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Alcatel company. The history of TCL and its smartphones Alcatel

The Alcatel brand is formally considered European and is perceived as such by most consumers, although back in 2004 it was acquired by the Chinese corporation TCL for its daughter TCL Mobile. The Alcatel trademark is being used under an agreement with Alcatel-Lucent for an unspecified term and TCL Mobile will not retire it any time soon. In almost ten years as a Chinese company, the Alcatel brand in mobile phones has gone through several stages of transformation to come to 2013 as a contender for the role of a serious player in the market for both phones and smartphones. During the announcement of the results of the second quarter of 2013 in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to talk with the company's top managers, discuss in detail the manufacturer's plans and market vision, and form my own idea of the steps that TCL Mobile is planning in the near future. This manufacturer does not yet occupy the top lines of sales ratings, but the strategy that the company proposes for development outside of China looks balanced and interesting, and many Chinese manufacturers will try to follow this path. Therefore, this material should be taken not only and not so much as a description of one company. Based on it, you can study the entire market and understand where Chinese manufacturers will move.

Inexpensive phone market - no place for old people

Today, everyone is discussing the success of certain manufacturers in the production of smartphones and their quality, the presence of certain characteristics. Ordinary dialers are rarely remembered or not mentioned at all, it is believed that they do not bring much income to manufacturers. Nokia's sales in this segment are steadily dropping, Samsung is refusing to release inexpensive, budget models with buttons, keeping only a small number of such devices. The main trend is that the whole world rushed to produce smartphones and abandoned inexpensive phones with buttons. They are out of fashion.

But the example of TCL Mobile proves that operators around the world need such devices and are ready to buy them. For example, everyone has heard the fact that Nokia has been trying to storm the US market for a long time, but without success. The company opened an additional office to work with AT & T, increased marketing costs, specially created models for the USA, in a word, tried all the possibilities to gain a foothold there. But this did not give any result, and if you recalculate the funds spent on storming the market, it turns out that each phone sold as a result became, if not platinum, then definitely gold.

TCL Mobile was able to break into the US market in a matter of months by getting Alcatel-branded products to all carrier stores. A small Chinese company has been able to penetrate where Nokia has failed, and has done so with ultra-cheap phones that are on the shelves of $20-$40. In addition to AT&T, the company works closely with T-Mobile, as well as with a number of retailers.

Perhaps this is a typical approach of "smart" Chinese companies: when acquiring European brands, they buy not so much brands as people who know how to enter retail chains correctly, in our case, these are also operators. And they take on products that other manufacturers refuse, considering them low-margin. Indeed, earning one or two percent on the phone does not look like a successful strategy, since it is a sweatshop and always a struggle for the lowest cost. For large manufacturers, such as Nokia or Samsung, the release of budget models, as a rule, is due to the struggle for market share, and in different periods of their existence they could even sell such devices at a loss, not only not making money on them, but also losing money. In the past, this created a lot of problems for small manufacturers that could not scale economies, but with the onset of the Nokia crisis, when the company stopped fighting for market share, and Samsung de facto left this segment, everything changed. A vacuum emerged, which began to be filled by second-tier manufacturers - one of the well-known companies in this market was Alcatel. Phones under this brand are perceived as European and sell well in the US, Latin America, where there is a shortage of cheap dialers.

For TCL Mobile, this made it possible to open offices in a large number of countries, start actively working with local operators and, in fact, build the entire supply chain. Adding any product to this chain, other than low-cost dialers, instantly raises the company's profit and makes it higher by significant amounts. You can laugh long and hard at the fact that TCL Mobile is known in many markets as a manufacturer of inexpensive phones, but this market segment makes it possible to optimally debug logistics, build the structure of both offices and production. By learning to work with minimal margins, a company can enter other, fatter segments without incurring large additional costs.

The smartphone market is a belated start from TCL Mobile

Unlike other manufacturers, TCL Mobile started to deal with smartphones quite late, the first models appeared at the end of 2010, but they can be considered a pen test. Seriously, the company approached this market only in the second half of 2011, and from this moment, the first successes in sales can be counted. Let me give you the following statistics: in the second quarter of 2011, the share of smartphones in the company's total sales was 1.3%, a year later - 13.5 percent, and in the second quarter of 2013 - 26.7 percent.

In terms of profit, the emergence of smartphones and the growth in their share positively affects both the company's revenues and the average price of a device sold.

