Bernard Maissen becomes Director of the Federal Office of Communications
Bernard Maissen will become the new director of the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom). The Federal Council announced this on Thursday. Maissen, 59, has served as deputy director of Bakom since 2018, overseeing the Media Division. He will assume his new position on July 1.
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He takes over from Philipp Metzger, who moved to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in February. Since then, Bakom has been managed on an interim basis by Deputy Director Philippe Horisberger.
Maissen has a background in journalism. He studied German language and literature, history and journalism at the University of Fribourg and then held various positions as a journalist and editor-in-chief. Before joining Bakom, he was editor-in-chief and a member of the management of the Swiss News Agency (SDA).
The media are one of the major challenges facing the new Bakom Director. Parliament is currently discussing a package of measures to support the industry. This is intended to slow down the structural change that has accelerated during the coronavirus crisis.
The media need support in order to develop new business models in the long term, Maissen explained to the media in the Federal Palace. President Simonetta Sommaruga emphasized their importance in terms of democratic policy. "Our democracy thrives on diverse and vibrant media," she said. The Council of States will be the first chamber to decide on the bill in the summer session.
Controversial 5G dossier
However, the most difficult dossier on Maissen's desk comes from the telecoms department: as the new Bakom Director, he has to oversee the development of the 5G network. The new mobile communications standard is highly controversial. Several popular initiatives want to stop its introduction, while the economy is calling for 5G.
The federal government auctioned off the frequencies at the beginning of 2019. In April, the Federal Council decided to carry out further test measurements and present an implementation aid by the end of the year. The mobile communications standard is a prerequisite for various new technologies such as self-driving cars and virtual reality.
The coronavirus crisis has shown how important functioning telecommunications and media systems are, said Maissen. In his opinion, Switzerland has such systems - despite the mishaps. The switch to working from home had been successful and the population had been able to keep up to date with developments at home and abroad via the media. (SDA)
