Activity Report - Swisscom

Customers *
In millions
12
10
8
6
*
At December 31
00 01 02
39
An overview of 2002
Swisscom Fixnet
Swisscom Mobile
Enterprise Solutions
debitel
Other business areas
Employees
Customers
The community
The environment
Investors
Moreover, a combination of the generally poor state of the economy
and the launch of the new single European currency led to a marked
reluctance among German consumers to make purchases in the first
few months of the year. The result was a drastic slump in revenues
right across the board, which also affected telecommunications products.
The same development was observed in the Dutch market.
The market situation impacted most strongly on smaller UMTS license
holders, who found it difficult to meet their UMTS auction and network
development obligations. This led to the long-predicted market consolidation,
with the result that the number of German UMTS network
operators fell from the original six to just four.
Sustainability is the core focus of all activities
In the year under review, debitel succeeded in bucking the general
trend. Even in boom times, the company recognized the importance of
customer loyalty. In 2002, the company again invested a considerable
amount in customer loyalty measures, and focused even more strongly
on income. In this way, debitel is making a sustainable investment in
the future. Customer retention successes have now stabilized at a very
high level. In order to safeguard the positive results in spite of the
necessary outlays, debitel has also improved its terms of business with
network operators and implemented wide-ranging internal costcutting
programs.
Access to the entire German market both via mass market channels and
via specialist dealers with extensive advisory skills has always been one
of debitel’s strengths. In September 2002, the company extended its
exclusive sales partnership with the Electronic Partner-Gruppe for a
further five years, thereby securing a key specialist sales partner over
the long term.
The cooperation agreement with the German Ringfoto Group signed
in October 2002 means that debitel has now added another specialist
retail chain with some 2,700 sales outlets nationwide to its sales network.
Innovative new services
Innovative services also make a major contribution to ensuring customer
satisfaction. debitel launched the debitel Jamba! supplementary
service early in 2002. This is the first mobile tariff whose basic charge
includes a subscription for premium mobile Internet services (WAP), for
which additional charges would otherwise be payable. The debitel