SRG: No entitlement to short number for weather service

 According to the Federal Administrative Court, the SRG is not entitled to a three-digit telephone short code for its weather service. The fact that the state weather service Meteo Schweiz may continue to use its 162 number for the time being is irrelevant, as reported by SDA on Friday.SRG had requested the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) in 2006 to allocate it a short number in order to provide weather and forecast information on the fixed-line telephone network. Among other things, it claimed that Meteo Switzerland had a competitive advantage with the 162 number. However, Bakom rejected the application, which has now been confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court following an appeal by SRG. According to the ruling by the Bernese judges, short numbers can only be used for information that serves to protect public safety under the current legal provisions.
This is not the case with the general weather forecast. Meteo Switzerland would therefore also no longer receive a short number today. However, Meteo Switzerland is still expressly permitted to use the 162 number under transitional law. The number would only have to be given up if fewer than 500,000 calls were received annually. The transitional regulation is not objectionable under competition law and does not violate the principle of equal treatment. There was also no apparent infringement of SRG's economic freedom.