National postal operator Swiss Post and communications firm Swisscom have partnered to build a secure and sustainable infrastructure for blockchain applications in Switzerland. The two companies will use the network to operate their own blockchain services and build a solid foundation for future applications in the Swiss economy.
The infrastructure differs from other private blockchain applications in the country as data will remain completely in Switzerland ensuring the infrastructure meets the high security requirements of banks.
In contrast to “public blockchains” (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum), this private blockchain infrastructure requires much less energy, since it can only be used by identified users who have a contractual relationship with the providers of an application.
This enables more efficient agreement procedures as well as significantly higher security and performance. This is an important prerequisite for many companies to launch their own applications based on blockchain technology.
Swiss Post already uses blockchain technology to store its temperature measurement data during the transport of pharmaceuticals.
With ‘Blockchain for Utility’ (B4U), PostFinance is running a pilot project together with Energie Wasser Bern (ewb) that enables owners of houses with a photovoltaic system to automatically bill their tenants via blockchain for the electricity they receive.
First pilot applications from mid-2019
The two companies will use the common infrastructure, which is based on the Hyperledger Fabric software, for their own applications and will also make it available to other companies for their applications.
The market launch for the first pilot applications is planned for the second quarter of 2019. The offer is geared toward companies and public authorities, which want to handle sensitive digital business processes securely and verifiably.