did you recently get a TV?
do you have a car?
do you have a phone or mp3 player with radio?

Well i've had a second hand tv (as in not store bought) with a cablecom connection for i guess 8 months now.

This is gonna be bad news right....

I'd backdate TV for the 8 months. It's 400-or-so a year for TV and radio. If you can avoid radio (legitimately) then do so.

The question is really can you justify going and buying a new tv? If so do so and tell Billag that you have just bought a TV and now want to start paying the bill as from today. In that way the 300 or so Francs that they will charge you for your backdated payments can be used towards something useful...

Also note that a computer is not a reason to pay for TV or Radio for that matter. ie having a broadband connection and computer but no TV and Radio and you do not need to pay

So, if I only watch TV, never radio, and I have a stereo that can recieve radio but only ever use it for listening to CDs, then can I just pay for the TV? i.e. will they accept that I don't listen to the radio if it isn't plugged into the aerial?

The law states a device capable of receiving the signal. hence No UNLESS you physically disable the tuner by taking it out or breaking the electrical circuit within the device. And you do not have an walkman style radio nor one in your car nor one anywhere else...

Hi Richard
I think because i've already been signed up with Cablecom for 8 months that new tv or not they would still back date the licence fees no?

is it cablecom digital tv or just internet/phone you have?

Sorry its cablecom digital tv.
That probably means you have to pay for the radio channels they supply you with too right??

you are indeed royally receiving the merchandise, over.
Just divvy up for the 8 months and if they ask, claim you thought it was covered in the cablecom fee (heck, you're a dodgy foreigner).

ha ha and irish to boot!!! i'll pay it!!!!!

Its like every day my post box contains another kick in the .......

Starting from the fact that I reasonably happy to pay for the radio*, but not the TV, Billag's website now tells me that I cannot cancel if I have a computer with broadband access.

I do have broadband, but I do not possess a computer which is capable of viewing online videos in any which way I can enjoy them.

* Actually I'm not particularly fond of paying the radio element either. Radio Argovia, which I used to enjoy at home, turned into "Radio Robbie Williams" a few years ago. Radio Swisspop, which seems popular in bars and restaurants, turned into "Let's all get depressed and slash our wrists" music.

Does anyone know exactly who and what Billag are? Have they been taken over by the RIAA?

JVC, owners of computers with a broadband connection only have to pay the TV license if they use an online TV service that isn't free. See here.


Edit (20.8.08): Please note that starting next month, registering at a free TV streaming program provider like Zattoo makes you liable, too.

Many thanks for that Nathu.

There is one thing I forgot to mention in my previous post. Apparently, if you get an authorised engineer to physically disconnect your Cablecom TV connection, and provide a receipt for the work, Billag will recognise that.

I'm not sure how that works if you use Cablecom for your ISP, but I'm going to have a try.

P.S. There's a wonderful bit of "Swinglish" in the link you provided - "... wenn das live gestreamte Programmangebot ..."

Ok, I am still totally confused about this whole situation. Untill my parents got "billag" notification like 2 months ago. I had ZERO idea this even existed. I have lived here for three years and never heard of it. Bought a TV two years ago and have never heard about it. How is one to pay a tax he doesn't even know exists? And why is the fee simply not tacked on the monthly fee you pay for cable?
Also my car has a TV tuner that is unable to receive any programs, do I have to pay for it?
If the bill people come, can I claim I simply never heard about the fee? Which in truth I haven't.

P.S. Does anybody else think this is highway robbery? What other countries this bull caca also exists?

It's not really Swinglish but correct German. Many English technical terms get carried over to German unaltered. Better than the french way of reinventing the week every time (mégaoctet = megabyte, gratuiciel = freeware... but this is off topic now).

The TV (and soon internet) companies charge for each connection but Billag wants the fee only once per person or household.

According to this article, radio and TV fees exist all over Europe, plus in the Far East and in South Africa.

There are some arguments for this tax in Switzerland:

• It's a sign of solidarity of the German speaking part of Switzerland to pump hundreds of millions of Francs in the French, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic programs every year
• Without the tax, Switzerland's language regions would be insignificant appendices of the respective foreign markets and nobody would produce media for them
• The public TV channels have lower advertisement limits and an obligation to provide certain services like news

I'm not a TV junkie but at least I get some news and football games from the SRG...

As I learn more about the Billag, the thing I find ridiculous is that they have this whole organisation to enforce the tax. When they find somebody who legitimately doesn't have to pay the tax, they then dedicate resources to change the law so that people in those circumstances do have to pay the tax.

They should throw away the pretense of it being a user pays system, openly say "Everybody must contribute to improving Swiss radio and TV", add the tax directly to the income tax and shut down the Billag collection completely. Then the money that is spent on running the Billag collection could be used constructively to improve Swiss radio and TV.

My suggestion would be to encourage local radio stations to support unsigned Swiss bands and artists more.

So true. It seems such a weird Orwellian system... and just for this one tax.

I think the word that is applicable is "unaccountable".

What upset me initially with Billag was that after getting a phone connection in my new home, Billag sent me a form to fill in, which I duly filled out.

They then called me a week or so later on my mobile asking why I hadn't registered with them. Er, hello, how have you got my mobile number if you didn't receive the form I sent you??? Not exactly a good start to business relationship!

Anyway, I paid up. It's not such a bad deal compared with the UK system. Or so I thought until I tried canceling.

That is a very interesting idea, with the strong caveat that I would not like it to go down the BBC route.

I definitely approve of that, and probably earn a few black marks with the RIAA mafia for saying it

I understand this is a tax to finance and sustain the production an operation of the public swiss TV and radio programs.

I believe it is right to pay for it.

The thing is this is a tax you can renounce to pay if you give proof you are unable to use the TV and radio by yourself.

And this creates this confusing thing with Billag.

It'd be easier in my opinion, if they just collect you the tax together with the other taxes, and off course if it was lower because is kind of high.

I do pay it, after several years living here they came and made me sign, but I rarely watch TV, Swiss TV practically never, international TV, maybe once a week on sundays... the only radio that I listen to is when the Trafffic Information transmission interrupts my CD player on my car...

I have better things to do outside than just to sit in front of the dummy box.

But I have to pay some 400CHF to sustain the work of the SSR, SF, TSR etc....