Since the battle for the top among the Swiss operator is traditionally fought at the highest level, the question remains exciting: Who will be number one in Switzerland this time?

For many years now, Swiss providers have been showing network operators in Germany and Austria where the top is. In Switzerland, the verdict “outstanding“, which is only rarely awarded by ­connect, can be regularly found at the top ranks. This ­year is no different – although the distance between the countries has somewhat narrowed.

In addition, 5G is gaining momentum. We examine how the roll-out of the latest generation of mobile communication has progressed on the strongest playing field of our three-country comparison. This much in advance: once again, there was a neck-and-neck race between the strong opponents Swisscom and ­Sunrise. And the smallest Swiss provider, Salt, in particular managed to gain a few more points.

VOICE 

Since last year, all three network operators in Switzerland have been supporting VoLTE (Voice over LTE). Salt was the last of the three to launch this more modern telephony standard in its network. In turn, Swiss networks bring out a lot from this strong technological basis: success rates for ­telephony in bigger cities and smaller towns are close to 100 per cent for all three candidates. Swisscom even reaches this mark in the drive test conducted in smaller towns.

When it comes to call set-up times, Sunrise achieves the fantastic average value of 0.6 seconds (or 0.7 seconds on the roads tested), Swisscom follows with an equally impressive 1.0 seconds. And even in the network of the smallest Swiss contender, Salt, call setup times remain pleasingly short at an average of 1.2 to 1.5 seconds, depending on the test scenario. 

In all these cases, the voice quality achieved also ranges from high to the highest level. Most notably, the results on Swiss trains are particularly impressive: even in the de­manding environment of rail ways, Swisscom offers a success rate for smartphone calls of 99 per cent. The two com­petitors are only a hint behind. Call set-up times and voice quality are also largely un­impressed by train journeys. This is how you would wish for mobile connectivity when travelling on trains throughout Europe!

The Swiss candidates are also close to each other in the data measurements. In larger cities in particular, the readings obtained during the drive and walk tests in the networks of Swisscom and Sunrise show a high proportion with LTE 4CA – the combination of four 
LTE carrier frequencies known as “4 Carrier Aggregation“. For example, the fastest ten per cent (P90 value) of the download data rates captured during the walk tests in large cities are at 573.9 Mbps in 
the Sunrise network, at 425.5 Mbps in the Swisscom network and at 199.4 Mbps in the Salt network. Sunrise also delivers the fastest results in terms of uploads as well as of data rates captured during ­
the drive tests in smaller Swiss cities.

Swisscom and Sunrise are engaged in a neck-and-neck race in the final scoring of all measured values considered. In large cities and on the streets, the two rivals are on par, while in small towns Swisscom shows a minimal lead. Salt follows at a slight ­distance, but still with respectable results. The results of our Youtube measurements are equally impressive: depending on the scenario and provider, their success rates are at 100 per cent or very close – and the video resolution is also top.

Of course, the observed high data rates are also due in part to the 5G roll-out, which is particularly advanced among the Swiss operators – see box below. This applies to Swisscom and Sunrise to a surpri­singly high degree also in smaller towns and on con­necting roads. Even in these more difficult environments for mobile operators, all Swiss providers deliver virtually the same level of service as in the big cities.

Data connections on trains

With only minor exceptions, this also applies to the tests conducted in Swiss railways. Here the Swiss operators once again demonstrate how mobile phone coverage should really look like when their customers are travelling by train. 

In this discipline again, the ­familiar picture from the ­previous categories is repeated: Swisscom and Sunrise ­duel at the highest level and cross the finish line of the railway assessment together at the end. Salt follows at only a small gap. 

The fact that all three Swiss network operators achieve success ­rates of 100 per cent in some of the download tests and are not far ­behind in the other test ­cases is already a minor sensation. Still, we ­have almost got used to this in our network tests conducted in Switzerland.

With the best will, in the 5G race between Swisscom and Sunrise we are not able to choose a sole winner.