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Samsung Mobile Division is one of five divisions within
Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
, belonging to the
Samsung Group The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile Solution Centre and Telecommunication R&D Centre. Telecommunication Business produces a full spectrum of products from
mobiles Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
and other mobile devices such as
MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
players and
laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
computers to telecommunication network infrastructure. Headquarters is located in
Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. In 2007 Samsung Mobile Division Business reported over 40% growth and became the second largest mobile device manufacturer in the world. Its market share was 14% in Q4 2007, growing up from 11.3% in Q4 2006. At the end of November 2011, Samsung sold more than 300 million mobile devices which was a close second after Nokia with 300.6 million mobile devices sold in the first three quarter of 2011. As of Q3 2012, Samsung is the largest manufacturer of devices running
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
's Android with a 46% market share. On 19 August 2016, Samsung officially released its
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a discontinued Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on 2 August 2016, it was officially released on 19 August 2016 as a successor to the Galaxy Note 5. I ...
. As of 2 September 2016, Samsung announced a voluntary
recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...
and attached to the new exchange program, after numerous reports showed that the new
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a discontinued Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on 2 August 2016, it was officially released on 19 August 2016 as a successor to the Galaxy Note 5. I ...
burst and exploded. On 10 October 2016, in response to the new incidents, Samsung announced that it would once again suspend sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and recall all devices worldwide. The next day, Samsung also announced that it would permanently discontinue the Galaxy Note 7 and cease its production. As of October 7, comments have emerged from former CSPC experts following its launch of the investigation into the above incident. A lawsuit, filed in the US district court in California, stated that the tech malfunctions extend beyond the Galaxy Note 7 and that Samsung “chose to conceal the problem from the public despite knowing the foreseeable and predictable risk that the phone may overheat, flame and destruct from the inside presenting a risk of serious harm or injury”. The recall had a major impact on Samsung's business in the third quarter of 2016, with the company projecting that its operating profits would be down by 33% in comparison to the previous quarter.
Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...
analysts estimated that Samsung would lose at least US$17 billion in revenue from the production and recall of the Galaxy Note 7.


History of Telecommunication Business


Initial stage (1977–1993)

In 1977
Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
launched the Telecommunication Network, and in 1983 it initiated its
mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
telecommunications business with the hope that this would become the company's future growth engine. In 1986, Samsung was able to release its first built-in car phone, the SC-100, but it was a failure due to the poor quality. In spite of unsuccessful result Ki Tae Lee, the then-head of the Wireless Development Team, decided to stay in the mobile business. He asked the company to buy ten
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
mobile phones for
benchmarking Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. Benchmarking is used to measure performan ...
. After 2 years of R&D Samsung developed its first mobile phone (or "hand phone" in Korea), the SH-100 in 1988. It was the first mobile phone to be designed and manufactured in Korea. But the perception of mobile devices was very low and although Samsung introduced new models every year, each model sold only one or two thousand units.


Time of changes (1993–1996)

In 1993 it was decided that the development team should focus on improving connectivity due to specific mountain topography of
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. They found the optimal length of a mobile phone antenna and developed a method of using gold to connect the point between the antenna and the communication circuits, thus significantly reducing resistance and enabling steadier wave conductivity. They also developed the wave-searching software that was specially designed for Korea's topography. Another event triggered Samsung's mobile phone business. On June 4, 1993,
Al Almonte AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...
, the then-chairman of the Samsung Group during the meeting with top executives of
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
got the report about ‘Management and Design’ This report came as a shock to chairman Lee, and forced him to reexamine his efforts to improve the company's system of quality management, which he had worked hard at strengthening since he had become the chairman in 1987. On June 7, 1993, in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, Lee gathered 200
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
executives and pointed out every problem that
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
had and emphasized that
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
needed a turnaround and declared a new management initiative "Samsung New Management". The "New Management" reached to the mobile phone business as well, and chairman Lee gave the division an ultimatum: "Produce mobile phones comparable to Motorola's by 1994, or
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
will disengage itself from the mobile phone business." In November 1993, the development team finally unveiled a new model, the SH-700. This model was quite remarkable. It weighed less than any other company's models, the design was compact, and its quality was substantially improved over previous models. Each product manufactured was tested piece-by-piece to assure perfect quality. Phones with any kind of defect were burned openly for all employees to see. (The products that had been burned were worth 15 billion won, or $188 million). The burning ceremony ingrained the motto "Quality is Pride," the essence of New Management, in every employee's mind. In October 1994, the SH-770 was introduced under the brand name "Anycall". It was a result of the marketing team's effort at brand-building. The model was an upgraded version of the SH-700, with a few changes in design and improvements in product quality.
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
expected that branding would change customers' perception of Samsung's mobile phone and build up their trust. Aggressive marketing campaigns started as well. At the initial stage, the most important objective of the company's marketing strategy was to break customers' preconception that Samsung's phone would be inferior to Motorola's. To market this idea of quality,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
developed the slogan, "Strong in Korea's unique topography." As a result of all the extensive marketing efforts, the Korean market share of
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
mobile phones soared from 25.8 percent in October 1994, to 51.5 percent in August 1995. In the same period, Motorola's market share dropped from 52.5 percent to 42.1 percent.


