Imagine you are sitting in your apartment in Zurich, Bern, or Lausanne. In the basement, a cable leaves the building. It belongs to Swisscom. Yet you can book your internet with a dozen different providers at very different prices. With Teleboy, you pay CHF 44.90 for 1 Gbit/s, with Init7 CHF 44, with iWay CHF 49, and with TeleKing in the promotion even only CHF 24. Swisscom itself charges significantly more for comparable speeds. How is that possible?
One network, many providers
The physical line in your wall usually belongs to Swisscom. The former monopoly built the copper and fiber optic network over decades, which today supplies most of Switzerland. Other networks also exist: the Sunrise cable network from UPC times, the Salt fiber network in some cities, local city networks in Zurich, Bern, and western Switzerland. But for the majority of households, a Swisscom cable leads into the living room.
To allow other providers to use this network, regulation in Switzerland requires: Swisscom must open its infrastructure to third parties on fair terms. The model behind this is called BBCS (Broadband Connectivity Service). Simply put, Swisscom provides the line and signal transmission. Another provider adds their logo, router, and customer service on top. The technical performance comes from the same source.
However, there are differences in how deeply a provider is integrated into the network. Three models are relevant.
Three ways onto the Swisscom line
Bitstream resellers rent the finished internet bitstream from Swisscom. They have hardly any own network technology on site but only forward the data traffic to their backbone. Speed, latency, and availability thus depend almost entirely on Swisscom. If the network stutters locally, it stutters equally for all bitstream resellers. Typical representatives are Teleboy, iWay, Green.ch, TeleKing, and Wingo, a subsidiary of Swisscom itself.
Layer-1 resellers rent only the bare fiber optic cable. They operate the rest, i.e., the active technology in the distribution box, themselves. This gives them full control over routing, speed tiers, and backbone. In practice, this often means lower latency, higher peak speeds, and no artificial throttling. The best-known case is Init7 with its Fiber7 offering. Init7 has thus made symmetrical 25 Gbit/s speeds possible in the private customer segment.
Own networks do not fit into this scheme at all. Sunrise uses its former cable network in many cities, Salt is building its own fiber optic network, and in western Switzerland, net+ dominates with regional infrastructure. This article deliberately focuses on the largest case in Switzerland: the Swisscom network.
Price comparison: Same line, different bill
The prices below refer to the same physical network. If a Swisscom socket is on your wall, you can choose between these offers depending on availability.
100 Mbit/s symmetrical
| Provider | Monthly price | Contract duration | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| TeleKing | CHF 19 promotion, then CHF 38 | 20 months | 4.7 |
| Green.ch | CHF 24.95 promotion, then CHF 49.90 | 24 months | 4.4 |
| Teleboy | CHF 34.90 | 12 months | 4.6 |
| iWay | CHF 39 | 12 months | 4.3 |
1 Gbit/s
| Provider | Monthly price | Contract duration | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| TeleKing | CHF 24 promotion, then CHF 48 | 20 months | 4.7 |
| Init7 (Layer 1) | CHF 44 | 12 months | 4.5 |
| Teleboy | CHF 44.90 | 12 months | 4.6 |
| iWay | CHF 49 | 12 months | 4.3 |
10 Gbit/s
| Provider | Monthly price | Contract duration | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teleboy | CHF 48.90 | 12 months | 4.6 |
| Green.ch | CHF 54.95 | 24 months | 4.4 |
| iWay | CHF 59 | 12 months | 4.3 |
Those who need even more look to Init7 with symmetrical 25 Gbit/s for CHF 64.75 per month. This is only possible because Init7 operates its own technology at the connection as a Layer-1 reseller. The complete internet provider comparison shows all speed classes with filters by technology and contract duration.
Caution with promotional prices
Three of the four cheapest offers are promotional prices with price increases after 6 to 18 months. With TeleKing, the price doubles after 6 months; with Green.ch, it doubles after 12 months. Calculating the full contract price over the entire term quickly brings you back to the market average. Teleboy and iWay, on the other hand, work without sign-up bonuses and without automatic increases. What you pay in the first month, you also pay in the 24th month.
A second pitfall is the contract commitment. 12 months is standard in Switzerland; 20 or 24 months is longer than usual. Those who want to remain flexible should take this into account.
What do customers say?
All providers score in the acceptable to very good range in the reviews. However, the spread tells a story. TeleKing leads with 4.7 stars but has only 224 reviews and performs significantly worse on Trustpilot. Teleboy ranks second with 4.6 stars from 1818 reviews and is statistically the most robust rating on the list. Init7 achieves 4.5 stars from 786 reviews. Green.ch and iWay range between 4.3 and 4.4 stars with a high number of responses each.
Swisscom itself is interesting. The parent company often has lower customer ratings than its resellers. Those who want the Swisscom network but not the Swisscom experience usually find better service with a reseller.
What really distinguishes the providers
If the connection is identical and the price range comparable, how do you recognize which provider suits you? There are four dimensions.
Router and hardware. All providers compared here include a WLAN router in the price. However, the models differ significantly. Teleboy and iWay rely on current AVM FritzBox devices, Init7 supplies various professional routers depending on speed. Those who want to use their own hardware should check compatibility in advance.
TV and bundles. Teleboy originally is a TV provider with its own platform and combines internet and streaming. Init7 and iWay do not offer their own TV. Green.ch has its own TV product, TeleKing bundles with partners.
Customer service. This is where the biggest differences appear. Teleboy, Init7, and iWay receive consistently positive feedback on support in the reviews. TeleKing simply lacks the statistical depth to make a reliable judgment.
Activation and switching. An activation fee almost always applies. CHF 49 at Teleboy, CHF 50 at iWay, CHF 77 at Init7, up to CHF 99 at Green.ch and TeleKing. When switching between providers all using BBCS, the technical effort is minimal. The physical line remains the same; only the logical configuration changes.
Which choice makes sense for you?
If you want to start cheaply and accept promotional prices, TeleKing is hard to beat price-wise during the promotion phase. Watch out for the price increase after 6 months and the 20-month contract term.
If you are looking for the best mix of price, stability, and reviews, Teleboy performs strongly. The entry price of CHF 34.90 for 100 Mbit is transparent and does not change. The review base is by far the largest. Details can be found on the Teleboy provider page.
If you want to get the maximum technically out of the Swisscom fibre network, Init7 is the address. Symmetrical 25 Gbit/s, own backbone, no artificial throttling. The surcharge compared to the bitstream resellers is low. Init7 is especially worthwhile if you run servers at home or need high uploads. Plan details are on the Init7 provider page.
If you value an existing business relationship with Swisscom or want combo packages with mobile and TV, Swisscom itself remains an option. However, you then pay for the brand, not the connection. The full overview of bundle options can be found in the combo comparison.
One cable in the ground, many providers on it. Those who understand this quickly save a few hundred francs over the contract term. The technology is the same. The service is not.
