Da Mega a Giga: Internet più veloce per tutte le famiglie

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>__From Mega to Giga: Faster Internet for All Households__

>__The Swiss Federal Council aims to provide very high-speed internet access to households in rural areas. This goal is being pursued through its Gigabit Strategy. However, expanding fibre-optic and wireless infrastructure is not free. To cover the costs, the government is proposing a temporary subsidy programme. The price tag: the state will pay up to 730 million Swiss francs.__

>The objective is to prevent rural areas from falling further behind cities and suburban regions. The Federal Council wants to ensure that all households have access to fast internet.

>Specifically, the government aims to provide the population—even those in Alpine chalets or remote farmhouses—with ultra-fast internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second. For comparison, the average internet speed in Swiss households today is more than ten times slower, at around 80 megabits per second. To achieve this, almost all homes and apartments are to be connected to the fibre-optic network.

>And this comes at a cost. Federal Councillor Albert Rösti plans to spend up to 365 million francs over seven years through a subsidy programme. The funds are expected to come from the fees collected from mobile network licences. Additionally, the cantons concerned would have to contribute another 365 million francs for the expansion. In total, the government could invest up to 730 million francs.

>According to the initial plans, subsidies will only be granted if the expansion would not otherwise be profitable—that is, when costs are too high for mobile network operators. However, the Federal Councillor for Infrastructure, who hails from Bern, is determined to push forward the expansion in remote and structurally weak regions.

>Speaking to the media on Friday, Rösti stated: “Our basic service is excellent by international standards. However, when it comes to fibre-optic expansion, we are in the lower mid-range, particularly in rural areas.” He warned that once the copper network is decommissioned, there is a risk that rural populations could be left behind. “This would create a divide between urban and rural areas.”

>__100,000 Households Left Without Fibre Optics__

>However, the idea that every household can be connected to the fibre-optic network is unrealistic. The Federal Council estimates that around 650,000 homes and apartments in approximately 700 municipalities will benefit from the subsidy programme. However, 3 per cent of households—mostly in highly remote locations—will remain without fibre optics. Rösti explained that the effort required to extend cables to every household would simply be too great. “The cost per household increases steeply.”

>Connecting the final 3 per cent of households would have doubled the government’s expenditure. Nevertheless, no one will be left without internet access. In areas where fibre-optic installation is prohibitively expensive, residents will receive a reliable internet connection via wireless technology—provided that the construction of new antennas does not spark opposition.