The Transport and Telecom Commission of the Swiss Parliament has voted down a series of proposed amendments to the country’s Telecommunications Law, making an about face on a proposal in July to restrict replay TV offerings in Swiss television. Committee members also voted 23 to 1 against introducing regulations that would have extended access and price regulations to newly built broadband networks and handed the Federal Council new powers to intervene in broadband markets.
Instead, the commission proposed the Federal Council inform the Swiss Parliament every three years on developments in investments and the basic supply, quality and price of telecoms services as well as competition among networks, noting that additional regulations would “endanger” necessary investments for new networks.Committee members also voted 20 to 0 with 4 abstentions against introducing any new regulations on transmission and replay of broadcast signals. The committee said it was “never their intention” to do away with replay TV, which enables households to view programmes already aired in their entirety once again. The proposed measure would have required broadcasters to give their consent for any catch-up or VoD services offered by pay-TV providers.
Swiss lawmakers recommend rather that an amendment be made to Switzerland’s Radio and Television Law (RTVG) to ban telecom providers from making changes to TV programmes aired on-demand. Regulations that would allow Swiss broadcasters to negotiate terms for telecom providers to air their programmes on replay TV should be introduced to Swiss copyright laws on the other hand, said the committee.
A proposal to anchor net neutrality in Swiss telecoms law was approved by the committee, with members set to make a final decision on this initiative following further debate on the reform of Switzerland’s Telecommunications Law. The proposed amendments will now go to the Swiss Federal Council for further discussion this autumn.
