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Siemens Communications CEO: Soon, Everything Goes Broadband

Posted on: Monday, 18 April 2005, 09:00 CDT

Apr. 18--Andy Mattes isn't worried about any ill effects from the telecommunications downturn.

The 43-year-old chief executive of Siemens Communications Inc. sees a glitzy and bright future for telecom.

The unit employs 858 people at its U.S. business in Boca Raton.

A native of Germany, Mattes is on his third stint in the U.S. and his second in Boca, where he worked from 1987 to 1991.

Back then, there wasn't the World Wide Web and its accoutrements -- voice over Internet phone calls, instant messaging and high-speed Web browsing from coffee shop booths.

It's a new world in telecom, and Mattes brings 20 years of experience to a discussion with The Palm Beach Post about what's happening locally at Siemens and the future for phone service.

QUESTION: Tell me about the reorganization of Siemens Communications.

ANSWER: What we've done is combine two entities within Siemens -- the wired-line unit, which was Information and Communications Networks, and the IC Mobile unit. It was the mobile device and mobile networking unit. By combining those, we followed the technology trend toward convergence. We are the first telecommunication company in the world to combine all these services to reach the home, your cellphone and your office.

Q: Is the Boca Raton operation going to grow?

A: Siemens' plan in the U.S. is to grow. The largest contributor came in the fall of last year, when we and two other vendors were awarded the 3G network (the latest generation of cellular technology) contract for Cingular Wireless.... It was a massive contract and will be a very massive deployment. It will create a lot of jobs close to the customer's headquarters, which are in Atlanta, but also here where we will design the network.... We're adding to the workforce anywhere from 400 to 500 in the U.S.

Q: Is the telecom downturn over and has it affected Siemens?

A: I think we've gone through phases. The hype is over, but I also think the frustration is over. There is a great deal of change going on. There was Cingular acquiring AT&T Wireless, SBC acquiring AT&T, Sprint acquiring Nextel, and there's discussion about the future of MCI. I think that consolidation will shape the future of the industry.

Q: Why is the telecom landscape changing?

A: It has a lot to do with convergence. I'd like to portray a picture to you that's not that far away. Basically communications is going to be IP (Internet) based and will utilize broadband as a means of transportation. Imagine that you're living in an environment that has Wi-Fi in the home, and you might be connected to the outside world through high-speed Internet, high-speed cable or 3G (cellular phones). Then you go to your car and continue to run applications... again with broadband built into the phone because it's wireless 3G technology. But again you're connected to either a wired or wireless environment. So again, you have communications end to end.

Q: Is voice over Internet ready for prime time?

A: Oh, absolutely. I'll give you an example. I just had the opportunity to speak on Capitol Hill in Washington about voice over Internet, and even legislators are realizing its importance. It works, it's out there, it's good for the consumer and it's ready for deployment. Take people like you and me. About 60 percent of our workforce today is constantly on the move. There's not many of us who stay in the office. But what happens when we try to talk? You might call me, you might send me an e-mail, you might leave me three or four messages. It's not very efficient.

Voice over Internet is presence-enabling. By that, I mean that we know each other -- why shouldn't my system recognize you when I'm not here? I can have my Microsoft Outlook program accessible so the system can go in and look for a time when I'm open at the same time you're free and schedule a meeting.

Another example: I would like to be able to find my team members, and with a click of a button, it can actually find them and communicate with them.... It's here right now. Voice over Internet is about integrating communications into business workflow. It's more than just communications over a different type of wire.

Q: Why did it take so long for voice over Internet to gain traction?

A: It's been around for about four years, and the industry initially took off on the wrong tangent. We started off talking about communications on different types of network. Consumers don't care about that. We all debated about how we should do it. Now we have the right debate: why we should do it. When you can talk about the real dollars and cents that will be saved, that's a value proposition. That's when it will take off. Cost, reliability, speed and ease of use, that's what matters. If it works, and I can say, 'CEO, I can save you 25 percent,' then we're talking. That's what's going to drive the industry.

Q: What's the future of telecommunications?

A: First of all, whether we like it or not, we are becoming an always-on society. Second, we are becoming a broadband society, irrespective of the media because it will all be broadband. All the applications coming will eat broadband like popcorn. There will be a slew of devices that will try to accommodate your lifestyle. The key is that you base all that technology on open systems and open standards so all of the devices can interact.

Q: Is there a place for wired phones?

A: Sure, but the access becomes irrelevant. Stationary devices will have a future, but they will be better devices. They will have Internet, yes.... They will have a screen, yes. You'll be able to have video. You'll have broadband access so you can download video and do collaboration.... This may sound like Stars Wars to some of us, but if you look at today's kids they are an always-on society right now. It is inconceivable that they can't be reached, and that's going to happen in the workforce.

-----

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.

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SI, SIE, BLS, SBC, T, NXTL, FON, MCIP, MSFT,

Source: The Palm Beach Post

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