Salt Mobile

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salt Mobile SA

logo
legal form Corporation
founding June 1999
Seat Renens , SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland 
management Pascal Grieder
CEO (since September 1, 2018)
Number of employees 684 (June 30, 2018)
sales CHF 1.05 billion (2017)
Branch Mobile communications , telecommunications
Website www.salt.ch

Salt Mobile SA is a telecommunications provider in Switzerland.

Salt has been operating its own nationwide mobile network in Switzerland since 1999 and has been offering internet and landline networks for households with a fiber optic connection (FTTH) since March 2018. The company traded under the name Orange Communications SA from June 1999 to April 23, 2015 and, after the withdrawal of the Orange parent company, was owned by Matterhorn Mobile SA, a subsidiary of the British investment company Apax Partners, from 2012 to 2014 .

history

Former logo from 1999 to 2015

Orange Communications was originally a subsidiary of the then British mobile phone company Orange . It was the third provider in Switzerland to receive a GSM license from OFCOM at the end of the 1990s to operate a nationwide, digital, cellular mobile network. Orange entered the Swiss market in June 1999 and from the start offered nationwide coverage through national roaming with Swisscom . This enabled Orange to focus entirely on building its own new cellular network. As a result, Orange stopped sharing the Swisscom network for its customers at the end of July 2003.

Failed merger with Sunrise

The takeover of the British parent company by France Télécom in 2000 had no superficial significance for Swiss customers. However, France Télécom later made the requirement to be No. 1 or No. 2 in the respective national markets. In Switzerland, this would only have been possible through a merger with the Swiss mobile operator Sunrise Communications , but this was prohibited by the Swiss competition authority Weko in April 2010. As a result, France Télécom gave up the Swiss subsidiary and Orange Communications was sold to the British investment company Apax Partners in 2012.

Rumors of network merger with Sunrise

On July 14, 2014, Orange's CTO , Johan Hall, announced on request that technical clarifications were being carried out with their network suppliers Nokia (Orange) and Huawei (Sunrise), which were examining the feasibility / feasibility of merging the two mobile networks into a single network. On September 11, 2014, another merger (of both companies or just the cellular network) was rejected by the President of Sunrise, Dominik Koechlin , in an interview.

In 2015, rumors circulated again in the media about a merger of the Sunrise and Salt mobile networks. This was rejected again following the takeover of Salt by Iliad and the appointment of a new CEO in January 2016.

Multiple-Operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) with Sunrise

Since the end of 2014, the 3G and / or 4G signal of one provider has been released for the customers of the other provider in individual regions or areas. For example, a Sunrise customer is B. in Kesswil TG actually connected to a Salt antenna or vice versa a Salt customer actually connected to a Sunrise antenna ( Altnau TG). This network sharing, known as "MORAN", is a project of both providers, which is used selectively where one provider uses the signal of the other provider due to the lack of its own cellular base station. The same frequency of this one operator is sent out with two identifiers in order to allow mobile radio customers of the other provider to register. Since late autumn 2015, the release of Salt's 3G antennas for Sunrise customers has been observed in the city of Zurich. However, this cannot be seen by the customer on the basis of the identification / network name in the display on the mobile phone. This can only be traced using network tools (apps) on the basis of the frequency and the antenna identifier (EARFCN 10713, 10738, 10762, 10787), which corresponds to the frequency spectrum assigned to Salt in the area of ​​2,100 MHz (UMTS / 3G). MORAN is in operation in individual regions until further notice (as of February 2018), but it is unclear whether this is still used in major Swiss cities, as all providers there have a fine-meshed network (antenna density).

takeover

On December 18, 2014, the British investment company Apax Partners announced the sale of Orange to the French telephone company NJJ Capital owned by billionaire Xavier Niel . The takeover took place on February 23, 2015. On April 23, 2015, the company was renamed “Salt”.

On December 7, 2015, Salt surprisingly announced that CEO Johan Andsjö is leaving the company with immediate effect. Pierre-Alain Allemand takes over his position ad-interim. From March 2016, Andreas Schönenberger will be the new CEO of Salt. Schönenberger was the head of Google Switzerland.

Virtual network operator MVNO

From autumn 2005 to January 2019, the Swiss retailer Coop used Salt's mobile network and infrastructure for its own "CoopMobile" mobile communications service. At the beginning only a prepaid offer was available, later postpaid contracts (= term contracts) with discounted mobile phones or as flat rates (SIM card only) will be offered. CoopMobile has been using the Swisscom network since January 2019.

