If you want to register a domain name in the Top Level Domains .ch or .li, you don't have many options. To be more precise: you have exactly one option. You can register with the non-profit organization Switch, which has been entrusted with the registration of domains in the TLD .ch and .li by the Swiss government.

Now, registering a domain name in the TLD .ch is not very expensive - CHF 17 per year (roughly EUR 11). But, running a Domain Name Server is not very expensive, either. Since its inception in 1987, with a founding capital of CHF 90,000, Switch has increased its capital reserves to over CHF 50 million. Not bad for a not-for-profit organisation. Predictably, some users question whether Switch should not rather lower its fees instead of treasuring profits. Oooops, not profits - surpluses. Because it's not for profit, remember.

Instead, Switch now intends to branch out into web hosting. Some competitors have filed a complaint with the Swiss competition authority for abuse of a dominant market position, and obtained at least a preliminary victory before the Commercial Court of Zurich.

News article (in German) here.