CommunicationPublished on 27 March 2023

Administrative simplifications of the Swiss Positioning Service swipos as of 1 April 2023

The DDPS Ordinance on the Fees of the Federal Office of Topography (GebV-swisstopo) will be amended as of 1 April 2023. The aim of the amendment is to simplify the administration of the billing of swipos licences and to enable fully digital processes.

The ordinance on the fees of swisstopo (GebV-swisstopo, SR 510.620.2) regulates the fees for the official services of the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo. The current pricing model of the swipos positioning service is outdated, causes a lot of administrative work and is not transparent for customers. Therefore, an adjustment became necessary with the aim of streamlining the complex price structure. This simplifies the billing and enables a digital administration.

The changes in detail:

Simpler price structure and lower prices

The annual fee for the Swiss Positioning Service is:
a. CHF 1500 for a licence;
b. if several licences are obtained from the same vendor: CHF 600 for the
    second and third licence and CHF 200 for each additional licence;
c. for state-recognised educational institutions: CHF 150 per licence.

What will change for customers?
Today, the discount applies to all of a customer's licences, regardless of which vendor they are obtained from.

From 1 April 2023, the discounted fee will only apply to licences purchased from the same vendor.
The provision costs of CHF 150 are integrated in the new prices.

Example «One licence»
A customer has a licence with swisstopo.

Example «One licence with vendor A, one licence with vendor B».
Today the customer has the basic licence with vendor A, the first additional licence with vendor B.

Example «Two licences with seller A»
Today, the customer has both the basic licence and an additional licence with vendor A.

For the year 2023, customers will receive a mixed bill from their vendor(s): For the period until the entry into force of the Fee Ordinance, fees will be charged according to the old Fee Ordinance, and from the date of entry into force according to the new Fee Ordinance. This means that the fee for 2023 consists of 3 months according to the old ordinance and 9 months according to the new ordinance.

Cancellation of the end customer contracts and replacement with the general terms and conditions swipos-GTC

The cancellation of end customer contracts allows swipos administration to be handled completely digitally. The swipos GTC have to be accepted with every order sent. The contents of these are largely congruent with the provisions of the end customer contract and its enclosures.
Since swisstopo is cancelling the contracts, customers who do not agree with the GTC can terminate their contract at the end of March 2023.

Integration of RINEX data in the swipos GIS/GEO flat rate within the framework of fair use

Until now, customers with a swipos GIS/GEO flat rate licence could only obtain RINEX data up to the equivalent value of the contract.

From 1 April 2023, unlimited RINEX data can be obtained by customers with a swipos GIS/GEO flat rate licence within the framework of fair use.