From the beginning of 2010 to summer 2014, the Swiss kiosk operator Valora, in cooperation with TalkEasy, offered its own ok.-mobile (PrePaid) mobile service on the Orange network at the time. Since then, there has been a switch to the Sunrise mobile network.

UPC used Salt's cellular network from 2013 to the end of 2018. From 2015, the 4G network from Salt was also available to UPC customers. From a strictly technical point of view, UPC was and is the only real MVNO in Switzerland, especially since only the cellular sites (or antennas) from Salt are used, but the data traffic and its processing are handled by upc's own infrastructure. Upc has been using the Swisscom mobile network since January 2019.

Lidl Switzerland has been offering a mobile phone service (either postpaid or prepaid) in cooperation with Salt under the label "Lidl Connect" since June 2019.

cover

4G coverage (LTE / LTE-Advanced) is around 98% of the Swiss resident population (as of February 2018) and around 86.5% of the Swiss area (area coverage) as of May 2019

The 3G coverage (UMTS / HSPA +) is also well over 90%.

With the basic service with GSM (EDGE), Salt reaches a coverage of over 99% of the populated area of ​​Switzerland.

Cellular network

2nd generation cellular network (GSM / EDGE)

In contrast to Swisscom and Sunrise, Salt largely uses the 1800 MHz frequency band throughout Switzerland to cover the 2nd generation mobile communications standard (GSM) . In the course of a comprehensive upgrade, this was upgraded across the board with EDGE by mid-2013 .

The advantage of the 1800 MHz band is a higher capacity compared to the 900 MHz spectrum. The disadvantage is the lower propagation properties, which means that the reception inside the building is worse than when using the 900 MHz frequency band. The reason for the predominant use of the 1800 MHz spectrum is partly historical, as Orange entered the Swiss mobile communications market in 1999 as the third and last provider. At that time, Swisscom and Sunrise predecessor diAx were already using most of the 900 MHz range available at the time, which is why Orange could only be allocated a small amount of spectrum in this coveted low range. At the mobile communications auction held by OFCOM in spring 2012, Orange acquired additional spectrum in the 900 MHz range (E-GSM), which enables it to achieve a noticeable improvement in coverage, especially in more rural areas.

3rd generation mobile network (UMTS / HSPA +)

For the coverage of the 3rd generation mobile communications standard (3G or UMTS ; in the current version also referred to as HSPA +), Salt otherwise - similar to Swisscom - almost exclusively uses the 2100 MHz frequency band common throughout Europe. Orange was able to increase the coverage and capacity (speed) of the 3G network significantly since 2012 thanks to continuous investments.

Numerous base stations from Orange and Salt, which previously only sent the GSM signal (2G), were upgraded with 3G (HSPA +) as part of the expansion to the new 4G standard (2013–2016). In Switzerland - similar to the construction of a new cell phone antenna - a building permit from the respective municipality is required for increasing the transmission power and the use or activation of additional (not yet approved) frequency spectrum . This causes comparatively higher planning costs than abroad and often leads to considerable delays, since building permits can be appealed against, for example by the municipal authorities (e.g. by calling an extraordinary municipal meeting) and by legal action up to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. In mountain regions (including the canton of Graubünden ) and generally in less densely populated areas, Salt 3G also increasingly transmits on the far-reaching frequency around 900 MHz (UMTS900), e.g. B. in Mon GR, Savognin GR, on the Hörnli ZH or in Kemmental TG. Since the frequency changeover in summer 2014, the identifier has been ARFCN 2938.

4th generation cellular network (LTE)

Orange was the second provider in Switzerland to put its 4G mobile network (LTE) into operation on May 28, 2013 . At the beginning, the 4G network was only available in metropolitan areas, ie major Swiss cities. However, the 4G network was expanded in 2013, in contrast to the market leader Swisscom in smaller cities and rural regions in the first few months after its launch. All salt frequencies of all mobile radio standards (2G / 3G / 4G) transmit using the FDD method, in which uploads and downloads are carried out on different frequencies.

Frequency band 1 (2100 MHz FDD)

In 2018, Salt began broadcasting LTE on band 1 in addition to the frequency bands 3, 7 and 20 listed below. It will be used by around 700 locations (June 2019) mainly to expand the capacity of the existing LTE 1800 + 800 network.