CDMA era (1996–1998)

Samsung developed its first
CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
mobile phone in March 1996, to coincide with the launch of CDMA service. The first digital handset, the SCH-100, was extra light and slim, and enabled clear voice communication. Before long, Samsung became the leader in the
Personal Communications Service A personal communications service (PCS) is set of communications capabilities that provide a combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management. This class of services comprises several types of wireless voice o ...
( PCS) market. It partnered with KTFreetel and Hansol PCS to provide PCS phones. Its first PCS phone, the SCH-1100, entered the market with innovative features, including a lightweight body, enhanced battery life, and the ability to capture delicate sounds. The design was targeted at the young generation because the young generation had emerged as a large and growing customer base. It also shifted its marketing communications strategy. For the CDMA cellular market, it emphasized the phone's new functions, for example, its voice recognition feature. For the PCS market, the company coined a new slogan, "Strong in small sounds," to emphasize the mobile phone's capability to capture delicate sounds. By the end of 1997, one year after the CDMA service was first launched; Samsung had achieved a 57% market share in the CDMA cellular market and 58% in the PCS market. Also, in April 1997, it achieved sales of one million CDMA phone units.


Global market and GSM era (1998 on)

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
made its first foray into the global market in 1996, when it exported its PCS phones to Sprint, an American
CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
carrier. Sprint signed $600 million contract with
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
, under which
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
would provide its PCS phones to Sprint for three years under the co-branded name ''Sprint-Samsung''. After this
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
expanded into Hong Kong (Huchinson, CDMA) in 1997, and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(
TELESP Telesp - Telecomunicações de São Paulo S.A. was the telephony operator of the Telebrás system in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, successor to the ''Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB)'', later incorporating the ''Companhia de Telecomun ...
and TELERJ, CDMA) in 1998. After successfully exporting to
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Samsung built a mobile phone production facility in Brazil in 1998, in the hopes of expanding into Latin America. In 1999,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
accounted for more than 50% of share in the worldwide CDMA market. However, the worldwide CDMA market was far smaller than the
GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
market, which accounted for 70% of the total worldwide mobile communications market. Moreover, the domestic market was approaching saturation, and competition was becoming more intense. Thus, to achieve further growth,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
had to penetrate the
GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
market. First GSM model carrying the Samsung logo was SGH-100 made by European company Dancall (Denmark). The first own GSM model was the SGH-200, which was made for European customers. But it was not as good as the company's
CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
phone. It was difficult to hurdle the high entry barrier, which the then "Big 3"
Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
,
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
, and
Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...
had built for years. The company's next few models didn't attract Europeans, either. The development team realized that a simple change in the circuit system wouldn't work in the European market. Thus, it decided to look more closely at the customer's point of view. They found that Europeans preferred geometric, balanced, and simple designs. Using this information, Samsung adopted 'simple' as the design concept, then developed a new design to suit the tastes of Europeans. The SGH-600 was born in September 1998. To market this model,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
changed its
market entry strategy Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
by adopting a high-end strategy. Samsung needed to escape from its low-end image. It figured that its new mobile phone, with its sophisticated design and distinguished functionality, would help it do just that.
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
was granted the "Best Manufacturer" award twice by the Mobile News Awards, an award that was previously given to Nokia and Ericsson. Samsung introduced its first mobile phone to India in 2004. In 2008, Samsung Electronics' Telecommunication Business declared its new business strategy focusing on consumer and marketing.
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
mobile phones are divided into 6 major categories – Style, Infotainment, Multimedia, Connected, Essential and Business. The SGH-P250 and SGH-J165 were the last phone models sold worldwide, outside North America, that used the original model numbering system. The GT-S7330 was the first mobile phone model to use the new model numbering system.


Financial information

In Q1 2008 Samsung shipped 46.3 million mobile handsets 1Q 2008. Sales of Samsung Telecommunications were 6.65 trillion KRW for the same quarter and it represents 32% sales of Samsung Electronics. The growth is mostly explained by the continuous growth of emerging markets while there is weak demand in developed markets. During 2007 amount of shipped units was growing constantly: 1Q 2007 – 34.8, 2Q 2007 – 37.4, 3Q 2007- 42.6, 4Q 2007 – 46.3. In 2007 profit was 23,8 trillion KRW, while net profit reached a level of 2.7 trillion KRW.


Highlight products


Mobile phones

Samsung ''Blue Earth'' (
Samsung S7550 Samsung Blue ''Earth'', also known as Samsung S7550, or Samsung GT-S7550 (European model) is a touchscreen phone made from recycled plastic culled from plastic water bottles. It was announced on 13 February 2009. The unit has a solar panel on the ...
)
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
includes a
solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
on the back of the phone.


See also

*
Samsung Group The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
*
Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...


References


External links


Samsung Telecommunication
{{Samsung phones Samsung Electronics Consumer electronics brands Telecommunications companies of South Korea Mobile phone manufacturers Companies based in Suwon Telecommunications companies established in 1977 Portable audio player manufacturers Electronics companies of South Korea