This Alavesa company dominates mobile phones, and the 2G blackout transformed it into something much more interesting
The MWC was a brutal hive of technological and telecos from all over the world … with America and Asia in a prominent place, something that results paradoxical and expected at the same time in an event organized in Barcelona: Error 404, Europe Not Found. But in one of the Halls Yes there was European presence, because there There was the huge Spanish pavilion, that of Red.es, and in turn there was, in one of its fifty spaces, SPC (Smart Products Connection), an Alava technology that has turned the technological needs of the elderly into their small gold mine. And we were able to talk to his CEO, Teresa Acha-Forea, an old acquaintance of Xataka: A decade ago We interviewed her in her stage with Wikowhich was a mark of that same matrix. Of telephone liberalization to leadership in a specialized niche SPC’s story begins with The beginning of the process of liberalization of telecommunications At the end of the eighties, when Telefónica lost the monopoly of the sale of telephones. It was then that this company Alavesa jumped to start marketing landlines. It looks like a gray and little activity sexy (And it is), but it was his germ. For years it was your main business (They still have a presence in him), But with the slow agony of the fixed this leg is more in the consulting of conference terminals for companies than in the sale of the telephone itself. Red.es pavilion in the MWC 2025. In one of its fifty spaces was SPC. Image: Xataka. A little after that was when the adventure that has taken them here began. “Twenty years ago we began to make adapted phones for blind and people with special needs“, explains Teresa during our interview at the Mobile World Congress 2025.” We also had a Portfolio of telephone numbers for seniors, with large, first fixed and then mobile keys. “ What began as a specialized line has led the company to a dominant position in Spain: “We have become the first Spanish telephone brand for seniors, we have 50% of that market,” says the directive. The silent revolution: from 2g to 4g While the technological world revolts around The latest ©SPC has demonstrated the ability to evolve without losing its essence. Its catalog has been growing with the decades, but always maintaining the focus on a type of accessible and easy -to -use devices. That approach also has its own technological risks. In this case, a question of networks: “These devices are 2g, but you have to change to 4g by The blackouts that are going to be done. All these devices will stop working, so we decided to launch the catalog in 4G. ”What was cost savings because it made no sense to aim at ultra -granted speeds also finds its expiration date. This technological change has meant a great change for the company: “We went from transmitting voice to transmit data. That makes a ‘silly’ device have some intelligence. With the 4G we saw that we could exchange data, that is, send orders.” And that forced paradigm change led them to A much deeper change: the hardware for the service. Taking advantage of the 4G jump, SPC has developed a platform called SPC Carelaunched at the end of last year. “It is an app that is usually downloaded a responsible, a child,” explains the CEO. “It allows to manage the entire device menu, contacts, volume, brightness … It also has functions for the child, such as locating the father’s mobile by GPS or seeing his SMS.” The latter, he points, not so much to invade his privacy and to prevent The frauds that have found in the SMS a great ally. In it MWC 2025 The company presented new functions for this platform: “We have incorporated new actions, for example, a medication reminder. We have an agenda in which to schedule days and hours for a specific message to arrive, which we can write, and thus will come in a personalized way.” The most interesting thing is how this reminder is delivered: “That message will not come as SMS, because they do not usually read them, but as a voice call.” A detail that demonstrates the company’s knowledge about the real needs of its target audience. This evolution represents a paradigm change for SPC, as its directive acknowledges: “This is being a small great revolution for the company. We have gone from being a hardware company very specialized in the development of the PCBA with engineering in China, to manage applications and data.” Between design and manufacturing Although SPC is presented as a Spanish manufacturer, its productive model reflects the reality of the contemporary technology industry: Design in any country, manufacture in China. Nothing on the other Thursday, nothing we don’t know. However, the degree of involvement of the company in the development of its products varies quite according to the category. It is not a black or white. “It depends on each category, we intervene more in the conceptualization or less,” explains Acha-Forea. “The person in charge is the one who has contact with the manufacturer of the Chipset. The manufacturer of Chipset Sells specific engineering that are the ones that develop the PCBA “. In the most strategic products, the personalization level is very high: “In the tablets, we do everything with engineering in China. From speaking with engineering, and telling him that this is the PCBA, this is the type of plate, we want this type of battery here, this here, this here …”. The CEO is clear on which products they have more intervention: “Tablets and smartphones for seniors are own molds, they are ours. When it is its own mold, it is its own PCBA and its own engineering.” Current Catalog of SPC smartphones. Image: SPC. At the opposite end are the smallest or generic products: “Some headphones … Well, you choose the headset and say, well, because I want you to change this, … Read more