At the same time, de facto, we can say that according to the results of 2013, TCL Mobile is guided by the maximum cost of a device of $ 300 (wholesale price), this is the upper limit for the company's products. That is, TCL Mobile consciously outlined the segment in which they play - these are inexpensive devices that attract with a good price / quality ratio, but are by no means the cheapest offers on the market. In fact, models from TCL Mobile face competition from all Chinese manufacturers and will certainly lose it in markets where the cost of the phone comes to the fore, and not its other characteristics (service, features, programs or performance, design, case materials). A striking example of such a market is China, TCL's home market, where the company feels great with household appliances, in particular TVs (the number three manufacturer in the world after Samsung and LG in the first part of 2013). But TCL Mobile phones in China are sold under their own brand, and they are also unpopular. It is possible that the choice of Hong Kong for reporting is not at all accidental, as well as for the global announcement of the start of sales of Idol X. TCL Mobile focuses on foreign markets, believing that while the Chinese market is not ready to pay for quality, but focuses on the lowest cost. This is a problem that should not be underestimated, as Lenovo, which receives more than half of its revenues (2Q 2013) from the sale of smartphones and tablets, and not at all from the PC and laptop market, where it is number one in the world, sells 96 percent of its phones on home market. Attempts to enter other markets turn out to be very moderate sales, as smartphones that are profitable in terms of cost turn out to be not very interesting in terms of characteristics or quality. In fact, Lenovo is faced with the challenge of creating a new business segment, developing models for markets other than China, and those are the majority in the world. Doubling R&D is a must at this juncture, as improving the quality of current products will automatically drive up the cost of them in China, which will be a loss to other manufacturers.

TCL Mobile takes a wait-and-see attitude, in the foreseeable future the Chinese market will evolve and demand better products, the price will not become the main sales driver. At this point, whoever can provide interesting products will win, and this will only be possible if there is a strong brand that TCL is trying to create outside of China.

Alcatel OneTouch brand and product lines Scribe, Idol

In September 2013, TCL Mobile plans to refresh the Alcatel brand and launch an advertising campaign in most countries where there is growth potential. Most consumers perceive the brand as Alcatel, that is, there is confusion with the original company, as well as Alcatel-Lucent, which remained from it. To emphasize the difference, TCL Mobile will focus on the Alcatel OneTouch brand - this is how this brand will be described in a nutshell. Visually, the presentation of the logo will change slightly, the brand will be updated.

In terms of products, the TCL Mobile business can be roughly divided into four large areas:

Telephone dialers at the lowest price (from $ 7 in wholesale prices at the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2013);
Smartphones - $300 high in wholesale prices;
Accessories - cases, batteries, Wi-Fi routers;
USB modems

The first two directions are the main ones in terms of sales, they remain a priority. With accessories, things are rather difficult, because in the absence of strong and independent retail chains in most countries of the world, these products do not find a buyer, which leads to meager sales. From a technical point of view, some solutions are very interesting, but the low volume of production makes their cost high, as a result, the circle closes. TCL Mobile considered that in order to maintain this direction, it is necessary to actively create delivery kits that initially include one or another accessory. This creates additional attractiveness for the device in the eyes of the consumer, provides greater sales and gains compared to competitors.

For example, for the Scribe Pro phablet, which has a 6-inch screen, the company created a Magic Flip cover, it is attached to the body on a magnet (similar to iPad branded covers), but it has an LED time indicator and a number of other functions. I have not seen how the cover works in real life, so there is no certainty how it all functions.

In some shipments, Scribe Pro will come with such a cover in the kit, and the cost will differ slightly. I am sure that many buyers will be happy with such a set, as it will allow, on the one hand, to save money, on the other hand, to get a cool accessory without additional running around. I hope this example explains TCL Mobile's approach to accessories, which looks promising, especially since other Chinese companies are in no hurry to adopt it. The reason for this is simple - few of the manufacturers focus on the development of the brand, most of them look at current sales.

In smartphones, the company has two product lines - Idol (regular smartphones with the usual screen sizes) and Scribe (phablets with screen sizes from 4.5 to 6 inches and stylus support). It is curious how the company decided to differentiate itself from other manufacturers - for example, a proprietary shell was created for all smartphones, which distinguishes models under the Alcatel brand. The first device with such a shell is Idol X.

