Sunrise launches new combination subscriptions and new TV based on UPC TV
The merger of Sunrise and UPC is bearing fruit in terms of offerings: Sunrise is launching new bundled subscriptions and launching a new Sunrise TV with more features, based on UPC TV. However, this is not yet the merger of the Sunrise and UPC customer bases.
This will take place later, explained Sunrise-UPC CEO André Krause in an interview with news agency AWP on Thursday: "We have said that we will merge the two brands at some point." He said that with the current addition to the Sunrise product portfolio, the company is creating the conditions for the merger of the two customer portfolios, but is not yet completing it.
"We don't know yet when that will come," Krause said. With strong products, the company wants to convince customers to switch voluntarily. There will be no forced migration at the moment.
Specifically, Sunrise is launching new bundled offers for Internet, TV and telephony under the name Sunrise We from October 11. "Anyone who switches to We Home or a We Combo, for example, will automatically always receive the best locally available broadband connection for the respective offer," Switzerland's second-largest telecom group wrote in a communiqué.
This means that households with a fiber-optic connection can surf at up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbit/s). Customers on the cable network will receive speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, Krause explained. Customers outside fiber-optic and cable networks would get Internet to their homes either via 5G mobile technology or traditional copper lines. There is a discount for Sunrise mobile customers.
Sunrise TV modernized
The biggest innovations, however, are in television. The new Sunrise TV uses the UPC TV platform, which is one of the most modern solutions in Switzerland, it said. It offers personalized access. Each person in the household can access their personal favorite shows and recommendations via their own user profile at the touch of a button.
In addition, streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Sky Sport are already integrated into the box. The TV box can also be controlled via voice commands. And with the Sunrise UPC TV app, you can continue watching programs you have started on another device such as a laptop, tablet or cell phone.
The user guidance and the possibilities of the new Sunrise TV box are better than with the previous one, which is getting on in years, said Sunrise UPC boss Krause. Sunrise's existing TV customers could switch to the new box, but they would not be forced to. "The old box will continue to operate for now, but probably not for eternity," Krause said.
Nothing will change for users of the Sunrise TV neo app. There is no new TV app now. That will happen at a later date, Krause said: "No customer needs to be afraid now that they won't have TV tomorrow." (SDA)
