Sunrise and Salt to cooperate on Swiss rural mobile networks

Swiss mobile operators Sunrise and Salt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on mobile network expansion in rural and moderately populated areas of Switzerland. The partnership aims to provide rural populations with network quality comparable to urban centers by utilizing a Multi-Operator Core Network Sharing model.

Under this technical arrangement, selected antenna sites will be connected to the core networks of both companies, allowing customers to access parts of each other's networks. The companies stated that approximately 70 percent of their mobile sites are located in these rural or mid-density areas.

The collaboration is intended to increase cost efficiency by allowing for more targeted and effective future investments compared to independent expansions. Both companies emphasized that this cooperation is not a step toward a merger and that their corporate independence remains unchanged. The move is also expected to intensify competition against the market leader, Swisscom.