The trend of manufacturers trying to customize the standard Android UI in different ways is not new, most companies are doing this with varying degrees of success. TCL simply joined this club, which makes the company's products similar to those from large manufacturers. This is certainly a difference, but whether it will be perceived as positive by users is unknown. Many people find the Android interface quite nice and sufficient.

In addition to developing its own shell for the Scribe line, the company plans to develop the direction of software for working with the stylus, that is, directly copying Samsung's approach to the Note line. All manufacturers that create phablets today lose the competition to Samsung for one reason - they put the screen diagonal at the forefront and do not invest money in the development of software for working with the stylus. Chip Note in many ways and lies in the fact that on this device you can write by hand or draw. TCL plans to do something similar for the Scribe line. And such an approach can only be welcomed.

At the moment, the Scribe line is niche, it is focused on Asian markets, where phablets are more popular. At the same time, it should be noted that it will be actively promoted outside of Asia, for example, in Russia. The company's goal is to bring the percentage of the Scribe line of all smartphones sold to 15 percent, this is an ambitious goal.

Take a look at Scribe Pro as the flagship of this line (the official announcement will take place at IFA on September 6, 2013). By and large, its characteristics are comparable to those of Idol X - MediaTek quad-core processor (6589T), frequency up to 1.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 3400 mAh battery, 13.1-megapixel camera, and 6-inch screen (1920x1080 pixels) . The start of sales in September, the price in Hong Kong is about 300 dollars, which in Russia means about 15-16 thousand rubles. The price promises to be very tasty, and this will be one of the competitive advantages of this device.

TCL Mobile is actively looking for new niches, as Android is the undoubted choice for the production of most smartphone models, but the company also does not want to miss the emergence of new platforms. This is due to the fact that the first smartphone on FireFox OS was released under the Alcatel brand, this model is commercially successful, it is not subsidized.

Perhaps, in the approach to this product, the company's philosophy is manifested - to release a model, focusing on business indicators, that is, not to work at a loss, but also to explore opportunities to expand the business in the future. Perhaps, in TCL Mobile, one of the manic ideas of the present day is to find out how the company can differ from other manufacturers.

How TCL plans to differentiate itself from Chinese manufacturers

The set of actions that is necessary to highlight your brand on the market is always approximately the same, and there is no secret here - every company knows these tools, it's another matter that not everyone uses them skillfully. For example, during the launch of Idol X, female models skillfully posed with the company's phones, increasing the value of the phones themselves in the eyes of consumers. Reception tested, but they are used extremely rarely.

At the product level, the company invests heavily in development as well as design. So, the company's phones already use materials familiar from the flagships of other manufacturers, for example, in Idol X the screen is covered with DragonTail glass, similar to what we see in Sony Xperia Z. Experiments in the field of plastic and color solutions do not stop for a minute.

In terms of components, TCL is taking another unpopular measure among manufacturers – buying expensive components that can make devices stand out in the eyes of consumers. For example, a number of new models are equipped with 13-megapixel EXMOR cameras from Sony, which for most Chinese companies looks unnecessary and wasteful. The shooting quality of these cameras directly depends on the software, which so far in Alcatel phones is much inferior to both Sony and, especially, Samsung. But the direction of development is correct, the company is investing in its future.

Another example is the use of high-quality IPS displays from Japan Displays, which allow you to create smartphones with a minimal frame on the case around the screen. This function is emphasized in all materials as 0 Bezel, which is one of the features of Alcatel devices.

In fact, we see an atypical approach for Chinese companies - the lack of profit maximization through the use of top components, focusing on hard-fixed profits and achieving goals to increase profits, as well as market share. De facto, TCL Mobile is a long-distance player that focuses on the marathon distance and prepares itself for a great future. It may not take place, but all the company's actions are aimed at working on the market for a long time, the planning horizon is not measured in months or even individual years. For a Chinese manufacturer, this is an extremely unusual approach, which is frankly surprising.

Investment in the Alcatel brand is also accompanied by the fact that the company's designers are trying to create devices that will not look like Chinese phones. Design spending tends to be the lion's share of the development of a modern phone, and here TCL also employs a well-paid technique for coming up with product families that are united by a similar appearance.

In some interesting news, it is worth adding that in the third quarter, TCL Mobile plans to move production to a new factory, which will be able to provide a larger volume of product output.

TCL Short Term Goals - 2014 Products

Currently, TCL Mobile is number 7 in the global phone market, overtaking the likes of Sony. In my opinion, as in any ranking table, details are important here, which not only indicate that this manufacturer is higher in sales, but also take into account the specifics. TCL's success is largely due to low-cost phones, and the comparison in terms of profit, turnover will not be in favor of this company. On the other hand, given the cost of production and development, there is only one way for TCL to increase sales, since the production efficiency is one of the highest in the industry, and this is not an exaggeration.

If the product line has already been formed for 2013, then in 2014 the company plans to update it and add IP67-rated smartphones to it, one of the products will be an almost complete copy of the Sony Xperia Z in terms of characteristics, but with an extremely pleasant price. As a result, we get further development of the line in new directions, which makes the manufacturer even more interesting. While maintaining the price / quality ratio, TCL products under the Alcatel OneTouch brand are becoming in demand, and this shows an increase in their sales. If the company refreshes the brand in September, this will give a boost to sales, and we will see the growth of the company. The strategy adopted by TCL will be adapted in one form or another by other Chinese manufacturers. In fact, we see three ways for the development of second-tier manufacturers - price (the struggle for the minimum cost, the brand does not play a big role here), balanced (investment in product quality at reasonable prices), brand-oriented (building a brand that justifies the high added value - OPPO, Meizu and so on). In the performance of TCL Mobile, the strategy looks like a "balanced" one. And this is one of the most interesting development paths that any company can choose, even if it does not give immediate results. Long distance run.

New manufacturer - new phones

Before the shares were sold to the Chinese company, Alcatel-Lucent launched many brands of mobile phones on the market. But they were not in demand among users and did not represent any interest in the market of cellular devices.

Alcatel phones were first talked about after the appearance of the Alcatel One Touch S853 model. It was already released by a Chinese company on the Alcatel 756 platform. Although the model had many drawbacks, including a limited set of functions, the manufacturer managed to draw attention to it.

Today, Alcatel phones have completely changed. They have not only a stylish appearance, but also quite good quality among devices with a similar cost. This is quite understandable. After all, the production facilities in this country are located in fairly developed provinces. The size of the factories is impressive, and the quality of production is high. In addition, cheap labor and high production volumes contribute to low prices for Alcatel phones.

It is at such factories that Alcatel mobile phones are produced. First, the electronic boards are placed on the conveyor. And then the machine connects hundreds of different components to each board. The robot works with amazing speed and accuracy - it can install 80,000 components per hour. Parts for the phone, ready to be attached to the electronic board, are placed on another film.

One incorrectly installed part - and the phone is considered defective, there is simply no room for errors on the current dimensions of electronic circuit boards. But the assembly process is monitored by the assembler through the camera, which, in which case, can correct the location of the components. As the phone moves along the conveyor, the device is “overgrown” with new parts - a case, a camera, a keyboard - and the output is a ready-made mobile phone.

TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Ltd. is one of the largest electronic equipment manufacturing companies in China. Started its activity in 1981. TCL was established by the Chinese government and initially dealt only with government contracts. Mainly manufacturing of electronic elements of wide use, tape cassettes and so on. However, later orders began to arrive from private companies, and not only from China. TCL owes a lot to such offices as Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic.

Thanks to Western partners, TCL opened up new business horizons, and by the end of the 80s they began to assemble their own boards for video devices and other household appliances. By the end of the 1990s, the Chinese electrical engineering manufacturer was seriously thinking about promoting its products on the world market. In Europe and North America, TCL received a very warm welcome. The company's products very quickly entered the Western markets, and TCL declared itself to the world.

TCL has always put innovation first. In China, they have become pioneers in many areas - computer technology, mobile devices, household appliances.

Nowadays

In the CIS countries, they learned about TCL through mobile Alcatel phones. In 2004, a Chinese company bought this French brand and merged it with its subsidiary TCL Communication. The newly formed organization was named TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones Limited. The purchase of Alcatel was a major milestone in the company's history. Sales of mobile devices under this brand grew every year. In 2010, TCL sold 36 million devices and accessories. In 2011, Alcatel tablets appear on the world market.

TCL's revenues grew by leaps and bounds. In an effort to build on its financial success and at the same time acquire another industrial giant as a partner, TCL Corporation establishes a joint venture with Toshiba Consumer. The established company starts manufacturing washing machines and refrigerators.

TCL does not stand still and continues to explore various areas of electronic equipment. Today, the company occupies one of the leading positions in the world in the production of household appliances, video equipment, home and mobile phones, cooling equipment, etc. They have representative offices in many European and Asian countries, but TCL management plans to establish a single production of its products in the US , European and Asian continent.

About Alcatel phones

It is not known how the fate of this French brand would have developed if it had not joined the ranks of TCL. However, one myth should be immediately dispelled - mobile devices are just a side business for Alcatel. The main field of activity is telecommunication equipment. Moreover, this business is very successful. Perhaps this name became known to the average person only thanks to phones, but in fact, Alcatel has long penetrated all sorts of corners of the mobile business: the supply of communication technologies for mobile operators and Internet providers, the provision of a wide range of services to large corporations and government organizations, the installation and maintenance of broadband mobile networks around the world. And this is only a small part of what Alcatel is doing. But the French preferred to deal with mobile phones together with TCL.

Alcatel phones have proven themselves to be solid, award-winning devices at an affordable price. Smartphones run on the Android OS, have high-definition pictures, a nice design with a hint of austerity, a camera with relatively good resolutions and fairly good performance. Users also praise the loud and clear sound.

Of the shortcomings, the fragility of the work is noted. Some owners complain about Android crashes after a few months. The inconvenient SIM card slot also makes up a small percentage of all negative reviews. These minuses are not a drop in the ocean, but so far they do not allow Alcatel smartphones to be classified as “failed”. After all, as mentioned above, sales growth is steadily going up, and consumers are used to voting with a bill. The latest on our website about Alcatel smartphones.

Alcatel SA - formerly a French company, one of the leaders in the global telecommunications equipment market. The headquarters was in Paris.

Founded in 1898 in Alsace as Compagnie Generale d'Electricite (CGE). In April 2006, Alcatel announced an upcoming merger with its major competitor, the American company Lucent Technologies.

Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO before the merger - Serge Churuk.

May 31, 1898
French engineer Pierre Azaria founds CGE (Compagnie Generale d'Electricite) with the goal of taking on competitors such as AEG, Siemens and General Electric.

1925
CGE takes over cable business Compagnie Generale des Cables de Lyon.

1928
Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Mecaniques and Compagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston create Alsthom.

1966
CGE takes over Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Telecommunications et d'Electronique (Alcatel).

1970
Ambroise Roux becomes chairman of CGE. After the expiration of the term granted to him, he becomes the honorary chairman and remains so until his death in 1999.

1982
Jean-Pierre Brunet becomes chairman of CGE.

1984
Georges Pebereau becomes chairman of CGE.

Thomson CSF's PSTN and Enterprise Systems divisions are merged into the holding company Thomson Telecommunications, which becomes the property of the CGE group.

Under an agreement with CGE and Thomson, Cables de Lyon acquires Thomson Jeumont Cables and Kabeltel.

1985
Alsthom Atlantique changes its name to Alsthom.

CIT-Alcatel and Thomson Telecommunications merge. The new company is named Alcatel.

1986
Alcatel NV is created under an agreement with ITT Corporation, which sold its telecommunications businesses in Europe to CGE.

Pierre Suard becomes chairman of CGE.

CGE acquires a 40% stake in Framatome.

Cables de Lyon becomes a subsidiary of Alcatel NV.

1987
CGE is being privatized.

Alsthom receives an order to supply equipment for the construction of the TGV Atlantique network and leads a consortium of French, Belgian and British companies involved in the construction of the northern section of the TGV network.

1988
Alsthom and General Electric (Great Britain) merge.

The Alsthom businesses and the Power Systems Division of General Electric are merged into a single company.

1989
CGE and General Electric sign an agreement and create GEC Alsthom.

CGEE-Alsthom changes its name to Cegelec.

1990
An agreement is signed between CGE and Fiat. Alcatel acquires Telettra and Fiat acquires a majority stake in CEAC.

Cables de Lyon acquires Cableries de Dour (Belgium) and Ericsson's US cable manufacturing operations.

Framatome's capital structure agreement is signed, under which CGE becomes the holder of 44.12% of the shares of this enterprise.

1991
Compagnie Generale d'Electricite changes its name to Alcatel Alsthom.

Acquisition of the communications systems division of the American group Rockwell Technologies is in progress.

Cables de Lyon changes its name to Alcatel Cable and acquires AEG Kabel.

1992
Alcatel Alsthom acquires AEG Kabel (later renamed Kabel Rheydt), a leading cable manufacturer in Germany, thereby strengthening its position in the German market.

1993
Takeover of STC Submarine Systems, a division of Northern Telecom Europe (now Nortel Networks).

1995
Serge Tchuruk becomes Chairman and CEO of Alcatel Alsthom. He is restructuring the company and shifting the main focus to telecommunications.

1998
Alcatel Alsthom changes its name to Alcatel.

There is a takeover of the American company DSC, which has a strong position in the market for access systems in the United States.

The public sale of shares in GEC ALSTHOM commences, becoming Alstom. Alcatel Corporation retains a 24% stake in the newly formed company.

Alcatel sells Cegelec to Alstom.

1999
A deal is underway to acquire American companies Xylan, Packet Engines, Assured Access and Internet Device, specializing in networking solutions and Internet access products.

Alcatel is increasing its stake in Thomson CSF (now Thales) to 25.3% and reducing its stake in Framatome to 8.6%.

2000
A deal is under way to acquire Canada's Newbridge, a world leader in networking solutions based on ATM technology.

Acquisition of US-based Genesys, a global leader in call center solutions, is in progress.

Acquisition of Innovative Fibers, the world leader in DWDM optical filters, is in progress.

Branches engaged in the production of cable products become subsidiaries and receive the name Nexans.

2001
Sale of 24% stake in Alstom.

Transformation of the cable and components department into an independent company (Nexans). Alcatel owns a 20% stake in Nexans.

Acquisition of Thales' 48.83% stake in Alcatel Space and bringing Alcatel's stake in Alcatel Space to 100%. Following this transaction, Alcatel's stake in Thales decreased from 25.29% to 20.03%.

Sale of a 4.2% stake in Thales.

Sale of 2.2% shares of Areva.

Sale of DSL modem production to Thomson Multimedia.

2002
Acquisition of US-based Astral Point Communications Inc., a leader in next-generation optical urban SONET systems.

Sale of microelectronics production to STMicroelectronics.

Sale of all remaining Alcatel shares in Thomson.

Alcatel acquires control of Alcatel Shanghai Bell.

Alcatel completes acquisition of Telera Corporation.

Sale of 10.3 million shares of Thales (Alcatel's share in this company decreased from 15.83% to 9.7%).

Sale of 1.5 million shares of Nexans (Alcatel's share in this company decreased from 20% to 15%).

2003
Sale of a 50% stake in Atlinks, a home phone manufacturer, to Thomson, Alcatel's joint venture partner.

Acquisition of iMagicTV, a Canadian provider of software and services enabling service providers to create, deliver and manage digital television and other media services delivered over broadband networks.

Acquisition of TiMetra Inc., a private manufacturer of routers from the American "Silicon Valley" (routers are devices that interconnect computer networks and provide information transfer between them).

Sale of Alcatel optical components business to Avanex.

Sale of SAFT Batteries battery and accumulator business to Doughty Hanson.

Alcatel and Draka create a new world leader in optical fiber and communications cables.

2004
Sale of SAFT (Alcatel's battery and accumulator subsidiary) to Doughty Hanson.

Alcatel and TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited have formed a joint venture for the production of mobile phones. In this enterprise, 55% of the shares are owned by TCL, and 45% of the shares are owned by Alcatel.

Alcatel and Draka Holding N.V. ("Draka") consolidate their global optical fiber and communications cable business. In the new enterprise - Draka Comteq B.V. - Draka owns 50.1% of the shares. The remaining 49.9% of the shares belong to Alcatel.

Alcatel acquires eDial Inc., a privately held US company, a leading provider of conferencing and groupware systems. eDial solutions are actively used by large corporations and telecom operators.

Alcatel sold 7.1 million shares of Avanex and reduced its stake in the company to less than 20%.

Alcatel has completed the acquisition of Spatial Communications (also known as Spatial Wireless), a privately held US company, a leading provider of multi-standard software solutions for distributed mobile switching.

2005
2005 was a record year for Alcatel in terms of performance, number of contracts, events and agreements of various types.

Gadget manufacturers

The domestic consumer is well aware of Alcatel by cell phones produced under this brand. However, the production of mobile devices is not the only business of the French company, as it is one of the recognized world market leaders in the field of telecommunications.

The entire history of the development of Alcatel is a complex and intricate series of mergers and acquisitions of various companies and enterprises.

This process clearly characterizes what is happening in the European world of IT technologies and the corresponding business sector. Fortunately, this did not prevent the company from actively developing all the time, increasing production volumes and increasing its own income.

The "pedigree" of the brand dates back to the distant 1869, when a small manufacturing company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Three years later, it was renamed the Western Electric Company.

Well, a few years later, a controlling stake in the newly minted company was acquired by American Bell, which made it the exclusive developer and manufacturer of equipment for Bell phones themselves. This is how the "telephone" history of the future brand began.

In 1898, the French engineer Pierre Azaria founded the CGE company, seeking to follow the example of "giants" like. It happened in the north-east of France in the picturesque region of Alsace, well known to history buffs.

Little is known about Pierre Azar, and he is remembered primarily as the founder of the company, which in the future will be called Alcatel. The beginning was rather modest.

The company produced various electrical equipment and was practically unknown to anyone outside of its country. This went on for almost twenty years.

In 1925, simultaneously with the takeover of the plant for the production of cable products, entry into the international market begins. Then comes a long and unpleasant break. The war stops the development of industry and negatively affects the entire French society.

The 1940s are associated with the genius of Claude Shannon. His work on the mathematical theory of communication was initially strictly classified, and the world learned about it only in the late 40s.

It was she who became the basis for numerous studies, the result of which were modern techniques for processing and transmitting information. Thanks to Shannon, engineers got the most information about the throughput within any communication system.

In the 50s, the laboratory of the already familiar Western Electric company also released its new invention - a battery, through which sunlight could now be converted into electricity. What did all this have to do with CGE and telephony? Mankind stood on the threshold of great inventions.

A few years later, the first transatlantic telephone cable was put into operation, which could simultaneously handle over thirty calls, and Western Electric began to work for the government, mass-producing the corresponding equipment.

It was small, but this event becomes a stormy impetus for rapid development. CGE is actively involved in the largest space projects in France.

In 1969, the UNIX operating system was invented, simple software for computers of any size. Its appearance meant that the creation of an open system is also possible. It is UNIX that will become the basis for the Internet in the future.

Both this operating system and the C programming language are created at Bell Laboratories, that is, at the Western Electric Company. The C language was an unprecedented combination of expressiveness and programming efficiency.

In addition, computing becomes more "portable". Today, the largest servers run on UNIX, and the C language is widely used around the world.

In the 1970s, Bell Laboratories maintained cellular systems in Chicago. At the same time, in the mid-1970s, the future Alcatel company began its work in Russia, building a ground satellite communication station in order to organize a “hot” line between the Kremlin and the White House.

It also helps with other projects, such as preparations for the 1980 Olympics, the construction of a gas pipeline from Urengoy to Uzhgorod, and the laying of the Baku-Shevchenko submarine cable.

In 1980, the digital signal processor was developed and introduced at Bell Laboratories.

Two years later, Jean-Pierre Brunet becomes the chairman of CGE. This time is associated with an antitrust lawsuit, as a result of which Western Electric gets a division of AT&T Technologies.

This division had its own separate market focused on the production and sale of consumer goods, as well as technological, information and network systems.

In the 84th chairman of CGE, Georges Pebero becomes chairman, and he immediately sets about changing the structure of the company. Telecommunications divisions become part of Thomson Telecommunications, after which they are taken over by CGE.

The Alcatel name is assigned to the company in 1985, when Alsthom Atlantique is renamed. Thomson Telecommunications merges with CIT-Alcatel, and the whole thing gets the Alcatel name.

However, a long series of mergers and acquisitions does not end there, but only begins to gain momentum.

A year later, Alcatel NV was created, and this happened under an agreement with ITT Corporation, cooperating with CGE. A new chairman of the board is also elected.

In 1987, such an important event as the privatization of CGE takes place. In addition, Alsthom is starting to supply equipment for the needs of TGV Atlantique.

The following year was marked by another historic process of unification - the British General Electric (which was also once equaled by the French founder Alcatel) with Alsthom.

Later, CGE signed an agreement with General Electric, according to which GEC Alsthom was created (later renamed). In the late 80s, new agreements followed, the acquisition of enterprises and a controlling stake in CEAC.

