Court finds Swisscom lacks dominant position on relevant fiber market
Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled late Tuesday that the country’s competition regulator had overstepped in penalizing Swisscom’s fiber-optic network expansion, finding the telecommunications operator does not have a dominant position on the specific market at issue. The court overturned a December 2023 decision by the Swiss Competition Commission, known as Comco, that had imposed the 18 million franc fine and accompanying obligations on the company.
The court said Swisscom’s appeal was well founded because the company did not hold a dominant market position on the relevant specific market, and there was no breach of competition law. The ruling eliminates the fine and the obligations Comco had imposed alongside it.
The regulatory confrontation dates to the beginning of 2020, when Swisscom set out its fiber-optic network expansion. Comco opened a probe later that year and issued precautionary measures at the end of 2020. In December 2023, the antitrust watchdog concluded that Swisscom had abused its market dominance and fined the company 18 million francs. Swisscom contested the finding and won at the Federal Administrative Court.
Swisscom said in response to Tuesday’s ruling that it remains committed to advancing its fiber rollout at pace and would analyze the potential implications of the judgment for further infrastructure expansion. The group added that its 2026 outlook is unchanged.
Comco said it would analyze the ruling in detail over the coming days and decide whether to accept the decision or appeal. The Federal Administrative Court noted that its judgment might be appealed to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court, the country’s highest court. The case therefore remains procedurally open even as Swisscom secures a win at the administrative-court level.