Not surprisingly, Swisscom has won the license to build and operate a (DVB-H most likely) mobile TV network in Switzerland. Yesterday the regulatory organization ComCom gave a 10 year license to Swisscom. The other bidder was a joint venture between T-Systems and South Korean Telecom. While such license grants have to be a public competition, it is highly doubtful that these decisions are entirely neutral. Not in Switzerland, nor in other countries.

The good news for the mobile TV market is of course the fact that the network has to be built immediately for the major Swiss cities to be ready for next year's European soccer championship. Switzerland is a good test market for new IT technologies. The success of IPTV has shown that the take up rate is quite high and people are willing to sign on, and they can afford such new services.