I recently interviewed Beat Fahrni to follow on our first discussion, dating 2020. We ended up exploring a crucial question in entrepreneurship: How to transition from an innovative idea to its practical implementation and customer adoption?
I want to start by reminding that Beat’s vision focuses on redefining infrastructure ownership, particularly in the fiber-optics sector, emphasizing that landowners should retain ownership of infrastructure passing through their property. He advocates for a model where infrastructure like fiber optics, like water pipes or electrical conduits, is owned and controlled by the landowner, allowing them to dictate terms of access, ensure flexibility, and recover costs over time.
The numerous benefits of Beat’s model include increased security, cost-efficiency, and local autonomy. For example, landowners could enable local networks without necessarily connecting to larger internet providers, ensuring both independence and reduced costs. However, this approach requires upfront investment by landowners, who can later monetize their assets by renting infrastructure to providers. Beat stresses the importance of long-term planning and cost recovery over several decades to ensure financial viability.
My second interview of Beat delved into challenges Beat encountered while promoting his model, especially in small Swiss communities. A significant barrier was the widespread perception of Swisscom as a quasi-governmental telecom provider, despite its privatized status. Swisscom’s influence within communities often hindered alternative models. Moreover, democratic systems in Switzerland, which allow villages significant autonomy, are sometimes underutilized due to passive participation by citizens and a lack of long-term vision among political leaders.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought mixed impacts to Beat’s efforts. While it underscored the importance of robust digital infrastructure for activities like video conferencing and remote medical assistance, many people underestimated the necessity of real-time communication, achievable only through fiber optics. Despite these challenges, the pandemic offered an opportunity to emphasize the critical role of low-latency networks in modern communication.
Comparisons with Norway further illuminated the discussion. Beat praises Norway’s streamlined and digitized processes, contrasting them with Switzerland’s paper-based and fragmented systems. In Norway, starting a business is straightforward, with clear timelines and minimal bureaucracy. This efficiency benefits ongoing operations and commerce, enabling businesses to thrive in a highly digitalized environment. Norway’s approach to infrastructure and government transparency also fosters resilience and trust, serving as a model for Switzerland to emulate.
This discussion sheds light on the intersection of infrastructure ownership, technological advancement, and governance, offering valuable lessons for both entrepreneurs and policymakers.
The last time this decision was on the table was about 50 to 70 years ago, at that time the water was going to be heavily used as the power to produce low-cost electrical energy.
At this decision point small communes received massive amounts in exchange of the right to use the water and the land. Bigger communities like city of Zurich invested into the big water dams like “Grande Dixence” or others and some of them could become the today environmental energy “batteries”.
Beat considers that the importance of the optical fiber in the 21st century is of the same scale as that of the water concessions in the 20th century.
Beat concluded by advocating for Switzerland to modernize its systems to stay competitive. He underscored the importance of citizen awareness and participation in shaping infrastructure policies, emphasizing that such changes are vital for long-term sustainability and innovation. The interview ended with a promise from Beat to share further insights as his research progresses.
I wrote this article using Otter-Ai for transcription and ChatGPT for summary. The text was ultimately revised and completed by Beat Fahrni.
Dr. David Claivaz
Acting Dean – Business School Lausanne
