Formerly a monopoly run by Telecom PTT, the Swiss telecoms market was liberalised in 1998, leaving Telecom PTT's successor, Swisscom Ltd, to fend for itself in the free market. The market gradually gained dynamism with the entry of more and more new providers of telecoms services. According to official statistics published by OFCOM (the Swiss Federal Office for Communications), some 300 registered and licensed national and international carriers currently offer some form or other of telecoms services on the Swiss market.

The Swiss telecoms market is divided primarily into the business fields of network-based communications, mobile communications, IP-based voice and data communications, and value-added services. One relatively recent branch of business is digital television, which is being marketed along with Internet access and telephony as a triple play offering via the Internet/cable network.

The Swiss telecoms market has an estimated total volume of around CHF 15 billion. The sector employs some 25,000 persons, of whom approximately 17,000 are Swisscom employees. Every year around CHF 2 billion is invested in operating equipment. As the largest network carrier by far, Swisscom contributes the lion's share to this investment volume.