For 80 years, Rohde & Schwarz has stood for quality, precision and innovation in all fields of wireless communications. The company is strategically based on four pillars: test and measurement, broadcasting, secure communications, radiomonitoring and radiolocation. Thanks to this strategy the company can address diverse market segments, including wireless communications, the broadcasting and electronics industry, aerospace and defense, homeland security and critical infrastructures. The electronics group, headquartered in Munich (Germany), is among the world market leaders in all of its business fields. Rohde & Schwarz is the world's leading manufacturer of wireless communications and EMC test and measurement equipment, as well as of broadcasting and T&M equipment for digital terrestrial television. The Executive Board is made up of Manfred Fleischmann (Chairman), Christian Leicher and Gerhard Geier.

As an independent, family-owned company, Rohde & Schwarz generates its growth from its own resources. Since the company does not have to think in quarters, it can plan for the long term. As of June 30, 2013, the company had 9300 employees, with 5650 in Germany. In the 2012/2013 fiscal year (July to June), the company generated a net revenue of EUR 1.9 billion.

A company with a global presence

To be always close to the customer, Rohde & Schwarz has an extensive service and sales network in over 70 countries. Exports account for slightly more than 90 percent of revenues. In addition to the Munich headquarters, there are regional headquarters in the US (Columbia, Maryland) and in Asia (Singapore). Rohde & Schwarz is a high-tech company that thrives on innovations, and around 16 percent of the annual net revenue is invested in research and development.

To maintain its high quality standards, Rohde & Schwarz keeps almost the entire value-added chain within the company. Central R&D is located at company headquarters. Since its founding, the company's philosophy has been to have development and production close to each other. For this reason, most products are manufactured at the Rohde & Schwarz plants in Memmingen, Teisnach and Vimperk (Czech Republic, near the German border).

Outside Germany, Rohde & Schwarz has development centers in the US, Singapore, Korea, China, Denmark, France and Great Britain. These centers implement applications that are tailored to the requirements of local customers. In Asia and the US in particular, the company is concentrating on improving its offerings for the regional growth markets. The focus is therefore on rapidly expanding these two development locations. Production facilities in Singapore and Malaysia ensure that production is close to the company's R&D activities at the Asian headquarters. Rohde & Schwarz has also been manufacturing broadcast transmitters in Brazil for the local market since late 2012.

Employees as a driving force

Thanks to its highly qualified employees, Rohde & Schwarz ranks among the technology leaders in all of its business fields. The corporate culture is characterized by flat hierarchies and a family-type atmosphere. Rohde & Schwarz sets great store by identifying and promoting young talent in-house as early as possible, and usually selects people from inside the company for management and leadership positions.

More than 600 in-house training courses are offered per year, reflecting the importance that Rohde & Schwarz attaches to continuing education. The company is also committed to vocational training. In Germany, Rohde & Schwarz has prepared more than 4500 young people for professional life since 1934. The company offers a wide selection of vocational training programs, ranging from electronics specialists for instruments and systems to IT specialists and industrial administrators.

Rohde & Schwarz focuses on people. This is reflected in the company's low personnel turnover rate. The company was ranked the most popular employer in Germany in a 2013 Trendence survey institute study of communications engineering students.

Rohde & Schwarz took 11th place in the electronics and electrical engineering category of a 2013 ranking of "Germany's Best 370 Employers" by Focus news magazine.

The Business Fields

T&M equipment for wireless communications, general-purpose electronics and microwave

Rohde & Schwarz offers test and measurement solutions for wireless communications. The first LTE FDD and TD-LTE networks have started operation in Europe, the US and Asia. The company's test and measurement equipment makes a decisive contribution to the success of 4G technologies. Rohde & Schwarz is also already venturing into LTE-Advanced and offers a first line of measuring instruments.

The company covers almost all mobile radio and wireless technologies from UMTS/HSP(+) and CDMA2000 to Bluetooth, GPS/Galileo and wireless Internet access via WLAN.

Regardless of the technology, Rohde & Schwarz offers a complete product portfolio for the development and production of chipsets, mobile terminal equipment and base stations. One out of every two mobile phones/smartphones in the world is developed and produced using the company's T&M equipment.

Network operators rely on Rohde & Schwarz products in the planning, setup, monitoring and optimization of their networks. SwissQual AG has been a part of the Rohde & Schwarz group since the summer of 2012. The company is one of the leading providers of systems for testing and assessing the quality of service (QoS) in wireless communications networks. Together with its ipoque and SwissQual subsidiaries, Rohde & Schwarz is the only company that offers single-source T&M solutions for the entire lifecycle of a wireless communications network.

The company also supports manufacturers of electronic devices wherever signals need to be generated and spectra or networks analyzed – from the audio range up to high microwave frequencies such as those used for directional radio. For the aerospace and defense industry, Rohde & Schwarz develops test and measurement solutions for radar and satellite communications systems. In addition, the company provides complete systems for EMC and field strength testing, for example to detect electromagnetic disturbance in automotive electronics.

