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ical research and the application of global solutions in response to market demands, as is proven by the seven per cent of our revenues that we invest in R&D. Yet we are building on very solid foundations. We have been at the forefront of public telephony in Spain since the introduction of the very first public payphone. “As a matter of fact, our company was set up as a telephony workshop in Saragossa by Telefonica more than 30 years ago. It was later spun off, became part of the Amper group, and was finally integrated into Siemens in the 1990s. We became an international force to be reck- oned with a decade ago, on the back of Telefonica’s expansion into Latin America – and Telefonica remains one of our main clients. By 1995 we were already present in 10 countries and had shown that we could satisfy the requirements of other global operators. It is this experience that we have acquired from lasting relationships with leading world operators, together with the Siemens group’s highest standards of quality, that ensures that we can provide the best comprehensive solutions to our clients across all continents. Today, we can install public telephony systems in both urban and rural areas that can operate in a variety of climatic conditions and display the latest advances in telecommunications, including interactive multimedia solutions.” The Web Payphone In early 2002, Siemens pioneered the introduction of multimedia terminals in Spain with the launch of its Web Payphone. This device incorporated a built-in video camera, a trackball, a stan- dard keyboard, a 12-inch colour screen capable of withstanding a hammer blow, USB interface, printer and high speed ADSL line. The original idea was to pro- vide an alternative to mobile phones: it offers a big screen, high speed and low prices in a way that allows customers to benefit from a terminal where it was pos- sible to send emails, download music and games into mobile phones and other devices, have access to local information or rapidly find and book a hotel or car rental – which may explain why these gadgets are most popular in airports and railway stations. As Mr Hazeu explains, this project was a very valuable learning experience, even when market dynamics seemed to be moving in a different direction. “Not only were we the first to install them in Spain, but we also exported our Web Payphone to countries as diverse as Peru, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Russia.” A trial batch was installed in Moscow in July 2003, and the numbers of Web Payphones have since been increased by MGTS (Moscow City Telephone Network), which operates Russia’s biggest unified public telephone network. In spite of changing market demands, the Web Payphone has found a niche in certain locations and has paved the way for future innovations in related fields. “We are very proud of the experience acquired during the implementation of this project, and we acknowledge that market trends are now on the one hand demanding The Siemens Technological Centre of Saragossa (Elasa) is one of the world’s largest producers of public telephones and, despite the fast-changing market trends in public telephony having resulted in the demise of some of its competitors, it has found attractive new markets to complement its traditional offering. Its managing director Fernando Hazeu tells Oscar Del Santo why they are looking to the future with confidence. Test area: main electronic units 264 Industry Europe Industry Europe 265 NEW DIRECTIONS WE hear so little about public pay- phones lately that one could be forgiven for thinking that they have already disappeared. Worldwide trends, however, show otherwise. Payphones are here to stay and so are the companies that manufacture them. In the twentieth century these ubiquitous gadgets presided over a period of unparalleled growth in public telephony and came to be identified in the popular mind with a golden age of progress in telecommunications. The advent of the internet and mobile telephony meant that the old payphone was not always economically viable. For a while the structural imbalances in the old models of public telephony in the West were making the market look shaky, and companies in the field were looking very vulnerable. The success of the Saragossa-based Elasa – a division of Siemens SA in Spain – in devel- oping new business models, diversifying and launching innovative payphones for the world market shows that adaptation to the new realities of world telecommunications is possible and that the fixed telephony market still has strong earnings potential for the right players. “In our 30-year-long history we have manufactured more than 800,000 termi- nals that are currently operating in over 40 countries worldwide,” says Fernando Hazeu, Siemens Elasa Division managing director. “Our ability to link adaptation to innovation has made all the difference, and it is thanks to this joint effort that we are a market leader today, having become Siemens World Competence Centre for Public Telephony. “Our core business of public telephony still represents 80 per cent of our turnover and, despite all the doomsayers, I believe that there is a place in the market for com- panies such as Siemens – companies that have a serious strategic commitment to this business and whose leitmotif is long-term customer service and customer satisfac- tion. In the near future, owing to the decreasing volumes in this very mature market, we are going to witness the with- drawal of some manufacturers – and this can only work in our favour.” Products and systems Siemens Elasa Division manufactures a wide range of sophisticated modular indoor and outdoor payphones with all types of payment: coins, chip cards, magnetic strip cards and combined modes. It also develops public telephony management systems for remote management, supervi- sion and plant control that provide real-time information, database, alarms, statistics and remote payphone configuration, and every single public phone coming out of the Saragossa factory undergoes high- standard quality controls that ensure their optimum performance. As Mr Hazeu explains, their relationship with public telephony goes back to the beginnings of public payphones in Spain. “We are constantly engaging in technolog- Terminal Assembly Area: Outdoor Public Payphones Decor Payphone with WiFi Technology
