Dubai: German fixed-line telephone manufacturer Gigaset Communications, a licensee of Siemens, is confident of boosting its market share from the current 23 per cent with the opening of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market.
The company unveiled what it claims is the world's smallest and slimmest Eco Dect cordless phone — SL400A — in the local market.
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (Dect) is a digital communication standard for creating cordless phone systems that originated in Europe. Dect phones operate within a frequency range of 1.8 gigahertz to 1.9 gigahertz.
"We were focusing more on the European market where we are the number one and now we are shifting our focus to the Middle East and Africa market," Hassan Palandoken, vice-president of Sales, Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific at Gigaset Communications, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the press conference.
Quoting research firm MZA's report, he said global shipments of cordless telephones were expected to touch 91 million this year with the analogue market accounting for 19.11 million pieces and Dect phones gaining 71 per cent to 64.61 million and digital phones touching 7.28 million. The Dect market is growing steadily northward while the other two segments — analogue and digital - are heading southward. The value of the market will stand at $5.056 billion (Dh18.56 billion) this year. Out of this, he said the analogue market will rise 12 per cent to $606.72 million, with the Dect market rising 78 per cent growth to $3.943 billion and digital market touching $556.16 million.
The main features of the SL400A are a metal frame, hands-free operation, Bluetooth and mini-USB interfaces and colour display. The QuickSync software, which is available in both Windows PCs and Macs, can be used to synchronise contact data and load photos and sound onto the phone.
Saudi Arabia: Siemens substation ready
Siemens' electrical engineering division announced yesterday the completion of a 155-million-euro project with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to provide a harmonised grid solution for a major substation. The 380-kilovolt substation, located in Al Qasim province, adds 1,000 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) of power transmission capacity to the Saudi Arabian grid, helping to keep pace with rapidly-growing power demand. The substation facilitates a link between the country's regional electricity networks, transmitting ultimately 1,000 MVA of power from the central region to the western region.
