The Competition Commission believes Swisscom may be charging excessive prices in the interconnection of commercial sites.
Swisscom may be abusing its dominant position: On 25 August 2020, the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) opened an investigation into Swisscom, citing evidence suggesting that the company may be abusing its position in the business segment of the broadband market.
What the investigation is about: COMCO suspects that Swisscom may be charging exceedingly high prices in tenders for the interconnection of commercial sites. Swisscom’s competitors in the broadband market depend on the company’s infrastructure for this type of projects, hence they are unable to submit competitive bids in these tenders if Swisscom applies exceedingly high rates.
Swisscom was already sanctioned in 2015: COMCO notes that it had already sanctioned Swisscom in 2015 for a similar conduct, with regard to the networking of sites of the Swiss Post Office. At the time, COMCO concluded that Swisscom applied a margin squeeze which hindered the ability of other operators to participate in the tenders, since Swisscom was charging a price 45% lower than Sunrise. That decision is currently pending legal challenge before the Federal administrative tribunal.
