Comparing mobile networks was made easier this week. Swiss student Leutrim Shallti has built a website —carteantennesuisse.ch—that pinpoints every 3G, 4G and 5G antenna in the country. Consumers can now check whether operators’ marketing boasts match reality.
Shallti is no telecom engineer— he is a psychology student who studies electronics for three years prior. Yet his map lists the operator, technology, emission direction and frequencies for each mast. If Salt tells you it has 5G coverage in your region, you usually have to take its word for it, he told RTS. With this map you can check for yourself, and decide objectively. The map forms part of a blog offering information on mobile phone networks.
The project has unsettled the industry. It is as if the operators have been stripped bare, said Shallti. The only thing still withheld is transmission power, which firms continue to guard. He runs the project voluntarily and is pressing the federal communications office for fresher data.
The site would not exist without a legal skirmish. In 2021 RTS, the public broadcaster, demanded access to operators’ antenna data. The firms resisted, even after the federal transparency watchdog recommended disclosure. They appealed to the Federal Administrative Court—and lost. RTS used the information for an independent audit of coverage, and the ruling paved the way for Leutrim Shallti’s work.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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