Siemens Communications

Siemens Communications was the communications and information part of the big German company Siemens AG, until 2006. It was the biggest part of Siemens and had two main areas: Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks, and Enterprise.

The Siemens Communications part started in 1998 by joining many older parts of Siemens AG together. The oldest part goes back to a company called Siemens & Halske Telegraph Construction Company that started in 1847. In 2006, Siemens split Siemens Communications into two new companies: Siemens Networks GmbH & Co. KG and Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co. KG.

Even today, the company still exists through many changes, now known as Siemens Enterprise Communications. This came about in 2008 as a joint effort with the Gores Group, where Siemens AG owns 49% and the American partner owns 51%.

History

See also: Siemens AG § History

Siemens Communications began with the Siemens & Halske Telegraph Construction Company, started by Werner von Siemens in 1847. This company made early telegraph machines that used a needle to show letters, instead of Morse code.

Soon after, in 1848, they built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe, stretching 500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. Over time, Siemens grew through many changes and mergers. By 1966, several parts of Siemens joined together to form one big company called Siemens AG.

In 1978, Siemens created a group called 'Siemens Communication Systems'. By 1998, this grew into 'Siemens Communications' (or 'Siemens COM'). At this time, it became one of the biggest parts of Siemens, with about 60,000 workers and sales of around US$14 billion. It focused on making and selling communication tools for big businesses and networks around the world.

In 2006, Siemens split Siemens Communications into two parts. One part joined with Nokia to make Nokia Siemens Networks, and the other became Siemens Enterprise Communications, working with another company called the Gores Group.