Digital TV: Swisscom follows suit
Starting in December, Swisscom DSL customers will also receive digital television free of charge: «Swisscom TV Light» offers access to over 60 channels, 22 of which are in HD. This entry-level package is automatically included in the monthly DSL subscriptions.
After UPC Cablecom announced the removal of encryption for digital television (Werbewoche.ch reported), its main competitor Swisscom is following suit. As the company announced on Monday, it will also be offering a "free" TV service from December. DSL subscribers will now receive 60 channels without a monthly basic fee. The new offer is included in the DSL subscriptions "Mini", "Standard" and "Infinity". For technical reasons, customers who want to use "Swisscom TV Light" need a Swisscom TV box. This will be available from December 1 in the Swisscom Shop or from online order. Pre-orders are already possible from November 12, according to a statement. With the introduction of "Swisscom TV Light", "Swisscom TV Select" will no longer be available.
"Swisscom TV Light" offers 22 HD channels, but customers have to do without live sports and pay-per-view movies. It is not surprising that this is one of the two relevant differences to all paid TV subscriptions. If the advantages of the most expensive offer "Swisscom TV Plus" (live pause, recording function) can be circumvented with hard disc recorders - except for replay - there are no comparable alternatives for the customer-friendly Teleclub sports offers at a single price. Swisscom does not want to be deprived of its main advantage over UPC Cablecom by the free offer that has become due. The other difference that could hurt free customers: "Swisscom TV Light" does not offer the option of operating a second TV with an additional box. As a result, the free offer is only available for single-TV households and is thus not likely to be an option for many customers.
The reduced number of channels is probably less of a deterrent for existing subscription customers. After all, 60 channels are still more than people were used to in the analog era and meet the needs of many TV consumers. The lowest-priced paid subscription "Start" is not only made more attractive by the newly added sports and movie function, but also doubles the number of channels to 110. The Internet offers are also adjusted: The speed is increased to 2 Mbit/s for "DSL Start" and to 5 Mbit/s for "DSL Mini", thus more than doubling. The monthly subscription price remains unchanged. The changeover will take place gradually from now until January 2013, according to Swisscom. Customers will automatically benefit from the adjustment and will be personally informed about the timing of the changeover. There will be no changes to the remaining DSL subscriptions. (hae)
