SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Lukas Morscher, Lukas Staub and Jil Eichenberger, Lenz & Staehelin
may provide its service only after it has ensured the completeness and accuracy of the informa - tion and ensured compliance with the code of conduct. Personal Data Protection The outsourcing of services to an IT service pro - vider may also impact the protection of personal data. Any data subject is protected from their personal data being processed in a way that is not compliant with the law or used for pur - poses other than those communicated or appar - ent to the data subject, unless the data subject consents to this processing or unless another statutory justification applies (see 2 Cloud and Edge Computing regarding data protection prin - ciples). However, personal data may be given to out - sourcing suppliers based on a contract or statu - tory law if the customer ensures that: • the supplier will only process data in a way that the customer is itself entitled to; • the supplier will comply with the applicable data security standards; and • there are no statutory or contractual secrecy obligations prohibiting this data processing. Given the customer’s liability for the supplier’s compliance with data protection laws and the growing importance of data security, liability caps are often excluded in outsourcing agree - ments, especially for breaches involving sensi - tive data like business secrets or bank customer information. 7.2 Service Agreements and Interconnection Agreements Telecommunication Service Agreements Telecommunication service agreements are not conclusively codified in Swiss law. The TCA
defines telecommunications services as trans - mission of information for third parties by means of telecommunication techniques. Additionally, network infrastructure is a core element of these agreements, which the TCA defines as devices, lines or facilities intended for or used in the tech - nical transmission of information. In principle, telecommunications service agree - ments are divided into two segments: • the upstream market (between providers, focusing on infrastructure and services); and • the downstream market (between provid - ers and consumers, offering self-procured or purchased services). Due to their complexity and need for adaptabil - ity, these agreements are typically structured into a main contract, service level agreements (SLAs), service definitions and general terms and conditions. To prevent contradictions, subcon - tracts are arranged hierarchically. Interconnection Agreements The TCA defines interconnection agreements as contracts that connect the installations and services of two telecommunications providers, enabling logical and technical interoperability and access to third-party services. The goal is to maximise connectivity by integrating different networks. Accordingly, the TCA imposes contracting obli - gations on TSPs providing basic services and market-dominant TSPs, requiring them to offer interconnection in a non-discriminatory, trans - parent and cost-based way. If access conditions are not agreed upon within three months, the ComCom will decide based on the OFCOM’s proposal at the request of either party.
470 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook