Billag

During lunchtime, one ordinary working day, I was talking to my colleges…I don’t really remember about what exactly where we talking about when the word Billag came across. At first I did not pay much attention to it, but after some time I still had the echo of Billag on my head and I was wondering what that was…so far from staying with this doubt I asked. To my surprise I was introduced to another fee, who no one had ever mentioned but everyone assumed I was already paying…and I wasn’t…with the risk that implies in Switzerland!!

So being so responsible and cautious as I am I soon got to my office and asked by god father about this unknown fee. I then discovered that Billag is fee that is to be paid for having the right to see TV or listen to a radio…even if you don’t do so! As soon as you have a TV or have a car with a radio you cannot stay away of it…so sorry you now have one more bill to pay and congratulations ….now that you pay you are doing things the correct way :)

Here I leave you with some basic info that will sort you out for the moment:

Billag is the name of the Swiss collection agency for radio and TV license fees. Anyone which has TV or radio has to pay a licensing fee per month for the service.

-          Is it like paying for cable?

No. This is the basic license that you pay to use a TV or radio. If you want cable TV you might be interested on getting extra information from cable network operators (like Swisscom, Cablecon or Sunrise amongst others).

-          Do I need in addition to a cable network connection also pay license fees?

Yes. The cable network connection and the fees have nothing to do with each other. The offer of the cable network is based on a private contract that you agree with the cable operator. This regards the quality and variety you will get your programs with. The license fee is owed to the federal government when operational radio and / or television sets are available.

-          Why do I have to pay fees if I consume only foreign channels with the satellite dish?

The fee is owed to the federal government for the reception of programs, independently of the way they are received in. 

-          Do I pay per device or per number of persons?

No. The fees are paid per household regardless of the number of devices and persons in the household. Distinction is made between TV and radio devices. This means that if you only have one type of device (regardless the number of them) you are allowed just to pay for that. Important is to note that if you have a car, even if you don’t have a radio at home, you have to pay the billag fee for radio, as you are making use of a radio device on the car.

-          Do I pay fees when I use the TV as monitor for video / DVD and / or computer games?

If the device is technically capable of receiving programs, you are notified and charged. It's not enough to hang the antenna or to unplug the device from the cable network. Only if no functioning antenna infrastructure (satellite, terrestrial, cable, Internet) is present, the TV is no obligation.

-          What is the cost?

	3 months	Per Year
Radio	42.30	169.15
Television	73.30	293.25
Radio and Television	115.60	462.40

-          What happens if I sign out?

If you log out and still continue to have operational equipment, you will have to pay a fine of up to CHF 5'000 (Art.101 RTA). Inspectors control household that don’t pay billag or that have refused it.

-          Where can I get further information?

https://www.billag.com/web/de/home.html