Siemens Signs Twentieth UMTS Sales Agreement

After being established three years ago, Siemens Information and Communication Mobile (Siemens mobile) says that it sees its position as a leading global mobile communication supplier confirmed. With almost 12% market share Siemens is in third place worldwide across all standards (analogue, TDMA, CDMA, and GSM) in the area of mobile networks. Furthermore, Siemens has increased its worldwide mobile phones market share and holds a number 4 position - four years ago Siemens was only on place 8. The 3G business has also developed successfully: the Austrian fixed and mobile network operator tele.ring has commissioned Siemens to supply UMTS network technology - the twentieth UMTS sales agreement for the company. With an aggressive product and regional strategy Siemens plans to continue its road to success despite challenging market conditions.

Within the GSM infrastructure market the company has a share of 17%. It has also further reinforced its market position as a leading infrastructure supplier in the area of 3G/UMTS, which evolved from GSM and has already supplied more than 9000 UMTS base stations to date. It provides UMTS networks for the largest European markets, serving carriers in the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France.

Successes in the fast-developing markets of Asia and of North and Latin America have enabled Siemens to continue making up ground under worldwide challenging market conditions. In the major Chinese market Siemens is anticipating an additional growth driver from the forthcoming award of licenses for the 3rd generation mobile radio systems, which include the UMTS technologies W-CDMA and TD-SCDMA offered by Siemens. In the USA, Siemens managed to double its share of the market for GSM mobile phones within one year. Business in Latin America is also very promising: Mobile phone production in Manaus, Brazil, is in full swing: over a million mobiles were made there for the local domestic market in 2002 - twice what was originally planned. Siemens is already a clear market leader in GSM phones in Brazil. Having added two new models to its product range, it now offers the widest GSM portfolio in the country. Siemens is aiming for a 25 percent share of the Latin American market by 2004 and a place among the region's top three GSM suppliers.

Siemens expects to shortly have a handset range of over 30 models - from a voice-oriented mobile phone to a multimedia-enabled smartphone. Siemens is aiming to win new customer groups with a reduced emphasis on purely technical specifications and a stronger focus on design as a differentiating feature. In line with this strategy, with the "Xelibri" brand the company has recently started serving a newly created segment in the European and Asian markets where the mobile phone will become a fashion accessory. Worldwide, Siemens holds a number 4 position in the mobile phones market across all standards - in Europe the company is on place 2.

"We're very satisfied with what's been achieved over the last three years, but we want to continue growing and breathe new life into the mobile communication market. That's why in the future we'll also be acting as a proactive partner of mobile radio operators and a consultant, not merely as a supplier," said Rudi Lamprecht, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. "Our close collaboration should impact particularly on the expansion of data services such as Messaging, Entertainment, Payment, Location, and Multimedia Services."

Posted to the site on 9th April 2003