Under the revised Telecommunications Act, which came into force in 2021, OFCOM registers and publishes the details of providers who use specific resources to provide telecommunications services. These are radio frequencies whose use is subject to licensing and addressing elements which are managed at national level.
TSPs that do not use these specific resources do not feature in OFCOM’s list of registered TSPs.
Should a TSP intend to grant rights of use of these resources to other TSPs for the provision of telecommunications services, it, as the donor TSP, must notify OFCOM.
IP addresses for internet services are not a resource under national administration in Switzerland and are therefore not registered and published by OFCOM as a TSP. However, those TSPs that are registered by OFCOM are recorded, including any ISP services they offer.
OFCOM’s supervisory role also includes asking providers to inform it of the telecommunications services they provide in Switzerland.
As soon as information is available on the planned purchase of resources from OFCOM or other TSPs, an unregistered TSP is requested to submit the necessary information for registration by means of a form. The services and necessary information on the service provider are established for registration and publication. OFCOM checks the facts and publishes the established data according to the information provided by the TSP.
Form to register as a TSP
OFCOM recommends that providers record and maintain the data to be registered electronically. Already registered providers with a DETEC eGovernment online account can use the relevant services for doing this:
A new registration as a TSP is made as part of your application for an allocation of the above-mentioned resources, either directly to OFCOM or to an already registered TSP, which must inform us of this.
Fact sheet on registering as a TSP
The fact sheet explains legal basis behind the concept of a TSP, registration and publication on OFCOM’s websites. It helps providers to assess the characterisation of a service offered as a telecommunications service pursuant to the Telecommunications Act:
Guide to registering as a TSP
The guide explains the technical terms and the information required in the registration form:
Obligations pursuant to the SPTA
The Federal Act of 18 March 2016 on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (SPTA; CC 780.1) contains obligations to cooperate which may be of relevance for providers of telecommunications services pursuant to the TCA. Information on the obligations to cooperate and the possibility of applying for a reduction in this obligation status (i.e. a ‘downgrade’) can be found on the website of the Post and Telecommunications Surveillance Service (PTSS service).
Please note that pursuant to the STPA, providers of services which are based on telecommunications services and which enable one-way or multipath communication may be subject to an obligation to cooperate, as may other persons, even if these providers or persons carry out an activity which does not entail registration by OFCOM pursuant to the TCA.
Last modification 14.11.2023