Frequency band 3 (1800 MHz FDD)

For the 4G network, Salt mainly uses LTE band 3 at 3300 locations (June 2019), i.e. the frequency range around 1800 MHz. The reasons for this are the great support of almost all 4G mobile phones and the fact that the second generation Orange network (GSM / EDGE) at that time was already based on this frequency range, which is why a conversion to this frequency band was appropriate, as antennas were not exchanged had to be. Since Orange in February 2012 at the auction of all mobile radio frequencies in Switzerland by OFCOM had bought a spectrum of 50 MHz FDD (25 uploading, 25 Download) bandwidth, this is sufficient for parallel operation of 2G and 4G network on the same spectrum without having to save on LTE bandwidth (20 MHz FDD = 150 MBit download, 50 MBit upload).

Frequency band 7 (2600 MHz FDD)

LTE band 7 (2600 MHz; identifier UARFCN 3300; among others in Zurich main station or in the shopping arena in St. Gallen) is already in operation at Salt. Due to the high frequency, this LTE band offers a shorter range and is therefore suitable for highly frequented locations (train stations, open airs, exhibitions, shopping centers, trade fairs, etc.) where many, small mobile phone cells are ideal. LTE 2600 is currently (June 2019) broadcast from around 200 locations; it is mainly, but not exclusively, used for smallcells / microcells. It is also used when the total capacity of all 3 other bands is insufficient.

Frequency band 20 (800 MHz FDD)

Since 2014, Salt has also been able to use part of the frequency range around 800 MHz. This deep spectrum was used for digital broadcasting ( DVB-T ) until the end of 2013 and is known as the “digital dividend”. At the auction of mobile radio frequencies in late 2011 / early 2012, all three Swiss network operators Salt (then Orange), Sunrise and Swisscom each auctioned a duplex spectrum of 10 MHz (10 MHz upload and 10 MHz download).

The advantages of this deep spectrum are comparatively greater ranges (area coverage in rural / mountainous areas) and better building penetration than with 4G in the range around 1800 MHz or 2600 MHz. A disadvantage of LTE 800 is the lower data capacity: with Salt, as with both Swiss competitors, LTE 800 with a bandwidth of 10 MHz (= approx. 75 Mbit / s) is only half as fast as LTE 1800, where all Swiss network operators offer a spectrum of can switch bandwidths of up to 20 MHz (= approx. 150 Mbit / s).

Salt began building the 4G network on Band 20 (LTE800) in spring 2014. The identifier is EARFCN 6400. The upload carrier frequency is 857 MHz, the download carrier frequency 816 MHz. In June 2019, LTE 800 will be broadcast from around 2000 Salt locations.

5th generation cellular network (5G NR)

Similar to the parent company Iliad, Salt originally wanted to cooperate with Nokia in setting up the 5G network in Switzerland . However, since Nokia announced delivery bottlenecks, is also more expensive than other 5G technology providers and Salt is lagging behind its competitors Swisscom and Sunrise in the 5G network expansion, the number three in the Swiss mobile communications market announced in March 2020 that it would, with regard to 5G Network expansion, with the controversial provider Huawei intends to enter into a cooperation.

Development since 2017

Salt achieves 4G coverage of 97% of the populated area of ​​Switzerland (as of October 2017). The geographic coverage (area coverage) is approx. 65%. In 2016, Salt upgraded around 500 cell phone antennas and built 100 new ones. In 2017, Salt is installing a further 700 antennas and building a further 100 new antennas (locations). The upgrades involve, in particular, replacing the existing antenna modules with new antennas, which are also suitable for low frequencies and thus for better coverage (LTE800 and UMTS900). Salt plans to introduce 5G in 2019 . [outdated]

