After lengthy negotiations, Swisscom and Société Electrique Intercommunale de la Côte SA (SEIC) have agreed on a joint expansion of a fiber-optic network to homes and businesses in the town of Gland. In a declaration of intent, the two partners resolved to connect the town to the new network over the next few years. They also reached an agreement in principle on how the joint fiber-optic network is to be built and who is to bear which costs.
SEIC and Swisscom want to connect some 5,500 homes and businesses in Gland to the high-speed fiber-optic network over the next three to four years. Swisscom will provide access for the northern part of Gland, while SEIC will provide access for the southern part. The railway line forms the boundary between the two areas.
The joint expansion means that additional costs and more serious disturbances for the population can be avoided. Swisscom is assuming 50% of the costs, with SEIC covering the other half. The homes and businesses in Gland that are already connected to the fiber-optic network are included in the agreement. Further talks will also be held between SEIC and Swisscom to determine how the communities currently served by SEIC are to be connected to the future network.
Both partners will lay at least four optical fibers per property, in line with recommendations from Swiss regulator ComCom. The provision of addition fibers enables customers to choose among services from different telecommunications providers, who will have access to the new network thanks to the four optical fibers.
Swisscom says a new home or business is connected to its fiber-optic network every two minutes. By the end of 2011 Swisscom and its cooperation partners had connected some 364,000 homes and businesses by means of fiber-optic cables running into the basement. This figure is set to rise to around a million by the end of 2015 – roughly one-third of all households. Around 10% of Swiss homes have been connected to date.
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