A Record Reserve Price for the Same Three Players
On September 1, 2026, Switzerland's Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) published its formal call for bids in the Federal Gazette, launching the process to reallocate mobile spectrum in the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands — frequencies first sold in 2012 that make up, in ComCom's own words, "a good half of the mobile frequencies currently allocated" (ComCom launch notice). Interested operators have until December 3, 2026 to register; the auction itself is set for Q2 2027, with new 15-year concessions running from January 1, 2029 through the end of 2043 (BAKOM award process page).
Swiss public broadcaster SRF reports ComCom has set a minimum aggregate bid of CHF 854.7 million — up sharply from the CHF 637 million floor in 2012, a round that ultimately raised CHF 996.3 million (SRF). Operators objected to the higher floor; ComCom held its ground, noting it can set minimum prices as it judges appropriate.
The Mechanics: Caps, Not New Entrants
ComCom frames the exercise around two goals: "maintain and further develop the three high-quality mobile communications networks" while "fostering competition in the mobile communications market" (BAKOM). The tool for the second goal is a bidding cap — SRF reports no single operator can acquire more than 43% of available frequencies, with the tightest restrictions on the most valuable low-band spectrum. ComCom itself describes this only in general terms, as restrictions to ensure "individual bidders cannot acquire an excessive number of frequencies, which could undermine the current level of competition" (ComCom).
What the process does not contemplate is a fourth network operator. Switzerland's mobile market has been a three-way contest between Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt since the 2010 merger review blocked Orange from combining with Sunrise, and it remains one today: at the end of 2024, Swisscom held 54.2% of the market, Sunrise 24.7% and Salt 17.3% (ComCom market share data). This auction reallocates spectrum among the same three incumbents under the same structural cap that has applied for over a decade.
The Case for the Cautious Design
There's a real argument for this restraint. Spectrum is a finite public resource, and Switzerland's three-network model has produced genuinely excellent coverage and 5G rollout by regional standards — a point ComCom is entitled to weigh alongside price competition. A poorly designed auction that let Swisscom simply outbid its rivals for scarce low-band spectrum could degrade network quality for Sunrise and Salt customers, tipping a three-player market into a duopoly — precisely the risk Sunrise and Salt raised in objecting to the higher reserve. Given that outcome would be worse for consumers than today's status quo, a cap that guarantees each incumbent a viable spectrum position is a defensible, proportionate safeguard rather than regulatory overreach. Setting a real reserve price also stops spectrum — a public asset — from being handed to incumbents below its market value, an argument telecom regulators from the UK to Germany have made in past auctions.
Why the Framing Overstates What This Auction Can Deliver
But ComCom's own language — "foster competition" — invites the wrong expectation of what this reallocation does. Recycling spectrum among three fixed incumbents under a cap is a tool for preserving the current competitive balance, not for disrupting it. Switzerland has some of the most expensive mobile plans in Europe even as observers note falling effective prices for data (Digitec/Galaxus pricing analysis); a market structure unchanged since 2012 is a plausible contributor. Raising the reserve price nearly 35% while capping any one bidder at 43% mostly guarantees the treasury a bigger check and the incumbents a stable division of spectrum — it does little to lower the barrier for a genuinely new competitive force, whether a facilities-based entrant or stronger wholesale access for MVNOs riding the big three's networks.
If ComCom's genuine goal is competition rather than continuity, the more consequential levers sit outside this tender: mandated wholesale access terms for virtual operators, scrutiny of infrastructure-sharing deals between Swisscom and its rivals (already a WEKO focus since 2023), and openness to a new entrant in future spectrum rounds. None of that is precluded by this auction, but none of it is required by it either. A CHF 854.7 million floor split three ways among Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt is a well-run auction of a scarce resource — it is not, by itself, a competition policy.