Facts
Swisscom has submitted a building permit application for the installation of a new mobile phone antenna in the hamlet of Ifwil, located in the village zone of the municipality of Bichelsee-Balterswil. The municipality refused the permit, considering that the installation did not fit the local aesthetic. Swisscom appealed this decision. The Administrative Court upheld the municipality's refusal, considering that the planned antenna disproportionately served the non-buildable zone compared to the buildable zone. Swisscom then brought the case before the Federal Tribunal.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed Swisscom's appeal. It considered that, although the antenna was to be installed in the buildable zone, its coverage area extended predominantly to the non-buildable zone. However, the Federal Tribunal specified that this finding does not mean that mobile phone antennas in the buildable zone must be limited to serving that zone. Indeed, in rural areas, it is practically inevitable that non-buildable zones are also covered. The Federal Tribunal then examined the issue of the application of municipal aesthetic regulations to this type of installation. It ruled that these regulations can be applied, but on the condition that they do not make it impossible or excessively difficult to fulfil the service mandate of telecommunications…