Thank you for that. Will go up and see Video2000 and see what they have available.

Don't want too many Weegies. Can you imagine having the candles display (that we had on Sunday in Neuchâtel) in Glasgow. By 8pm neds would be using them for target practise when their bladder got too full.http://www.englishforum.ch/images/smilies/smile.gif

Thank you for that. Will go up and see Video2000 and see what they have available.

Don't want too many Weegies. Can you imagine having the candles display (that we had on Sunday in Neuchâtel) in Glasgow. By 8pm neds would be using them for target practise when their bladder got too full.

All, not being a technical geek.... all this chatter has confused me. I am in the process of arranging a cable installation in a new house in Frenkendorf, Basel. I have a young english speaking family so want as many english speaking channels as possible, we often have 2 tv's on the go and we make use of skype on a regular basis. We don't download films, music or files in general and most other internet activity is surfing. So taking that all into consideration which is best? Looking forward to reading your responses

Surely there can't be that much between Swisscom and Cablecom? Or am I just living in a dream?

I had to laugh at an email exchange that I had with cablecom customer service. I was changing my service (faster internet, cheaper price) and was checking if the number of English language TV channels had changed. It hadn't and out of curiosity I checked the same plan in the German part of Switzerland. Shock, horror, they actually get a lot more English channels up there. So, I dash off an email saying wouldn't it be nice if we could get a little bit of equity since we're all paying the same price, etc. The reply, if you can call it that, explained very politely that we were living in the Italian part of Switzerland where they speak, you know, Italian, so it's not surprising blah blah blah. I replied that, yes, I was aware of that as I'm also aware that they speak German(ish) in the German(ish) part of Switzerland and French in the French part that, for some reason, they are still able to provide far more English language programs for them for the same price blah blah blah. I don't expect that anything will change soon.

Neither offer equal menu pricing... They share the Market in a pseudo cartel fashion. Each has their strengths and they choose not to compete against each other in these areas. It is near impossible to compare packages because there are very few , if any, similar like for like packages. Location does play a part in choosing (or rather limiting) what you can get.

With so few players in the market, the lack of competition is stifling consumer choice and quality of service.

There might be some issue with the broadcasting rights.
Although most probably it's just that they are not smart enough to realize it's simpler to broadcast exactly the same English menu throughout their footprint.

Did I read correctly that calls from Cablecom to US land lines and mobiles are free? If so, this choice is a no brainer for me.

You pay for that privilege:
http://www.upc-cablecom.ch/en/b2c/ph...one_global.htm

http://www.upc-cablecom.ch/en/b2c/phone.htm

Fineprint:

I opted for VOIP ( Switzernet free to US amongst many other countries - calls US mobiles and landlines are included ) for CHF9 a month. Wouldn´t mind referring you if signing up

True, there's only around 300 cable companies in CH :-)

Actually, I know you'll hit back at me.

So here's the choice of competition for TV services:
Satellite (free, pay, digital DVB-S)
Over the air (terrestrial, digital DVB-T)
Cable TV (almost every place has cable, digital, DVB-C)
VDSL (almost every place has VDLS, digital, IP)
Internet (IP, over phone line or cable) (digital)

Most towns only have one cable provider (there are around 300 cable operators in this country)

Because the local loop (= phone lines) are unbundled by regulation, it means multiple parties offer TV over the phone line (VDSL). Swisscom and Sunrise do this

Because the cable network is not regulated, no cable operator wants to share his millions of investment with someone else. So no cable operator does.

So there you have it: there's always 5 ways of getting TV signals. You choose the one you like the most

You pay for that privilege as well: you are paying 9 CHF for a "free" service. Plus, VoIP requires an internet connection, and so you pay for that as well

So no VoIP is entirely free, the Internet connection always costs...

our experience is that CCom is a disaster when it comes to service. They will leave you to the mercy of the elements. If you ever have problems, don't wast time, get a supervisor on the phone and get her/his name. Then record the conversation and get a commitment.
Good luck, youl need it!!