The Federal Council has reasoned that the statutory requirement for the Confederation to be a majority shareholder, as set out in the Telecommunications Enterprise Act, places limits on Swisscom's strategic scope. Due to the uncertainties surrounding the way in which the telecoms market will evolve, it would be advantageous for Swisscom in the medium term if it were to improve its ability to enter into alliances. With the sale of its majority shareholding in Swisscom, the Confederation can release itself from corporate risks. In addition, the sale of the shares has the advantage of eliminating the Confederation's dual role as title bearer and legislative body in the telecommunications sector.

The Federal Council also took into account the fact that the Confederation's majority shareholding is a strain on the principle of risk distribution. A reduction in the majority shareholding would, in the government's view, serve to relieve the concentration of financial risk for the Confederation.

Finally, the Federal Council also took into consideration the issue of the basic national provision of services and determined that this is adequately guaranteed under existing telecom legislation, even without Confederation shareholding in Swisscom.

Given the rapidly developing nature of the telecoms market, the Federal Council considers it appropriate to draft a paper swiftly because a timeframe of two to three years is needed to put into place the necessary legislative framework for the Confederation's exit. If one were to wait until there was an urgent need for action, the administration and parliament would be placed under extreme time pressures.

With the amendment of the Telecommunications Enterprise Act, parliament, and in the event of a referendum, the people, would have to decide for or against a retention of the majority holding. A decision concerning an actual sale of the majority holding would only be taken at a later date. Should parliament assign the authority to sell the Confederation's holding to the Federal Council, this would have the advantage of enabling a decision on such a sale to be taken rapidly were the need to arise.

Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC)
Federal Department of Finance FDF

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