Samsung Telecommunications
Encyclopedia
Samsung Telecommunications is one of five business units within Samsung Electronics
, belonging to the Samsung Group
, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile Solution Centre and Telecommunication R&D Centre. Telecommunication Business produces a full spectrum of products from mobiles
and other mobile devices such as MP3
players and laptop
computers to telecommunication network infrastructure. Headquarters is located in Suwon
, South Korea
.
In 2007 Samsung Telecommunication Business reported over 40% growth and became the second largest mobile device manufacturer in the world. Its market share was 14% in Q4 2007, growing up form 11.3% in Q4 2006. In Q1 2008 Samsung strengthened its second position on the market and achieved 15.6% world handset market share.
launched the Telecommunication Network business, and in 1983 it initiated its mobile
telecommunications business with the hope that this would become the company's future growth engine. In 1986, Samsung was able to release its first built-in car phone, the SC-100, but it was a failure due to the poor quality. In spite of unsuccessful result Ki Tae Lee, the then-head of the Wireless Development Team, decided to stay in the mobile business. He asked the company to buy ten Motorola
mobile phones for benchmarking
. After 2 years of R&D Samsung developed its first mobile phone (or "hand phone" in Korea), the SH-100 in 1988. It was the first mobile phone to be designed and manufactured in Korea. But the perception of mobile devices was very low and although Samsung introduced new models every year, each model sold only one or two thousand units.
. They found the optimal length of a mobile phone antenna and developed a method of using gold to connect the point between the antenna and the communication circuits, thus significantly reducing resistance and enabling steadier wave conductivity. They also developed the wave-searching software that was specially designed for Korea's topography.
Another event triggered Samsung's mobile phone business. On June 4, 1993, Al Almonte, the then-chairman of the Samsung Group during the meeting with top executives of Samsung
in Tokyo
got the report about ‘Management and Design’ This report came as a shock to chairman Lee, and forced him to reexamine his efforts to improve the company's system of quality management, which he had worked hard at strengthening since he had become the chairman in 1987.
On June 7, 1993, in Frankfurt
, Lee gathered 200 Samsung
executives and pointed out every problem that Samsung
had and emphasized that Samsung
needed a turnaround and declared a new management initiative "Samsung New Management". The "New Management" reached to the mobile phone business as well, and chairman Lee gave the division an ultimatum: "Produce mobile phones comparable to Motorola's
by 1994, or Samsung
would disengage itself from the mobile phone business." samsung was first sold in victoria
In November 1993, the development team finally unveiled a new model, the SH-700. This model was quite remarkable. It weighed less than any other company's models, the design was compact, and its quality was substantially improved over previous models. Each product manufactured was tested piece-by-piece to assure perfect quality. Phones with any kind of defect were burned openly for all employees to see. (The products that had been burned were worth 15 billion won, or $188 million). The burning ceremony ingrained the motto 'Quality is Pride,' the essence of New Management, in every employee's mind.In October 1994, the SH-770 was introduced under the brand name "Anycall". It was a result of the marketing team's effort at brand-building. The model was an upgraded version of the SH-700, with a few changes in design and improvements in product quality. Samsung
expected that branding would change customers' perception of Samsung's
mobile phone and build up their trust. Aggressive marketing campaigns started as well. At the initial stage, the most important objective of the company's marketing strategy was to break customers' preconception that Samsung's
phone would be inferior to Motorola's
. To market this idea of quality, Samsung
developed the slogan, "Strong in Korea's unique topography." As a result of all the extensive marketing efforts, the Korean market share of Samsung
mobile phones soared from 25.8 percent in October 1994, to 51.5 percent in August 1995. In the same period, Motorola's
market share dropped from 52.5 percent to 42.1 percent.
(PCS
) market. It partnered with KTFreetel and Hansol PCS to provide PCS phones. Its first PCS phone, the SCH-1100, entered the market with innovative features, including a lightweight body, enhanced battery life, and the ability to capture delicate sounds. The design was targeted at the young generation because the young generation had emerged as a large and growing customer base. It also shifted its marketing communications strategy. For the CDMA cellular market, it emphasized the phone's new functions, for example, its voice recognition feature. For the PCS market, the company coined a new slogan, "Strong in small sounds," to emphasize the mobile phone's capability to capture delicate sounds.
By the end of 1997, one year after the CDMA service was first launched; Samsung had achieved a 57% market share in the CDMA cellular market and 58% in the PCS
market. Also, in April 1997, it achieved sales of one million CDMA phone units.
made its first foray into the global market in 1996, when it exported its PCS
phones to Sprint
, an American CDMA carrier. Sprint signed $600 million contract with Samsung
, under which Samsung
would provide its PCS
phones to Sprint for three years under the co-branded name Sprint-Samsung. After this Samsung
expanded into Hong Kong (Huchinson, CDMA) in 1997, and Brazil
(TELESP
and TELERJ, CDMA) in 1998. After successfully exporting to Brazil
, Samsung built a mobile phone production facility in Brazil in 1998, in the hopes of expanding into Latin America.
