Transport and connectivity in Switzerland: public-transport class, fibre and 5G for your address
Whether a home works in daily life depends on how you get around and how you get online. Neither comes up much at a viewing. This page explains how to judge the connectivity of an address – and where to look up the values for a specific address instead of estimating them.
- A – DPublic-transport classesA very good, D basic
- 6Major centrestravel time by car and PT
- 300 mStop withinabout 4 minutes on foot
- 1 Gbit/s+Fibrelong-term standard
Why connectivity matters
The commute, family life and working from home all depend on it. A hamlet in a Graubünden side valley can be beautiful and still poorly connected, while a city district typically combines class A service with fibre. The suntag.ch report brings together four layers: travel time, public-transport class, mobile and fibre.
Public-transport quality classes: A to D
The Federal Office for Spatial Development rates every location by the quality of its public-transport service, from class A to D, based on the timetables of the Swiss transport companies:
| Class A | very frequent service close by, as in city centres |
| Classes B and C | in between |
| Class D | basic service, for example a bus every hour |
A stop alone says little. A stop within 300 metres, about four minutes on foot, is a common benchmark for good access. At class A or B, a car is often not needed for daily life.
Travel time to the six major centres
The travel-time maps show, by car and by public transport, the fastest route to the six major centres Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano and Zürich. The colour band at your point applies to that exact location, not to the average of the region. The data comes from the National Passenger Transport Model of DETEC.
Mobile: 4G and 5G
The mobile maps show how many operators cover your point outdoors (streets, public places):
| Three operators | all main networks reach you outdoors |
| One operator | little choice of provider |
| Indoors | usually weaker, especially in older buildings and mountain valleys |
The maps show outdoor coverage. So test the reception at the viewing with your own phone.
Fibre and cable
The fibre map shows the share of buildings where fibre-optic service is available, meaning fibre reaches at least the building itself. It is based on building-entrance data from the Federal Statistical Office. The coaxial cable network gives good speeds, but fibre (1 Gbit/s and more) is the long-term standard. Look for "available" at building level and have the existing connection confirmed.
What to check at a viewing
- Test the commute at your own hours, for example with the SBB timetable.
- Check the public-transport class and how far the nearest stop really is.
- Test mobile reception in the living rooms with your own phone.
- Ask about the existing internet connection and have it confirmed whether fibre reaches the building.
- If you work from home, test the connection at the hours you work.
Look up the connectivity of your own address
The suntag.ch report shows, for any address in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the travel time by car and public transport to the six major centres, public-transport stops and quality classes, 4G and 5G coverage, and fibre and cable availability. It also covers sun exposure day by day across the whole year, road, rail and aircraft noise, mobile antennas, radio and TV transmitters, high-voltage installations, solar potential, zoning and natural hazards – a 31-page PDF report with 11 charts, 30 maps and 3 tables from CHF 15.
Frequently asked questions about connectivity
What do the public-transport classes A to D mean?
They describe the quality of public-transport service at a location: A means very frequent service close by, as in city centres, D basic service, for example a bus every hour. At class A or B, a car is often not needed for daily life.
How far away should the nearest stop be?
A stop within 300 metres, about four minutes on foot, is a common benchmark for good access. The quality class shows whether it is also served often.
Which places does the report show travel times to?
The six major centres Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano and Zürich, each by car and by public transport, using the fastest route from the traffic zone of your address.
What does the 5G map show?
How many operators offer 5G at your point outdoors. Three operators mean all main networks reach you outdoors; with one you have little choice. Indoor reception is usually weaker.
How do I know whether fibre is available?
The fibre map shows the share of buildings where fibre reaches at least the building. Look for "available" at building level and have the existing connection confirmed.
See also: Property checklist for Switzerland →
See also: Sun exposure in Switzerland →
Sources and methodology: Public-transport classes: Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE), based on the timetables of the Swiss transport companies. Travel times: National Passenger Transport Model (DETEC), swisstopo. Mobile and fibre: Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), building-entrance data of the Federal Statistical Office, swisstopo. The maps are model-based and do not replace information from the provider. More information: are.admin.ch, bakom.admin.ch, bav.admin.ch, sbb.ch, map.geo.admin.ch.