Oscilloscopes are still a very new segment for Rohde & Schwarz. The company has continually expanded its portfolio in this area in recent years. Hameg Instruments GmbH, a Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary, also offers oscilloscopes. Hameg's T&M portfolio rounds out the Rohde & Schwarz product range in the lower price range. Hameg and Rohde & Schwarz have bundled their basic measurement instruments under the Value Instruments label.

Broadcasting and studio technology

Almost all analog transmitter networks have now been replaced by digital terrestrial broadcasting. Rohde & Schwarz has shaped and contributed to this development from the very beginning. The company has been active in the field of TV and sound broadcasting for almost 70 years. Today, Rohde & Schwarz transmitters and T&M equipment are in use for analog and digital television in more than 80 countries.

As the market leader for digital terrestrial television, Rohde & Schwarz supports the world's most widely distributed digital broadcasting standards. In North America for example, the company offers equipment for ATSC Mobile DTV, in Asia and Latin America for ISDB-T, and in Europe for DVB-T2.

The company also sells T&M equipment for the installation, maintenance and monitoring of broadcasting networks. Satellite and cable TV providers also find suitable T&M solutions at Rohde & Schwarz. The company supplies manufacturers of consumer electronics with the T&M equipment they need for the development and production of satellite receivers and TV sets, including for the new HD and 3D formats. Every second set-top box in the world is tested using T&M equipment from Rohde & Schwarz.

However, Rohde & Schwarz now focuses on more than just transmitters and T&M equipment. The company is becoming a solutions provider for the entire broadcasting value-added chain from post production to transmission. As a global market leader in digital film processing, Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary DVS GmbH has opened the door to the field of studio equipment. DVS develops hardware and software for professional film and video post production. Since 2012, the Rohde & Schwarz portfolio has also included audio/video headends. This enables the company to expand its presence in the field of studio equipment.

Secure communications for armed forces, government authorities and industry

Military, government and civil authorities must be able to exchange information efficiently and securely. This is crucial for the success of national and international operations. Rohde & Schwarz supplies interoperable radiocommunications systems for deployment on land, at sea and in the air. In 2012, the company introduced its new generation of software defined radios (SDR) to the market with the release of the R&S SDTR. Rohde & Schwarz is now working intensively on expanding the SDR family. The company is also developing a SDR base unit for the German Armed Forces' future joint radio system (SVFuA).

More than 200 airports around the world use Rohde & Schwarz radiocommunications systems. The company has enhanced its air traffic control (ATC) portfolio by adding voice communications systems that are based on a product from Rohde & Schwarz Topex SA. As a result, the company can offer complete, IP-based single-source system solutions, from the microphone at the controller working position to the radio system antenna.

R&S Systems GmbH develops and integrates turnkey special-purpose systems (e.g. mobile towers) for air traffic control (ATC) and puts them into operation at customer locations. The Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary creates customer-specific solutions from standard products.

Rohde & Schwarz SIT GmbH has been supplying crypto products and IT security solutions to industry and government agencies worldwide for over 20 years to ensure that voice and data are securely transmitted. The Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary is a NATO supplier and, since 2004, security partner of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Frequency management and radiolocation for homeland and external security

Although the frequency spectrum is limited, mobile wireless data volume is increasing drastically. Mobile telephony and radio for security authorities and organizations, navigation systems and broadcasting must operate smoothly. Rohde & Schwarz develops both stationary and mobile systems for detecting, locating and analyzing radiocommunications signals.

In many cases, threat scenarios can be identified early on through radio intelligence. Rohde & Schwarz provides authorities and services with solutions for identifying and locating suspicious communications activities. The company's receivers, direction finders, signal analyzers, antennas and customized systems have been used in homeland and external security for many decades.

Satellite monitoring also plays an important role at Rohde & Schwarz. Solutions include both stationary and mobile systems for use on the ground, at sea and in the air. They enable government agencies worldwide to gain insight into satellite-based voice and data communications. In this field, Rohde & Schwarz is supported by its French subsidiary Arpège SAS, which implements customer-specific satellite monitoring systems in close collaboration with Munich headquarters.

Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary ipoque GmbH covers Internet traffic management and network monitoring. ipoque is a leading provider of software solutions that effectively detect, monitor and optimize network applications.

Services

Rohde & Schwarz offers a worldwide service network and provides 24-hour support. Rohde & Schwarz services are completely tailored to customer requirements. In addition to calibration, maintenance, product upgrades and on-site services, the company also offers its customers tailored training courses.

Rohde & Schwarz regional service centers, production plants and specialized subsidiaries provide a wide range of additional services. This includes support for special applications, the development of customer-specific instruments, manufacturing to order, and the integration, installation and putting into operation of systems. For example, Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary Gedis GmbH specializes in automatic test equipment (ATE) for testing electronic assemblies and modules. Its product portfolio ranges from compact manual test systems to turnkey, automatic in-line systems.