Cites cordless phones.
In the very interesting article by Ángel López Esteve are mentioned wireless. I think your story is funny and I'll try to tell you what I know about them.
the late 70s and early `80 began to be used wireless handsets in the U.S.. At first using the frequency of 27 MHz, ie the so-called CB. There were 10 channels, which were often occur interference between appliances. There were also lots of background noise and the sound quality was not good. Nevertheless, these devices giving users the advantage of mobility and then sold in large quantities. Given the situation the FCC (Federal Communications Committee) by 1986, adding the frequencies of 47-49 MHz
In Spain were not legal, but all English who traveled to the United States was brought in a suitcase. Also sold in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. With the 47-49 MHz frequency occurred in some English cities (Madrid, for example) the status of the first channel of TVE aired in this range, so what was said in one of those phones could be heard in televisions around the block. Telefonica decided not to legalize, publishing a specification appropriate to the situation of the frequency spectrum in Spain.
Finally in November 1987 on the occasion of the exhibition SIMO, decided and asked CITES to offer them one, but without giving a specification .. Our Director General, Francisco Gil Burgos asked me, as Director of Marketing in charge of me find the right product or technology.
soon discovered that, at that time, in any company manufacturing wireless Alcatel group, so we did not have the necessary technology, so I had to look outside the group. Burgos Gil wanted me to go immediately to Japan to seek potential suppliers. I convinced him that the first thing was to find alternatives, not only in Japan but also in Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong. So I contacted the president of Alcatel STI in Tokyo, Keijiro Sato, whom he knew from the time Gondolas of our exports to Japan. Naturally the first thing I asked was necessary wireless specification. Telefónica Engineering visited without success. All they said is they wanted a wireless in a certain frequency (47-49 MHz) and quantity of 30,000 annually. Meanwhile
time passed and when he finally was able to visit companies realize that was the end of January 1988. Burgos Gil decided that we were the Director of Development Engineering (Carlos Fernández Parra) and me. The countries visited were: Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, and the number of companies about 23. Since I already had experience in the Far East carefully prepare the visits. The first was a presentation with slides, where we said who we were starting to present a map of Europe which indicated the situation in Spain and Malaga. In some company when we said that our order of 30,000 phones would laughed in our faces, as they were making more than three million a year for Sony. Others proved that in Manchester called "chambaíllo" very low quality levels. Moreover, the absence of a specification gave the impression of lack of seriousness on our part. Finally only three companies, one of Taiwan (SAMP), one of Korea and a Japan met the acceptable quality standards and lent themselves to provide us with the product and technology. But in terms of delivery (Telefonica wanted to deliver in four months) SAMPO just could accomplish something similar to the client's wishes. SAMPO started negotiations with two or three months later. Were harsh, starting because the Director General of SAMPO with which we negotiated, I hardly spoke English and always thought that we were cheating, the Director of Marketing he shifted and we found one that did not know the background, etc. .. We started meetings to 8h30m, and we had about nine o'clock at night, eating in the meeting room fried chicken from a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken, and drinking lots of tea. The negotiating team consisted of Fernando Garcia Manso, José Luis Casado and me. In recent meetings, we joined the Legal Department attorney SESA .. During the meetings
happened to us many anecdotes. I think one worth telling because it illustrates about the environment in the negotiations. Many of you will remember to Costard Cheng. For the benefit of those who knew him say that Taiwan is a Chinese, English nationality, which is dedicated to the import-export business and therefore had little to do with CITES. When we went to Taipei was our "guardian angel." His family was of those who had moved to Taiwan when Chiang Kai Sek was defeated by Mao Tse Tung, his father and uncles Army general and commander-in-law.
As I mentioned above, the Director General of SAMPO was in an unfriendly, but nevertheless, when he arrived on a Saturday, which also had meeting at the end of the day we asked if we had plans for Sunday. We answer would rest and be with our friends in Taipei. Costard and dined with us on Sunday suggested that we were to visit a palace near Chiang Kai Sek where he lived the last years and which has since been used only for meetings party, the Kuomintang, being rigorously closed to the public. On Sunday morning we picked Costard in the hotel and took us first to a barracks, where we escorted by two motorcyclists to go to the palace.
When Monday arrived at the meeting, the Director General of SAMPO asked us if we were bored a lot on Sunday. The answer that we had visited the palace (do not remember the name), said: "Ah! Have you seen it from the opposite hill? ". "No, we've been inside because we have friends in the army." Froze. And since then changed its attitude towards us.
In order to go to market as soon as possible, we agreed to use at first produced a model that SAMPO, while designing a new exclusive model for CITES. But that is another story.
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