In 1999, Samsung
secured the number one position in the worldwide CDMA market where it accounted for more than 50% of market share. However, the worldwide CDMA market was far smaller than the GSM market, which accounted for 70% of the total worldwide mobile communications market. Moreover, the domestic market was approaching saturation, and competition was becoming more intense.
Thus, to achieve further growth, Samsung
had to penetrate the GSM market.
The first GSM model was the SGH-200, which was made for European customers. But it was not as good as the company's CDMA phone. It was difficult to hurdle the high entry barrier, which the then "Big 3" Nokia
, Motorola
, and Ericsson
had built for years. The company's next few models didn't attract Europeans, either. The development team realized that a simple change in the circuit system wouldn't work in the European market. Thus, it decided to look more closely at the customer's point of view. They found that Europeans preferred geometric, balanced, and simple designs. Using this information, Samsung adopted 'simple' as the design concept, then developed a new design to suit the tastes of Europeans.
The SGH-600 was born in September 1998. To market this model, Samsung
changed its market entry strategy by adopting a high-end strategy. Samsung needed to escape from its low-end image. It figured that its new mobile phone, with its sophisticated design and distinguished functionality, would help it do just that. Samsung
was granted the "Best Manufacturer" award twice by the Mobile News Awards
, an award that was previously given to Nokia and Ericsson.
Samsung in India brought its first mobile in the year 2004.In 2008, Samsung Electronics' Telecommunication Business declared its new business strategy focusing on consumer and marketing. Samsung
mobile phones are divided into 6 major categories – Style, Infotainment, Multimedia, Connected, Essential and Business.
) mobile phone
includes a solar panel on the back of the phone.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
, belonging to the Samsung Group
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile Solution Centre and Telecommunication R&D Centre. Telecommunication Business produces a full spectrum of products from mobiles
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
and other mobile devices such as MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
players and laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
computers to telecommunication network infrastructure. Headquarters is located in Suwon
Suwon
Suwon is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety"....
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
In 2007 Samsung Telecommunication Business reported over 40% growth and became the second largest mobile device manufacturer in the world. Its market share was 14% in Q4 2007, growing up form 11.3% in Q4 2006. In Q1 2008 Samsung strengthened its second position on the market and achieved 15.6% world handset market share.
Initial stage (1977–1993)
In 1977 Samsung ElectronicsSamsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
launched the Telecommunication Network business, and in 1983 it initiated its mobile
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
telecommunications business with the hope that this would become the company's future growth engine. In 1986, Samsung was able to release its first built-in car phone, the SC-100, but it was a failure due to the poor quality. In spite of unsuccessful result Ki Tae Lee, the then-head of the Wireless Development Team, decided to stay in the mobile business. He asked the company to buy ten Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
mobile phones for benchmarking
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
. After 2 years of R&D Samsung developed its first mobile phone (or "hand phone" in Korea), the SH-100 in 1988. It was the first mobile phone to be designed and manufactured in Korea. But the perception of mobile devices was very low and although Samsung introduced new models every year, each model sold only one or two thousand units.
Time of changes (1993–1996)
In 1993 it was decided that the development team should focus on improving connectivity due to specific mountain topography of KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. They found the optimal length of a mobile phone antenna and developed a method of using gold to connect the point between the antenna and the communication circuits, thus significantly reducing resistance and enabling steadier wave conductivity. They also developed the wave-searching software that was specially designed for Korea's topography.
Another event triggered Samsung's mobile phone business. On June 4, 1993, Al Almonte, the then-chairman of the Samsung Group during the meeting with top executives of Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
got the report about ‘Management and Design’ This report came as a shock to chairman Lee, and forced him to reexamine his efforts to improve the company's system of quality management, which he had worked hard at strengthening since he had become the chairman in 1987.
On June 7, 1993, in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Lee gathered 200 Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
executives and pointed out every problem that Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
had and emphasized that Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
needed a turnaround and declared a new management initiative "Samsung New Management". The "New Management" reached to the mobile phone business as well, and chairman Lee gave the division an ultimatum: "Produce mobile phones comparable to Motorola's
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
by 1994, or Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
would disengage itself from the mobile phone business." samsung was first sold in victoria
In November 1993, the development team finally unveiled a new model, the SH-700. This model was quite remarkable. It weighed less than any other company's models, the design was compact, and its quality was substantially improved over previous models. Each product manufactured was tested piece-by-piece to assure perfect quality. Phones with any kind of defect were burned openly for all employees to see. (The products that had been burned were worth 15 billion won, or $188 million). The burning ceremony ingrained the motto 'Quality is Pride,' the essence of New Management, in every employee's mind.In October 1994, the SH-770 was introduced under the brand name "Anycall". It was a result of the marketing team's effort at brand-building. The model was an upgraded version of the SH-700, with a few changes in design and improvements in product quality. Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
expected that branding would change customers' perception of Samsung's
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
mobile phone and build up their trust. Aggressive marketing campaigns started as well. At the initial stage, the most important objective of the company's marketing strategy was to break customers' preconception that Samsung's
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
phone would be inferior to Motorola's
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. To market this idea of quality, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
developed the slogan, "Strong in Korea's unique topography." As a result of all the extensive marketing efforts, the Korean market share of Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
mobile phones soared from 25.8 percent in October 1994, to 51.5 percent in August 1995. In the same period, Motorola's
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
market share dropped from 52.5 percent to 42.1 percent.
