Swisscom

Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are in Worblaufen, near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51% of Swisscom. According to its own published data, Swisscom's market shares in Switzerland are 56% for mobile, 50% for broadband and 37% for TV telecommunications. Its Italian subsidiary, Fastweb, has 16% share of the private broadband market and 29% of the corporate broadband market. It is also active in the mobile market. The Swiss telegraph network was first set up in 1852, followed by telephones in 1877. The two networks were combined with the postal service in 1920 to form Postal Telegraph and Telephone (PTT). The Swiss telecommunications market was deregulated in 1997. Telecom PTT was spun off and rebranded Swisscom ahead of a partial privatisation in 1997. The present-day Swisscom owns the protected brand NATEL, which is used only in Switzerland. In 2001, 25% of Swisscom Mobile was sold to Vodafone. In 2007, Swisscom acquired a majority stake in Italy's second-biggest telecom company Fastweb.