Technology: Opening Is Latest Evidence of
Local Telecom Power
Germany-based Siemens AG debuted its U.S. mobile phone headquarters in Rancho Bernardo this month, saying recruitment at the year-old operation is “ramping steeply.”
The move comes as Siemens plans to introduce its mobile phone line to the U.S. market.
The company has 110 employees at its local mobile phone operation and plans to increase its work force to 250 employees by September 2001, said Florian Seiche, vice president and general manager of Siemens Mobile Phones, USA Region. The company announced it will be hiring engineers and other specialists.
Mayor Susan Golding helped the German conglomerate formally open its 100,000-square-foot building Oct. 11. The West Bernardo Drive facility will house research and development for handsets, as well as sales, marketing, supply chain management and general administration. It will also be a home for product managers bringing Siemens’ offerings to market.
Seiche said the company was in negotiations with potential manufacturing partners, but declined to elaborate. He did not say whether Siemens phones would be manufactured locally.
The executive did say San Diego’s engineering talent was one of the things that lured the 400,000-employee company to the area , as did the perception that Bay Area firms are moving to San Diego.
Joe Markee, president of the San Diego Telecom Council, called Siemens’ presence “another validation of the strong technology industry , and in particular the communications industry , in San Diego.”
“It just adds more fuel to our wireless telecom fire we have going,” said Steven Weathers, vice president for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.
Siemens joins Qualcomm, Inc., Ericsson Wireless Communications, Inc., Nokia Mobile Phones Inc., Kyocera Wireless Corp., and other prominent telecom companies in the area.
“Adding Siemens to that roster is a great feather in the cap of San Diego,” said Marco Thompson, a Telecom Council director.
Siemens set up its mobile phone operation here in January, with a few managers in an office on Mira Mesa Boulevard.
In addition to the mobile phone division, the Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group office here will house the company’s mobile networks and cordless products divisions.
Seiche said the Rancho Bernardo office will play a big part in rolling out Siemens’ S40 triple-band mobile phone , its first product in the U.S. mobile phone market , during the first quarter of 2001.
The product will be able to tap into the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), which operates in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands and is popular in Europe.
It will also tap into the 1900 MHz personal communications services (PCS) band used in the United States.
