SUNRISE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP AG Media Release
Zurich, February 8, 2019, 07.15 a.m. CET
Sunrise gains the best frequencies for "5G for People" and Switzerland's leading 5G network
- At the 5G frequency auction, Sunrise has acquired the strategically most important frequencies in the 3.5 MHz band, which perfectly fit its "5G for People" strategy.
- With its existing and new frequencies, Sunrise will be able to secure its existing 96% 4G area coverage and deliver a world-class 5G network in the future. This will provide outstanding area coverage and, notably, give suburban and rural areas "optical fiber speed over the air".
- Thanks to a clever bidding strategy, Sunrise was able to acquire the most important bands at a favorable price of 0.077 CHF per MHz/Pop. With the frequencies acquired in the middle frequency range and combined with the existing frequencies, Sunrise will be able to provide the area coverage and capacities needed in the long term.
"We prepared meticulously for the auction, resulting in prudent use of our resources to secure valuable spectrum. This clever bidding strategy has secured the implementation of our 5G strategy as planned. Our entire frequency portfolio of existing and new frequencies enables us to deliver the outstanding network quality and capacity needed in the years to come. We were able to acquire the strategically most important bands at a very favorable price per MHz, even better than the competition. A look abroad shows that providers in countries like Italy and the UK had to spend much more money for the most important frequencies. We are therefore very satisfied with the outcome of the auction. Now it's up to the Federal Council to amend mobile network radiation limits so the economy and entire population can really benefit from this positive starting point," says Olaf Swantee, CEO of Sunrise, summarizing the auction results.
The new and the existing low frequencies are vital for seamless connections and indoor coverage. Sunrise is already using the low frequency bands with 4G, which helped it become Switzerland's outstanding 4G network, with more than 96% geographic coverage and more than 99.9% population coverage. Now, with an excellent mix of frequencies across the lower and higher bands, Sunrise will also offer a world-class 5G mobile network, in terms of capacity, speed and indoor coverage.
5G offers the potential to deliver excellent coverage and the capacity to transmit high volumes of data over shorter distances at fiber-optic speeds, even while large numbers of people are using the network at the same time. Frequencies in the 3.5 GHz range are necessary for this, and in Europe they are considered the most important frequencies for the introduction of 5G. Sunrise acquired a third (100 MHz) of the available frequencies here, securing an important pillar in its push to become a leading 5G provider.
Sunrise will pay the CHF 89.2 million cost of the newly acquired frequencies in 2019 in full. As already mentioned, this will not have any impact on the dividend policy, which calls for an annual dividend increase of 4-6% for the period from 2018-2020.
The table below gives a breakdown of the existing and new frequencies at a glance:
Sunrise | Swisscom | Salt | |
700 MHz FDD(new) 700 MHz SDL (new) | 2 x 5 MHz 10 MHZ | 2 x 15 MHz 0 MHZ | 2 x 10 MHz 0 MHZ |
800 MHz FDD | 2 x 10 MHz | 2 x10 MHz | 2 x 10 MHz |
900 MHz FDD | 2 x 15 MHz | 2 x15 MHz | 2 x 5 MHz |
Total of low frequency range | 2 x 30 MHz FDD 10 MHz SDL | 2 x 40 MHz FDD 0 MHz SDL | 2 x 25 MHz FDD 0 MHz SDL |
1400 MHz SDL(new) | 15 MHz | 25 MHz | 0 MHz |
Total of middle frequency range | 15 MHz | 25 MHz | 0 MHz |
1800 MHz FDD | 2 x 20 MHz | 2 x 30 MHz | 2 x 25 MHz |
2100 MHz FDD | 2 x 10 MHz | 2 x 30 MHz | 2 x 20 MHz |
2600 MHz FDD 2600 MHz TDD | 2 x 25 MHz 0 MHz | 2 x 20 MHz 45 MHz | 2 x 20 MHz 0 MHZ |
3500 - 3800 MHz TDD(new) (category E) | 100 MHz | 120 MHz | 80 MHz |
Total of higher frequency range | 2 x 55 MHz FDD 100 MHz TDD | 2 x 80 MHz FDD 165 MHz TDD | 2 x 65 MHz FDD 80 MHz TDD |
To pay for the newly acquired frequencies in CHF million | 89,2 | 195,6 | 94,5 |
CHF/MHz/Pop. for the newly acquired frequencies | 0,077 | 0,114 | 0,100 |
Existing spectrum total in MHz | 160 | 255 | 160 |
Acquired spectrum in the auction Spectrum in MHz | 135 | 200 | 110 |
New spectrum total in MHz Increase in % | 295 +84.4% | 455 +78.4% | 270 +68.8% |
| Provider | Channel | Contact | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tensid EQS Ltd., Switzerland www.tensid.ch |
newsbox.ch www.newsbox.ch |
Provider/Channel related enquiries marco@tensid.ch +41 41 763 00 50 |
