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Cinemas, news and now also travel and household insurance: Swisscom is continuing to expand its areas of activity. The calls for privatization are getting louder.
Author: Anna Nüesch, Harry Stitzel
The largest Swiss telecommunications provider, Swisscom, is going through turbulent times. Price competition is fierce and customer needs are changing.
Offers such as landline telephony and the television market are experiencing falling demand. This is reflected in the latest business figures. In the competitive Swiss core business, sales fell by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
Look for alternatives
Swisscom’s new activities are particularly striking. In March, the company announced the acquisition of Vodafone Italia and its merger with broadband subsidiary Fastweb.
The telecommunications provider is also currently expanding its insurance offerings: in addition to insurance for devices and cybersecurity, it now also includes household contents, personal liability, leisure and rental deposit insurance. Swisscom provides these to its customers. She announced this a week ago.
The Swiss Post is also active in the insurance business
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Swiss Post, which is 100 percent owned by the federal government, works with the insurance companies Assura and Sympany. The two insurers are present in selected branches of the post office and advise customers. According to its own information, the post office does not conclude any contracts, but simply refers customers.
Swisscom Managing Director Christoph Aeschlimann explains the current plans as follows: “We are trying to build an ecosystem for our private customers. We generate added value for them so that they can purchase certain services as easily as possible.”
A question for Federal Bern
Criticism of this project is not long in coming. With 51 percent, the federal government is the majority owner of Swisscom. The critics don’t like this involvement – they are calling for Swisscom to be privatized.
Legend: Federal-affiliated company: The federal government holds the largest share in Swisscom – this has been increasingly criticized since the takeover of Vodafone Italia. Keystone / ENNIO LEANZA
The GLP National Councilors Barbara Schaffner and Jürg Grossen submitted a corresponding motion and proposal in March. State participation is no longer appropriate.
Barbara Schaffner is critical of the plans to expand the insurance business. “If we have a market that works, there is no need for government intervention.”
Discussion about Swisscom privatization
For Center National Councilor Philipp Kutter it is clear: “Swisscom is fueling the discussion about privatization with activities outside of its core business. The involvement in Italy with Vodafone and in other sectors such as insurance are not necessarily the responsibility of the federal government. SVP National Councilor Nina Fehrüssel also calls for a focus on the main competencies.
According to Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann, investing in the core business remains a priority. “We are investing a lot of money in expanding mobile and landline networks and in new offerings. But it is a fact that despite all these investments, sales are declining.” The aim of the current strategy is that Swisscom can continue to invest in its core business, said Aeschlimann.
Swisscom also employs the Federal Council. Tomorrow the so-called will find Von Wattenwyl talks between the Federal Council parties and the Federal Council. The main topic is the ownership strategy for Swisscom.