Siemens striving for number two position in mobile networks – Asia a key market

Major investments in developing new technologies – Broadening local partnerships – Solutions for all mobile communication technologies

November 15, 2005

Siemens has its sights set on moving up to assume the number two position in wireless networks worldwide, and the key market in this endeavor is Asia, said Christoph Caselitz, the President of the Mobile Networks Division at Siemens Communications (Com) at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong: "We will be enjoying an above-average share of this region’s breathtaking growth." The world’s largest wireless market is currently taking shape in Asia. According to market analysts, the number of mobile subscribers there is expected to soar from some 820 million today to 1.2 billion within the next five years. "This fiscal year, alone, we will be investing triple-digit millions of euros in Asia, including funding for research and development in the field of mobile network technology," explained Caselitz. At the same time, regional partnerships are going to be broadened. Siemens announced two new partnerships in this connection: With telecommunication supplier Poson in China and with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) in Singapore. At the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong, Siemens demonstrated its innovative strength with new solutions from the fields of Mobile Enterprise, Mobile TV and Broadband Wireless Access. One good example is the nanoEDGE base station, currently the smallest base station anywhere in the world.

"We want to be the number two on the world market for mobile communication technology, and are well on our way toward achieving this goal," said Caselitz. Over the course of the past five years, the Mobile Networks Division at Siemens Com has already advanced from 6th to 3rd place worldwide. Especially in Asia, the company succeeded in boosting its sales by a strong 20 percent during the past fiscal year. Com’s Mobile Networks Division was thus posting business growth in Asia that significantly outpaced the market. The development potential in this region continues to be enormous. Two thirds of all GSM operators, for example, are still waiting to be awarded a 3G license. By 2010, 37 percent of all 3G/W-CDMA subscribers are expected to come from Asia. "We view Asia as a key market. Regional partnerships and our own innovations will enable us to win additional market share. What’s more, we’ll be covering the entire spectrum of mobile communication technologies in order to be able to serve all market segments," said Caselitz.

In advance of the 3G World Congress, Siemens had signed a partnership agreement with Chinese-based telecommunication supplier Poson to drive the development and marketing of a mobile charging solution for the Chinese market. In Singapore, Siemens agreed to collaborate closely with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) in jointly bringing to market new applications. This partnership is one of the projects under the Siemens IMS (IP-based Multimedia Subsystem) Developer Program (IDP). In Hong Kong, Siemens Com premieres the first marketable application from the IMS Developer Program, an online game for mobiles. As a further innovation, Siemens shows the nanoEDGE base station, which is currently the world’s smallest base station anywhere. It enables GSM networks inside buildings to be upgraded into high-speed networks with a minimum of cost and effort.

In addition to these development successes, the Mobile Networks Division’s order situation in Asia is extremely positive. In India and China, for example, Siemens has won further contracts for wireless rail communication, thus strengthening its leading position worldwide in the GSM-R line of business. In 2004, this Siemens division entered the markets in Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam with its GSM technology. In Malaysia, Siemens won its first commercial contract in Asia for W-CDMA turbo HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), and in Indonesia the company is the clear market leader in the mobile communication segment with a market share of 35 percent.

2 / 3 Siemens AG Corporate Communications Press Office 80312 Munich Information Number: COM MN 2005 11.06 e Press Office Communications Monika Bruecklmeier 81359 Munich Tel.: +49-89 722-39597; Fax: -28365 E-mail: monika.bruecklmeier@.siemens.com

"We are already outstandingly positioned in the Asian region today. It is clear that we’ll be aggressively moving into mature markets there with 3G and into developing markets with GSM technology. And we have expanded our portfolio to include new, affordable products and solutions for emerging markets like Bangladesh, Thailand or Vietnam. In addition, we’ll be growing in the mature markets with IMS and Broadband Wireless Access technologies."

The Mobile Networks Division ranks either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all lines of business worldwide. Thanks to its broad product portfolio, Siemens is ideally positioned for the challenges of a highly diversified wireless communication market like Asia. More than 200 operators in some 100 countries are now using GSM technology from Siemens. Siemens is one of the first and technologically leading vendors on the market in broadband technologies like WiMAX, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) and Mobile TV. Together with partner NEC, Siemens is the front runner in commercially installed base stations for the worldwide 3G/W-CDMA standard. In addition, Siemens is a pioneer in the development of TD-SCDMA, the local 3G standard in China, achieving the highest scores in technology tests that were conducted in July of this year.

Siemens has been supplying telecommunication equipment to Asia since 1850. Today, there is virtually no country in this region in which telephone calls are being made without Siemens technology.