Swisscom AG : AMB and Swisscom agree to cooperation on the expansion of Bellinzona agglomeration's fibre-optic network

Bellinzona/Berne, 30 January 2012, 16:00

AMB and Swisscom agree to cooperation on the expansion of Bellinzona agglomeration's fibre-optic network

After lengthy negotiations, Aziende Municipalizzate di Bellinzona (AMB) and Swisscom have agreed to collaborate on the construction of a fibre-optic network to serve homes and businesses in the Bellinzona agglomeration. This FTTH - "fibre to the home" project is the first of its kind in Ticino. Swisscom began the network expansion in the city in September 2011, while AMB has been carrying out construction work since as early as 2010. Thanks to the agreement, the Bellinzona agglomeration will benefit from being connected to an innovative high-speed telecom infrastructure in just a short time. This will provide the region's inhabitants with access to diverse multimedia services.

After already having signed 11 cooperation agreements with the electric power companies Basel, Berne, Lucerne, Geneva, St Gallen and Zurich among others, Swisscom has now been able to reach an agreement with AMB. The commercial and technical details have been recorded in a declaration of intent. The agreement between Swisscom and AMB creates synergies, which will lead to an optimised use of resources. In addition, this collaboration will avoid the parallel construction of two different fibre-optic networks and will therefore reduce the costs involved, benefitting the customer. The agreement allows the region to drive forward technological development. The customers profit from this partnership, not only from an economic point of view, but also with regard to the services on offer. The partnership allows an "open access" infrastructure with four fibres per connection point. This means that inhabitants will be able to choose their telecom providers.

Swisscom and AMB will be connecting over 14,000 homes and businesses to the high-speed fibre-optic network in the coming years, of which Swisscom will be creating 10,000 connections in the city of Bellinzona, while AMB will be expanding the network in bordering communities. To this day, Swisscom has already connected approximately 500 homes and businesses to the fibre-optic network. Both Swisscom's and AMB's existing fibre-optic connections will be incorporated into the partnership.

The fibre-optic expansion in the region of Bellinzona is to cost around CHF 47 million. This lends the project great importance for the local economy. Swisscom is taking on 60%, while AMB is covering 40% of the costs.

Aziende Municipalizzate di Bellinzona
AMB is a public enterprise of the municipality of Bellinzona that has been the agglomeration's utilities provider for more than 140 years. Right from the start, AMB's main business activities have included supplying drinking water and producing and distributing electricity.
The usual activities have now been expanded to include new services, such as the improvement of energy efficiency and advice, as well as new telecom services using fibre-optics. Thanks to a well thought out technological innovation strategy, AMB has become a leader in the telecom sector. WAMBO Fibra ottica products for the internet and telephony have contributed to this success.