In the past, if you typed 161 into the phone, a voice would sound on the other end of the line. “On the next beep, it’s…” she said, giving the exact hour, minute, and second of the time.
You can still hear it, since the beginning of this year you only have to call 0900 161 161. The talking clock has almost cult status in Switzerland – it has been around for over 80 years. Not so in neighboring France: the service was discontinued there last summer.
Speech clock now a 0900 number
The Regioinfo information service (1600), which can be used to request information about school trips, is now an 0900 number. This has been the case for a long time with the wake-up service. The reason: In 2015, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) decided that short numbers may be used until the end of 2022 at the latest. This is because they have “an unfair competitive advantage” over competitors who would offer their services over a longer single number.
However, users have no additional costs: Swisscom’s automatic time announcement used to cost 50 cents per call and RegioInfo 90 cents per call.
demand drops
Despite the 0900 number, Swisscom maintains the service. “Swisscom still sees a certain demand for the speaking clock and the Regioinfo”, spokeswoman Annina Merk explains. However, she expects demand to fall further due to the disappearance of the short number.
Interest in such information services has been declining “for years now” due to numerous alternatives, according to Merk. However, Swisscom does not want to communicate exact figures about how many people still use them. In 2016, the talking clock was said to be rung more than a million times a year – mainly on the two days of the change from summer to winter time.
Information numbers are not affected
Rega (1414) or Verkehrsinfo (163) do not fall under the OFCOM scheme because, according to OFCOM spokesman Francis Meier, they do not fall under the category of information services. “For the latter, special conditions have been set for the use of abbreviated numbers.”
Information numbers such as 1811 or 1818 can also remain as they are. Its use has also declined sharply in recent years. Where more than seven million people called an 18-information number in 2017, there were slightly more than two million in 2020.
Despite the number of incoming calls, the speaking clock is Swisscom’s most popular service.