UPC Switzerland

In the 1930s, the first cable network operators started to broadcast a variety of radio channels to households via cable. One of these cable network operators, Rediffusion S.A., which was established in 1931, transmitted radio programmes via wire broadcasting. At the end of the 1950s, Rediffusion S.A. broadcast the first black and white television channels from the Uetliberg. In 1994, Rediffusion and other independent cable network companies merged to form Cablecom, owned by Siemens, VEBA and Swisscom.

Cablecom acquired the successful Internet service provider SwissOnline in 1998. Over the following years the cable operator grew by acquiring various cable network companies including, for instance, Balcab and Sitel. These takeovers allowed Cablecom to extend its network in further parts of Switzerland In 2000, the previous owners of Cablecom sold out to British-American NTL for 5.8 billion Swiss francs. In the years that followed, operational activities were sustainably improved. In the wake of financial difficulties NTL sold Cablecom to a group of banks and private investors in 2003.

The owners planned to go public with Cablecom in the middle of October 2005. After Liberty Global Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Global, acquired Cablecom for 2.8 billion on 30 September 2005, the planned IPO was withdrawn. In the years that followed, Cablecom invested in expanding its network. In 2007, the company launched high-definition television (HDTV). Two years later, Cablecom introduced its first combination deals (package with Internet, telephony and television). In 2010, Cablecom launched the DigiCard enabling customers to enjoy digital TV without having to connect an additional device to their television set. In 2011, Cablecom began offering Video on Demand with 3D content.

Cablecom was relaunched as upc cablecom in April 2011. In the course of rebranding the red wrench was replaced by a new logo in the form of a lotus blossom. A coloured version of the light blue logo used by UPC Broadband (at that time the operating company of Liberty Global).

On 14 January 2013, UPC introduced the Horizon set-top box. This system comprises a set-top box for digital television and HDTV, combined with an Internet modem with WLAN, IP telephony and a hard disk recorder.

On 1 August 2015, Liberty Global brought together the two sister companies, UPC Cablecom and UPC Austria, to create a joint regional organisation based in Zurich.

Since 25 May 2016, UPC Cablecom has been known simply as UPC.

On 1 August 2018 UPC Austria was taken over by T-Mobile Austria and in May 2019, the new brand identity Magenta Telekom was presented.

Products

Television and radio

UPC broadcasts digitalised television and radio channels. The foundations for this were laid in 1999 when 32 digital channels were broadcast in parallel to the analogue offer for the first time. In November 2012, UPC abolished basic encryption for its basic TV package comprising 55 digital TV channels and 100 digital radio stations. Despite the digitisation, at least 36 analogue TV channels and 34 analogue radio stations were still broadcast via UPC's cable network depending on the region. In the Federal Act on Radio and Television the Federal Council prescribed a must-carry list for analogue channels. This included analogue channels stipulated by the Federal Council that had to be broadcast throughout Switzerland by UPC and other cable television providers. This must-carry rule was changed following the amendment of the DETEC Ordinance on Radio and Television on 13 May 2013.

As a consequence of this, only the SBC channels and licensed regional channels as well as youth channel Joiz had to be broadcast in analogue. This obligation ended on 31 December 2014 (Joiz: 21 March 2015) or earlier if a cable operator offered a basic offer at no additional cost and a digital/analogue converter. And so UPC completely digitised central Switzerland in autumn 2014 as part of a pilot project – and on 7 July 2015 the last analogue channels were switched off by UPC Cablecom in Ticino. The abolition of basic encryption also made it possible for customers to choose their preferred device for reception (TV, receiver, recorder, DigiCard). In order to take advantage of the basic digital offer, all that is needed is an active cable connection, an aerial cable and a television set with an integrated DVB-C receiver or a converter for older television sets. In order to receive additional offers via the cable network a receiver is required – either a set-top box (recorder/receiver) or a SmartCard.

Happy Home

At the start of 2019, UPC replaced the bundles previously known as “Connect & Play”. Three levels correspond to download speeds measured in Mbit/s (As of 31 March 2019 the maximum speed was 600 Mbit/s). The packages include Internet access, the UPC TV package and a fixed network connection – with an option including free calls within Switzerland and to the EU also available. At the same time, the UPC Connect App was also introduced in order to improve customers’ wifi coverage by helping them set up the Connect Box and scanning the wifi coverage in their homes. Power-line communication adapters can also create Wi-Fi hotspots in other rooms.

UPC TV and MySports

In October 2018, UPC TV (the successor to the Horizon HD recorder) was launched. The box – including features such as voice control, personal recommendations, a search function and personal profiles – was introduced in April 2019. However, for users, UPC TV is not limited to the TV Box. The UPC TV App can also be used to watch TV, independent of the platform. As of 30 June 2019, around 200,000 UPC TV boxes were already on the market in Switzerland.