Gigaset Communications
 | |
| Aktiengesellschaft | |
| Traded as | FWB: GGS |
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Munich, Germany |
Key people | Klaus Weßing (CEO and chairman of the executive board), Bernhard Riedel (Chairman of the supervisory board) |
| Products | Cordless, VoIP and corded telephones as well as Smart Home |
| Revenue | €326,1 million (2014)[1] |
 (€16.7 million) (2013)[1] | |
| Profit |
(€36.1 million) (2013)[1] |
| Total assets | €303.5 million (end 2013)[1] |
| Total equity | €24.3 million (end 2013)[1] |
Number of employees | 1,250 (end 2015)[1] |
| Website | www.gigaset.com |
Gigaset AG, formerly known as Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices is a multinational corporation based in Munich, Germany. The company is most active in the area of communications technology. Gigaset manufactures DECT telephones. It has around 1,250 employees and sales activities in approximately 70 countries. Under the name Gigaset pro, the company develops and markets business telephony solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. The company also sells products for the smart home under the name Gigaset elements.
Gigaset AG is listed on the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse and its shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 'GGS' (ISIN: DE0005156004).
History
Gigaset Communications was established on October 1, 2008, when Arques Industries, a private equity firm, acquired 80.2% equity interest in Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH & Co. KG (SHC) from Siemens AG for 45 million euros.[2][3]
Products and services
Gigaset creates numerous products for home and small office use:
- Cordless phones: Specializing in DECT technology, Gigaset is the European market leader and offers a wide variety of wireless phones (900Mhz, 2.4Ghz and DECT), and ISDN phones.
- VoIP phones: A variety of cordless (DECT) VoIP products are available. Certain products offer free calls using gigaset.net SIP network.
- Corded phones: The company sells their analog phones by the brand "euroset".
- Smart home/ security sensors: The line is called Gigaset elements. As of February 2016 elements is offering a base station, motion, door and window sensors as well a siren a camera. The system also offers a plug and a button that can be used to control electrical devices in the house. The devices are connected to the base-station thru DECT-ULE and the base is connected to the internet thru LAN. The user has the ability to get notifications on his smartphone by using a dedicated app (available for Android and iOS).
Gigaset.net
Gigaset.net is a free phone service provided by the company to customers who acquire certain VoIP phones. Users can edit a nickname in the phone, search for buddies and make free wideband audio calls to other users. The only requirement is that the customer has broadband connection.
Furthermore, the Gigaset.net network offers free RSS subscription to a number of services called Info Service. The basic services provided are weather and horoscope, which are shown scrolling on the phone display. Users can add custom RSS feeds, and watch them on phone screen. More recently, the company started offering ability to monitor e-Bay auctions.
Eco Dect / Eco Dect Plus
Gigaset created Eco Dect and Eco Dect Plus technology, where radio wave transmission is switched off when the handset is charging in its base station and 60-80% of the energy is saved by using low-energy switched mode power supply units.
It consists of two elements:
- Less power consumption by using switched-mode power supply unit (PSU).
- Reduction of the transmission power. This is done in two forms. Firstly, transmission power is adjusted according to the handset's distance to the base station. Secondly, transmission power is turned off when the handset is docked and charging.
Consequences of use:[4]
- Standby time and talk-time on handsets is reduced by around 50%, using either or both modes, due to the additional scanning the handsets therefore have to do.
- Range is also reduced by around 50% for both modes: Eco Dect Plus to 50m indoors, 300m outdoors; Eco Dect (or both modes) to 25m indoors, 150m outdoors.
A "green home" logo is often used to show that the product is eco-friendly. The company employs a marketing campaign with the slogan "Make a little difference".[5]
High Sound Performance
Gigaset created High Sound Performance (HSP) to provide higher sound quality to normal analog land-line phones. Many of the company's newest phones incorporate this technology.
High Definition Sound Performance
High Definition Sound Performance (HDSP) enables with an even higher sound quality than HSP, although for "normal" land-line phone users there is no sound difference, since this is a service available only to VoIP customers with the G.722 codec.[6] Also, phones require a broadband connection and are limited to the company's VoIP phones such as the A510 IP, C610A IP, and users of other phones that use the G722 codec. HDSP technology uses the G.722 wideband audio (or HD audio) codec which provides audio with a frequency response up to 7 kHz.
CAT-iq
Gigaset has also integrated CAT-iq technology on several VoIP phones and all phones supporting HDSP are CAT-iq compliant.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Annual Report 2014" (PDF). Gigaset. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ↑ Siemens Plans to Cut Up to 7,000 Jobs. New York Times, February 26, 2008
- ↑ A Home Network Where Your TV Talks to Your Fridge. New York Times, August 24, 2008
- ↑ "Eco Dect Green Home". GigaSet. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ↑ Make a little difference - Siemens Gigaset Eco Dect (company marketing Campaign)
- ↑ http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/HD_voice.html