billion). (See this Swisscom announcement.)
On the broadband front there's been a concerted effort to roll out the latest technology and the Swiss operator now connects approximately 3.4 million homes and businesses to its ultra-broadband (faster than 50 Mbit/s) network.
With broadband connections on the rise, September was a good time to become one of first operators to have launched ultra-fast broadband services based on G.fast technology. (See Swisscom Claims Europe's First Commercial G.fast.)
Swisscom AG (NYSE: SCM) CTO Heinz Herren talked recently about the operator's commitment to a technology mix that includes hybrid fiber-optic technologies such as FTTdP with vectoring and G.fast, alongside FTTH.
In addition, Swisscom has also put a complete Low Power Network (LPN) into operation to support the Internet of Things, providing coverage to more than 75% of the population. With a concerted push on IoT, smart homes and cities, and the introduction of digital applications, it looks like Swisscom is positioning itself well for the future.
— Elliot Richards, Senior Editor, UBB2020
