Switzerland Takes Action in Volkswagen Emissions Fraud; Roche Tower Set To Open; Internet Speeds Set to Increase; New Team Tour Bus for FC Basel

News For 29 September 2015   On Monday evening, the Federal Roads Office in Bern accounted that it intended to prevent the registration of new Volkswagen vehicles and used ones imported from abroad that were manufactured during the period when the company is accused of having manipulated the cars' emissions systems.  According to AMAG, the exclusive importer of Volkswagen vehicles into Switzerland, over 128,000 vehicles already on the roads here are affected by the software at the heart of the affair.  AMAG said owners of cars that have the software which was designed to cheat emission requirements, can expect to be contacted to correct the problem at a dealership and at no cost to the owner.  Vehicle models manufactured by the VW group that are affected include Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen during the 2009-2014 period.   ******************************

Last Friday marked the opening in Basel of the new tallest building in Switzerland: dubbed "Building 1" the 41 story, 178 meter high tower was commissioned by the pharmaceutical company Roche to serve as part of its planned global headquarters.  The building was designed by the Basel, Switzerland based architectural firm Herzog & De Meuron.  It's is meant to be one of two towers that will form the heart of Roche's HQ campus - the second building is set to be completed in 2021, and is planned to be taller than the first.  Building 1, is estimated to have cost around 550 million Swiss Francs to construct and the cost of the campus project including the 2nd as-yet-to-be-built tower will exceed 3 billion Francs.  The new Building 1 will be the home to approximately 2000 Roche employees which represent over 20% of Roche's Basel-based work force.  By way of comparison, Building 1 is now taller than Switzerland's previous height record holder, The Prime Tower in Zurich, by 52 meters but is less than a quarter of the height of the world record holder the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

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For those riding the swells of data as they surf the internet, good news is on the way, as OFCOM (the swiss office of internet communications) will require the minimum transmission rate to increase throughout the country.  By 2017, Swisscom and its peer companies will be required to offer download speeds of 3000 kilobits per second and 300 Kilobits per second upload speed for its basic internet service, a rise of 50% from today's standard.  While many people enjoy greater speeds already, the desired effect of the minimum is to officially end state support for the old ISDN standard which powered such relics as public telephone booths.  The new minimum speed should easily support IP -or- internet protocol based telephony meaning everyone in Switzerland will benefit no matter how they use the internet.

***********************   On Monday FC Basel Football club received a new tour bus for the team.  Delivered via barge up the Rhein river by German bus manufacturer M.A.N., the blue bus was baptized using the water cannons of the firefighting ships as it passed under the Mittlerbrucke as a ceremonial blessing.  The new "BebbiBus" will transport the team approximately 40,000 kilometers per year as it makes its way through its playing season throughout Switzerland and Europe.  By entering into the sponsorship with MAN, FCBasel joins other European elite soccer teams Bayern Munich, Dortmund, AC Milan, and Paris St. Germain who also have agreements with the manufacturer.  Among the amenities the team's players enjoy while riding are six refrigerators, a stove, Wi-Fi, power outlets and screens in every seat.