In 1990, Alcatel again manifests itself in Russia. Definitely, it is aimed at long-term cooperation and development of the telecommunications sector.

In 1993, even a center was created, now called the Alcatel-Lucent Training Center - a joint Russian-Belgian enterprise to train customers in new technologies.

And today it is the only center in the Russian Federation that provides certified training on special equipment (in Russian and in English). More than 10,000 specialists have already been trained there.

Let's go back to 1991. After CGE became Alcatel Alsthom, Rockwell Technologies communications division is acquired. Following this, Cebles de Lyon are named Alcatel Cable. There is a purchase of another important enterprise.

The following years are also marked by mergers and acquisitions. In 1995, Serge Churuk becomes chairman; he also receives the position of chief executive officer.

Like his predecessor, Georges Pebero, he is actively engaged in restructuring. At the same time, Churuk focuses his attention on telecommunications.

In 1998, another event occurs: Alcatel Alsthom, now simply Alcatel, takes over DSC, which has established itself in the American market. The following year, three more network solutions companies are acquired.

Alcatel's strategy at the beginning of the 21st century is not too different from everything that happened in the 90s. The year 2000 brought a lucrative acquisition of a Canadian ATM technology company, a recognized leader in networking solutions.

This is followed by the purchase of other successful and large companies, one of which is engaged in call processing, and the other - the creation of optical filters. Needless to say, Alcatel has had a more than productive year. 2001, 2002 and 2003 become no less "fruitful".

By 2004, the company's sales exceeded 17 billion euros. Alcatel's main competition at the moment is made up of such "monsters" as Siemens.

Yes, it was Siemens, which once inspired a French engineer named Pierre Azaria to create his own small company. In the future, it is this company that will become known as the Alcatel company.

In the same year, an important event takes place: TCL and Alcatel create a joint venture for the development and production of mobile devices. TCL has slightly more shares than Alcatel, but in general they receive equal rights.

This is followed by the acquisition of another large company, whose solutions are actively used by mobile operators. And by the way, at the same time, Lucent reported a rapid increase in revenue (after the success of 2000).

In 2005, Concert finally completes the purchase of a major US company that supplied mobile software solutions.

The next year becomes even more important: Alcatel announces that it intends to merge with Lucent Technologies from the USA, that is, with its competitor.

This momentous event takes place in November 2006. The new company is called Alcatel-Lucent. In the 21st century, it is assigned the position of the largest French manufacturer of telecommunications equipment.

All subsequent years work to strengthen the brand's position in the international market. Alcatel currently designs, develops and markets mobile devices and telecommunications equipment.

It constantly increases its income through sales of mobile equipment. Today Alcatel is the third largest manufacturer of GSM-standard devices in Europe (over 20% of the total). Of course, its performance is very far from the leading "giants" in the mobile technology market.

Nevertheless, Alcatel products are widely known to Europeans. It is of sufficient quality. And this despite the fact that a company with 100% European capital is now a rarity.

Obviously, by the end of 2014, the concern is no longer reminiscent of the “team” of various IT companies that was created during the 80s and 90s of the last century.

It is also noteworthy that the presence of Alcatel is observed in all telecommunications areas, and not every IT company can boast of this. It is Alcatel that is the leader in the field of network technologies and the leading provider of services in the field of mobile communications.

However, the "turbulent past" could not pass without a trace. Thus, the company also includes a variety of divisions that are responsible for laying cables at great depths, the production of control systems for the railway industry, etc.

There is even a branch of Alcatel Space - a manufacturer of satellites of the planet Earth. By the way, the "mobile" part of the business can only compete with the "space" component.

It is easy to find Alcatel brand phones (Alcatel OneTouch) on domestic shelves and in online stores. Initially, it also belonged to the French, but everything changed in 2004 after the creation of a joint venture (together with TLC from China).

The headquarters of the telephone brand is also located in Hong Kong, and all production is concentrated in China. In addition to phones and smartphones, tablet computers and accessories are produced under this brand.

The range of devices looks quite interesting.

Take, for example, the OneTouch Hero tablet phone. It's a great alternative to Samsung's Galaxy Note series, and it's a great solution with a big screen and a stylus included. It is proposed to purchase another unusual accessory for it: a headset in the form of ... a telephone.