Telecom ’98 had two measures of success. One was the presence of Israeli companies like Teledata and ECI Telecom, that generally don’t participate in exhibitions in Israel, preferring to appear everywhere else in the world instead. The other was the presence of the foreigners, both telecommunications companies and visitors from overseas. Israeli companies known only as exporters have up to now shown no interest in Israeli exhibitions, but now they have realized that the Israeli market, which is about to be opened up to competition, is becoming attractive. It was therefore important for them to be here.
Similar logic guided the overseas companies, and almost all of them (Lucent, Newbridge, Dialogic, Sun, Microsoft, Ericsson, Nokia, Infonet, Panasonic, Acer, Nortel, Comdial, Siemens, and many more) took care to bring their senior people to Israel during the exhibition. In addition, senior executives from operating companies from all over the world, and sizable delegations from fourteen countries, all representing telecommunications companies, came to Israel. The most prominent delegations were from Japan (50 representatives of the Japanese trade organization and 35 company representatives), Australia (40), Holland (30), and South Korea (15).
Apart from these delegations, some sixty representatives of European companies visiting the exhibition had their trips financed by the European Commission, which itself had a stand in the start-ups hall, promoting the European Union’s Fifth Framework research and development program. The company representatives held meetings with start-up companies, and attended their presentations, and also a seminar on start-ups organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade Chief Scientist’s Office.
Microsoft - new trend
An interesting declaration came from Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa vice-president John Leftwich, to the effect that Microsoft would commence telecommunications activities in Israel. This declaration is significant in two respects. Firstly, in global terms, it means Microsoft will support new telecommunications technologies such as ADSL cable modems in its operating systems. It will develop dedicated software for Internet providers and manufacturers of switchboards and various voice systems, and will even provide e-commerce solutions. This trend at Microsoft had not yet been reported around the world, hence its importance. The second, more local significance of Leftwich’s statement is that the development of these software products will partly take place at Microsoft’s Haifa development center, where they have begun specializing in vocal operation.
Nortel - looking for more Israeli investments
Nortel sent to Israel the presidents of two divisions with responsibility for the Israeli market. One was Matthew Desch, Executive Vice President, and President Wireless Networks, who looks after Nortel’s close relationship with Cellcom, which he describes as one of Nortel’s biggest customers worldwide. Nortel’s wireless and cellular business, which Desch is in charge of, is worth more than $4 billion of Nortel's’ $20 billion turnover, following the acquisition of Bay Networks. Desch is also largely responsible for ties with Telrad, as the latter produces cellular switches sold all over the world, and he therefore spent part of his time at Lod, where he met the company’s new general manager, Reuven Avi-Tal.
Nortel currently has two investments in Israel: a 20% stake in Telrad, and 10% in Arel-Net. In conversation with "Globes", Desch revealed that the company was looking for further investments: "The Israeli market is very dynamic from the point of view of technology, with very interesting start-ups, and Nortel is examining several of them at a business level." He was not, of course, prepared to give examples. The second senior Nortel executive to do the rounds of the exhibition and examine various technologies was regional president Daniel Hunt, which is also responsible for South America, the Caribbean islands, and Mexico. He was previously vice-president in the Wireless Networks division.
Nokia - two pronged attack
Nokia sent two senior people here. Their front man was Matas Veluntis, sales general manager in the Europe and Africa division, which takes in Israel. He kept close to Shaul Elowitz’s elbow. Elowitz is the importer of the company’s cellular telephones. Nokia’s second representative, who operated more covertly, and did not spend time at the exhibition cocktail parties, was Nokia Venture vice-president John Malloy, who came to Israel to examine technologies and start-up companies - in short, to look into investments. This is the first hint from Nokia that its interest in Israel extends beyond selling cellular telephones.
Samsung - selling CDMA
Another visitor who came here to sell cellular telephones, from the Far East, was William Lee, marketing manager in Samsung Electronics telecommunications division responsible for the Israeli market. He toured the exhibition with his Israel representative, Sunny Electronics general manager Ilan Ben Dov. Pele-Phone is even now starting to market to customers 60,000 CDMA telephones it purchased from Samsung.
Iridium - signing up Israel
A large project now in the process of being launched is Iridium’s global cellular satellite system. Iridium Germany’s regional manger, Wim Utermans, who oversees 22 European countries plus Israel, visited the exhibition. Utermans is directing the negotiations with Israel’s cellular companies over signing roaming and cooperation agreements with Iridium. So far, the only agreement to have been signed is with Partner, which exhibited Iridium's satellite telephone in the display of cellular telephones on its stand.
Siemens - hunting technology
Another German representative at the exhibition was Siemens, which has a data communications subsidiary in Israel, and a 50% stake in C-Bridge, formerly RadNet. Four Siemens executives were at the exhibition, some of them on the stand of Y. Zigler, which represents Siemens in the telecommunications field in Israel. In this group too, some operated in the open, while one worked behind the scenes. This was Klaus Varig, who is responsibility for the company’s entire development activity, and who came to Israel as the personal guest of Siemens Israel manager Herman Kala. Naturally, he was looking for interesting technologies.
Infonet and Newbridge - top level representation
Bruce W. Smith, vice-president of Infonet, one of the world’s largest data communications companies, was another senior executive who could be encountered at the exhibition. Smith is responsible for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Canadian company Newbridge, Siemens’s partner in C-Bridge and Tadiran’s partner in TNN, was supposed to have been represented by its legendary founder Terrence Matthews, but influenza kept him in Canada. Company chairman Peter Charbonneau took his place, and lectured in his stead at the IPA convention. He was accompanied by vice-president for sales in the US and Israel Valery Kit and a delegation of eight senior managers.
AT&T - meeting with Livnat
AT&T sent its manager responsible for all Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Michel Feingold, and the person under him in charge of Italy, Israel, Greece, and Turkey, John Panetti. In addition to touring the exhibition and attending the conference, the two of them met Minister of Communications Limor Livnat and the general managers of Israel’s three international telephone companies.
MCI-WorldCom - Internet father meets Israel’s prime minister
Without doubt, the visitor to the exhibition who aroused the most curiosity was Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, senior vice-president at MCI-WorldCom for Internet technology and architecture, and better known as "father of the Internet." Cerf was the only guest at the exhibition to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Cerf is responsible for coordination and development of Internet policy in the public sphere and in corporations, setting technical guidelines for private and public Internet Protocol (IP) networks, and laying the technical foundations for integrating IP in the next generation of switched networks. In addition to his work at MCI-WorldCom, Cerf is chairman of Internet company ISOC, a partner in the design of the TCPIP protocol, the computer language which gave birth to the Internet, in widespread use today.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on November 18, 1998