ADSL technology (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) enables high bandwidth signals to be transmitted via normal telephone access lines. The length of the access line, i.e. the distance between the customer and the Swisscom exchange, basically determines the maximum bandwidth that will be available. The term "bandwidth" is used to define the amount of information that can be transferred within a specific period of time. The actual bandwidth is expressed in kilobits per second, or kbit/s for short. The data rates available to a customer for receiving (downstream) and sending (upstream) data are different.

VDSL broadband technology (Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line) is based on ADSL technology. It is significantly faster than ADSL and is also provided via copper lines. The various regions are connected using fibre-optic technology up to the respective local exchanges. However, in contrast to ADSL, the fibre-optic cable can also be connected directly to the cable cabinets/distribution boxes in the respective districts. From this point, VDSL technology via copper lines is used up to the customer's premises. The possible transfer rates depend on the length of the copper cable: the further away the customer is from the VDSL device, the slower the data rate will be. Current VDSL technologies allow data rates of up to 30 Mbit/s.