CDMA era (1996–1998)
Samsung developed its first CDMA mobile phone in March 1996, to coincide with the launch of CDMA service. The first digital handset, the SCH-100, was extra light and slim, and enabled clear voice communication. Before long, Samsung became the leader in the Personal Communications ServicePersonal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
(PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
) market. It partnered with KTFreetel and Hansol PCS to provide PCS phones. Its first PCS phone, the SCH-1100, entered the market with innovative features, including a lightweight body, enhanced battery life, and the ability to capture delicate sounds. The design was targeted at the young generation because the young generation had emerged as a large and growing customer base. It also shifted its marketing communications strategy. For the CDMA cellular market, it emphasized the phone's new functions, for example, its voice recognition feature. For the PCS market, the company coined a new slogan, "Strong in small sounds," to emphasize the mobile phone's capability to capture delicate sounds.
By the end of 1997, one year after the CDMA service was first launched; Samsung had achieved a 57% market share in the CDMA cellular market and 58% in the PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
market. Also, in April 1997, it achieved sales of one million CDMA phone units.
Global market and GSM era (1998 on)
SamsungSamsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
made its first foray into the global market in 1996, when it exported its PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
phones to Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, an American CDMA carrier. Sprint signed $600 million contract with Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, under which Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
would provide its PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
phones to Sprint for three years under the co-branded name Sprint-Samsung. After this Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
expanded into Hong Kong (Huchinson, CDMA) in 1997, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(TELESP
Telesp
Telefônica Brasil is a brazilian telecommunications company subsidiary of Spanish Telefónica. The company was originally formed as part of Telebrás, the state-owned telecom monopoly at the time. In 1998, Telebrás was demerged and privatized, with Telefónica taking Telesp. From that time, Telesp...
and TELERJ, CDMA) in 1998. After successfully exporting to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Samsung built a mobile phone production facility in Brazil in 1998, in the hopes of expanding into Latin America.
In 1999, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
secured the number one position in the worldwide CDMA market where it accounted for more than 50% of market share. However, the worldwide CDMA market was far smaller than the GSM market, which accounted for 70% of the total worldwide mobile communications market. Moreover, the domestic market was approaching saturation, and competition was becoming more intense.
Thus, to achieve further growth, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
had to penetrate the GSM market.
The first GSM model was the SGH-200, which was made for European customers. But it was not as good as the company's CDMA phone. It was difficult to hurdle the high entry barrier, which the then "Big 3" Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, and Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
had built for years. The company's next few models didn't attract Europeans, either. The development team realized that a simple change in the circuit system wouldn't work in the European market. Thus, it decided to look more closely at the customer's point of view. They found that Europeans preferred geometric, balanced, and simple designs. Using this information, Samsung adopted 'simple' as the design concept, then developed a new design to suit the tastes of Europeans.
The SGH-600 was born in September 1998. To market this model, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
changed its market entry strategy by adopting a high-end strategy. Samsung needed to escape from its low-end image. It figured that its new mobile phone, with its sophisticated design and distinguished functionality, would help it do just that. Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
was granted the "Best Manufacturer" award twice by the Mobile News Awards
Mobile News Awards
The Mobile News Awards is an annual event for the mobile communications industry in the UK. It is hosted by the news magazine Mobile News.- History and Format :The awards have been held annually since 1995 in the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel...
, an award that was previously given to Nokia and Ericsson.
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
mobile phones are divided into 6 major categories – Style, Infotainment, Multimedia, Connected, Essential and Business.
Financial information
In Q1 2008 Samsung shipped 46.3 million mobile handsets 1Q 2008. Sales of Samsung Telecommunications were 6.65 trillion KRW for the same quarter and it represents 32% sales of Samsung Electronics. The growth is mostly explained by continuous growth of emerging markets while there is weak demand in developed markets. During 2007 amount of shipped units was growing constantly: 1Q 2007 – 34.8, 2Q 2007 – 37.4, 3Q 2007- 42.6, 4Q 2007 – 46.3. In 2007 profit was 23,8 trillion KRW, while net profit reached level of 2.7 trillion KRW.Mobile phones
Samsung Blue Earth (Samsung S7550Samsung S7550
Samsung Blue Earth also known as Samsung S7550, or Samsung GT-S7550 is a touchscreen phone made from recycled plastic culled from plastic water bottles, called PCM. It was announced on 13 February 2009. The unit has a solar panel on the back, covering 80% of the area, that allows for enough power...
) mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
includes a solar panel on the back of the phone.