Landline, Internet & TV

Fixed line internet was already available under the name Orange in cooperation with VTX. However, this offer was not very successful, which is why the provider discontinued the offer a few years ago. Since March 20, 2018, Salt has been offering a broadband fixed network offer on the Swiss fiber optic network (FTTH). It includes a landline number including unlimited calls to all Swiss networks (cellular and landline), a TV offer (Apple 4K UHD Box) in cooperation with Salt TV with over 250 channels, the option of storing 500 programs on the cloud, and a replay Seven-day function and access to the Hollystar streaming service. In addition, thanks to the latest XGS-PON fiber optic technology, Salt offers speeds of up to 10 Gbit / s (symmetrical, i.e. download and upload) on the fiber optic network (FTTH).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Salt appoints Pascal Grieder as the new CEO salt.ch, accessed on September 8, 2018.
  2. ↑ Salt significantly increases half-year profit suedostschweiz.ch, accessed on September 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ Salt enters the Swiss fixed network market with its revolutionary Fiber Box (PDF) salt.ch, accessed on March 30, 2018
  4. ↑ Orange taken over from Matterhorn. inside-it.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014.
  5. ^ NJJ Capital to buy Orange. zephyr.bvdinfo.com, accessed December 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ Permissible collaboration between Orange Communications and Swisscom in the context of “National Roaming”. bakom.admin.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ Orange relies entirely on its own network. ( Memento of July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) orange.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ Orange / Sunrise: No merger - Weko prohibits merger Handelszeitung , April 22, 2010, accessed on February 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ Weko approves sale of Orange Switzerland to Apax. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 17, 2012, accessed on June 6, 2014.
  10. ↑ Orange and Sunrise are working on the standard network. 20min.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ Sunrise president no longer intends to merge with Orange. Netzwoche.ch, accessed on October 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Salt relies on Swiss for the new top. bilanz.ch, accessed on January 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ Salt boss resigns with immediate effect. Tagesanzeiger.ch, accessed on December 7, 2015.
  14. ↑ Ex-Google manager becomes new Salt boss. Tagesanzeiger.ch, accessed on January 31, 2016.
  15. ↑ UPC uses Swisscom's mobile network In: handelszeitung.ch , accessed on January 8, 2018
  16. ↑ Lidl Switzerland joins the mobile phone business with Salt salt.ch, accessed on July 12, 2019
  17. ↑ Sunrise offers the largest 4G coverage, accessed on June 5, 2019.
  18. ↑ Orange launches fourth generation of 4G mobile communications (PDF) accessed on June 9, 2014.
  19. ↑ Your Orange network coverage. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  20. ↑ No to weak reception in Riehen. community.orange.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  21. ↑ Re: Orange Community CEO Talk. community.orange.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  22. ↑ Orange between the Stone Age (Edge) and the future (LTE). inside-it.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  23. ↑ Frequency auction : very good result for Orange. (PDF) orange.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  24. ↑ Orange Community - Bad reception where it used to be very good. community.orange.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014.
  25. ↑ Orange is building 280 new antenna locations. tagblatt.ch, accessed on July 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ New types of antennas do not match the previous calculation method (PDF) gigaherz.ch, accessed on November 27, 2014.
  27. ↑ Swiss mobile network operators disadvantaged compared to foreign neighbors. Netzwoche.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  28. ↑ BGer 1C_8 / 2008. servat.unibe.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  29. ↑ Orange: Simplified offers, new IT and 4G for (almost) everyone. ( Memento of December 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) netzwoche.ch, accessed on December 5, 2014.
  30. ↑ Orange is starting its LTE network. it-markt.ch, accessed on July 14, 2014.
  31. ↑ Orange is building more antennas and using the LTE standard. blick.ch, accessed on December 5, 2014.
  32. ↑ Call for tenders for construction projects ( Memento of November 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) Office for Building Permit of the City of Zurich, accessed on November 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ Swiss mobile radio frequencies are auctioned. macprime.ch, accessed on June 9, 2014.
  34. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: New cellular frequencies for Orange, Sunrise and swisscom. bakom.admin.ch, accessed on April 4, 2014.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bakom.admin.ch
  35. ↑ More 4G / LTE and better reception for Orange customers. itmagazine.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014.
  36. ↑ Nokia partners with IIiad Group to roll out 5G in France and Italy www.nokia.com, accessed February 29, 2020.
  37. ↑ Salt relies on the services of Nokia for the 5G network www.handelszeitung.ch, accessed on February 29, 2020.
  38. ↑ Salt is entering into a partnership with Huawei for the 5G expansion www.nzz.ch, accessed on May 16, 2020.
  39. ↑ Network coverage www.salt.ch, accessed on November 5, 2017.
  40. ↑ Sunrise exceeds its target Netzwoche.ch, accessed on November 5, 2017.
  41. ↑ Salt will also switch 2G from inside-it.ch in 2020, accessed on November 5, 2017.
  42. ↑ The company restructuring is really over. Interview with Salt CEO Andreas Schönenberger, NZZ online, accessed on January 15, 2017.
  43. ↑ Andreas Kohli: Criticism of fast mobile communications - 5G: Switzerland leads - despite growing resistance. In: srf.ch. May 1, 2019, accessed May 1, 2019 .