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Founded in 1998, Geneva-based Webcreatif Network joins the VTX group. It offers web and server hosting to small and medium-sized enterprises. The company is therefore another building block for VTX, which already has a solid presence in Geneva, through its subsidiary, VTX Deckpoint. |
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25 years of success: Since its birth in 1986, innovation and close customer relationships have epitomized VTX’s approach. The company which was launched with just a few employees and in its early years created and implemented Videotex services in Switzerland, has becom a nationwide telecom provider. |
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VTX has become the first telecommunications company in Switzerland to connect client facilities using the bare optical fibres constructed by Swisscom and SIG in Geneva. Thanks to unbundling, VTX is able to utilize fibre optics to offer its full range of services using its own infrastructure. For consumers, this represents improved performance at better costs. |
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VTX opens a new data center in Bussigny, near Lausanne and close to its technical team. This new data center meets the most stringent requirements for security (secure access to the site with double man traps, badge, surveillance cameras, fire protection, etc.), reliability (secure uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and battery, air conditioning), and performance (redundant Gigabit internet connection). |
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VTX offers mobile telephony for private clients. |
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As part of its constant drive to innovate, VTX is one of the first telecommunications providers to offer FTTH (Fiber to the Home) services. |
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In partnership with Sierre Energie, VTX launched a trial service of broadband television over ADSL, “VTX TV”, in order to continue developing their product range. This new service features more than 100 TV channels, thirty of which are in French language. With this Internet television package, VTX has come closer to the model chosen by other European operators and is now positioned as the main alternative Swiss operator. |
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A first in Switzerland: VTX Telecom offers free unlimited calls – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – to Swiss landlines and more than 40 countries |
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The need for certain companies to extend their range of products in order to meet their customer’s requests led VTX to develop brandable solutions.
A partnership was signed with Orange who chose to work with VTX for their Orange ADSL service. VTX and Orange have been partners since 2006, with VTX proposing Orange mobile telephone packages. Other partnerships have also been signed with cable television companies. |
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On 9 March 2007, the Federal Council approved the new ruling on telecommunications services, taking effect on 1 April 2007. Swisscom was required to open up its telephone lines to the competition. VTX was the first telecom operator to free up the last mile. The company took advantage of this new opportunity and quickly provided highly competitive ADSL packages. In parallel to these packages, VTX was also working on new services such as television or video on demand. |
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The company Deckpoint, an Internet service provider, joined VTX Telecom SA. Well established on the French-speaking Swiss market, and more particularly around Geneva, Deckpoint proposes a wide range of services in the telecom field. With this alliance, Deckpoint and VTX Editel became the leading companies in Geneva operating as ISPs, hosting companies and Voice over IP providers for businesses. |
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A new European investment fund was brought in to raise the capital of the company in order to finance infrastructure projects. |
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VTX celebrated its 20th anniversary! The microstructure that had started up in 1986 in a modest 2-room office in Pully has become a major player in the telecommunications sector, with 11 subsidiaries and nearly 200 employees located over the whole of Switzerland. |
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VTX launched a VoIP service (for making telephone calls over the Internet). With a cost that was much lower than the landline network, VTX VoiceIP enabled customers to make huge savings on telephone calls. |
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Purchase of Tiscali Switzerland Ltd
Continuing its expansion, the VTX Telecom Group takes over the Swiss activities of Tiscali, thereby changing its name to VTX Datacomm Ltd, thus reaffirming the Group’s position in Switzerland, hitherto showing no presence in the Basle area. Two important threshold values have been exceeded : the 200 mark in employees and the 100'000 mark in customers. |
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Simultaneously, a partnership agreed upon between
VTX Services Ltd and Orange Switzerland (mobile phone operator) favors the realization of a solution for professional communication over GPRS, entailing a wide convergence between static and mobile data. |
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Take-over of C&W Switzerland and partnership with Orange
VTX Telecom concludes the take-over of the Swiss subsidiary of the British telecom group Cable & Wireless (C&W). Managing a portfolio of several thousand corporate customers
all over Switzerland, it has complete Internet and Voice infrastructures available. First consequence of this take-over is a thorough market penetration in the Swiss German part, brought about by a team of 25 in the Zurich offices. This circumstance allows the VTX Telecom Group to balance its turnover,
on a national level. |
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In the same year, the VTX Telecom Group improves its own communication capabilities and its Know-How in Web conception with the purchase of G Com (today’s VTX Interactive Solutions), a company active in consulting and realization of interactive communication. This move in turn helps to exploit direct synergies with Arcantel, a sister company of the Group, specializing in developing top technical environments for Web projects (they have won one out of three “e-voting” pilot projects assigned by the federal government).
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Consolidation
Finance markets by now react cautiously towards the information technologies’ market ; thus, the Group’s strategy is adapted to the new realities. The return towards profitability is awarded first priority, a goal attained before the end of the same year, without jeopardizing neither growth nor new ideas. Turnover doubles, and a new company emerges :
Swissfirms Data, a Portal and Data Base for SMEs, created in partnership with the Chambers of Commerce accredited in Switzerland. |
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A year of growth
After the take-over of Omedia (Valais), the group resolutely addresses the Swiss German market. The consolidation of the Zurich subsidiary and the purchase of Intellinet (St. Gall) produce a first breakthrough. In October, VTX becomes the first Swiss provider offering ADSL. Alongside consequential investments, the year also features triple turnover figures,
and the mark of 100 employees is crossed. |
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Birth of the VTX Telecom Group
In summer 1999, all the individual companies making up VTX Services Ltd are pooled into a holding with the name VTX Telecom.To be able to foster further development and to consolidate the deploy-ment of its activities, the group invites two stockholders aboard, internationally renowned in the European telecoms market : French Part'Com (now Iris Capital) and Kiwi from Italy. This opening of the capital to investors pursues multiple objectives : the purchase of further companies, especially in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the extension of the subsidiary network as well as the development of information technology tools. |
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Entering the Voice realm
In the course of the telecommunications market’s liberalisation, SmartPhone Ltd, one of the group’s companies, takes on the Voice market. Thanks to interconnection contracts, competitive pricing and attractive services, the young company can secure
a prominent spot in the telecoms market. |
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Start of the Internet adventure
With the emergence of the Web, VTX Services Ltd elaborates a comprehensive range of services at competitive prices. Soon after, the company offers local-tariff Internet access all over Switzerland and thus quickly becomes one of the country’s operators to be reckoned with and the first such provider in Western Switzerland. |
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Customer proximity & innovation
In the early 90ies, VTX Services Ltd starts to cooperate with other companies all over Switzerland (of which some later will become subsidiaries), thus expressing its firm intention to offer customer-proximity services. Simultaneously, VTX Services Ltd is tackling Audiotex (voice servers) distribution for businesses, television chains and radio stations. This alignment reflects the innovative spirit galvanizing the company. |
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Videotex pioneer in Switzerland
Francis Cobbi, Philippe Roditi (ETHL engineers) and Joseph Toledano (information scientist from Paris) founded the company VTX Services SA. It engages in the development of one of the largest Videotex Server Centers of Switzerland.
VTX Services SA becomes the Swiss pioneer of the improved version of Minitel, which almost immediately registers a huge success in France. |
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