Phoning home: telecom companies seem to be scrambling for customers, with Swisscom into cable service, Cablecom into phone services, and foiled mergers signalling new directions. But all the activity hasn't translated into price relief for customers.

Summary

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EXPAT ADVICE - Interview

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Phoning home: telecom companies seem to be scrambling for customers, with Swisscom into cable service, Cablecom into phone services, and foiled mergers signalling new directions. But all the activity hasn't translated into price relief for customers.

We hear reasons for the high cost of phone calls here in Switzerland. Telecom rivals maintain that much of their profit is hijacked by Swisscom's charge for its phone lines.

Swisscom, a former state monopoly, argues that it has to maintain the lines, which run from homes to substations. Either way, those costs could drop following a recent ruling by the national regulator calling on Swisscom to decrease the charge by up to a third by 2007.

Should consumers expect relief? It doesn't seem likely. Swisscom and Sunrise, the top...

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