Swiss telco lifts mobile data caps to help its customers weather the virus

• Unlimited mobile data for all customers for the durtion of the emergency
• Claims it has sufficient capacitiy for both telephony and Internet
• Telco loses nothing and gains much

While many in the telco world are mumbling ominously about the risk that their networks will be strained and overloaded due to ‘you know what’, (see - Pandemic upsides: what should telcos do about them?) Swiss mobile operator Sunrise has gone in the other direction. 

The 5G pioneer has seized the initiative and demonstrated its faith in its own network capacity planning by announcing that, as of today, all its customers on volume capped mobile data tariffs will get unlimited data for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. 

Sunrise explains that, “Thanks to our infrastructure investments, our networks are equipped to meet current challenges. The Sunrise networks offer sufficient capacities for telephony and Internet. Due to the special situation, we have decided to support our customers with a range of measures, free of charge and effective immediately. We want to send out clear signals: We are here for you - always and now more than ever, says André Krause, CEO of Sunrise. No more data limits for mobile subscriptions.”

The upsides here are pretty clear. Sunrise loses nothing and potentially gains much. It  thinks it has enough network headroom to meet the needs of all the customers unleashed by the lifting of the caps and, at the same time, that it will win much positive PR and bag a large amount of customer loyalty. 

At the end of the period it stands to convert a proportion of its otherwise cap-limited customers onto an unlimited tariff, once they’re used to its advantages. 

So far the Sunrise business strategy with 5G appears to be paying off handsomely as its 2019 financial performance enabled it to deliver a 5% dividend increase to its shareholders.

************************************

We want to hear from you!

Take part in our 5G and Security survey and receive a free copy of the downloadable report ahead of general release.