Bridging the digital divide.
Our story starts in Linz, Austria, where emporia was founded in 1991 to offer customers user-friendly telecommunications products. Today, the company is still wholly owned by Eveline Pupeter, who has been with the business since the beginning.
Under her guidance, the company has grown internationally, continually designing and developing new products because we understand that in the modern world, the level of exposure to technology, and the degree of understanding it, varies hugely across the generations.
While many older people are familiar with technology, having worked with desktop computers and mobile devices as they approached their own retirement, there are many who never had that workplace opportunity and who now feel that they are increasingly being left behind.
As the digital divide that has opened up between the generations – and between people with different degrees of digital awareness – continues to grow, emporia intends to help bridge that gap in the area of mobile communications.
There are many people (and not just older people) who would like to see alternatives in an increasingly complex technical environment, i.e. devices that can be used quickly and simply.
emporia Telecom products are aimed at those who value clarity over multi-functionality – and that means predominantly older users. But, of course, this target group is very diverse, with varying expectations of mobile phones.
The secret to success
Staying close to the customer is the principle guiding the development of all emporia Telecom products. That is why our R&D division not only looks at the technical aspects of development, but also the ways in which users are affected and the usage expectations of customers. The aim is to ensure that technically complex processes are simplified as much as possible for the user across the board.
From our beginning in Austria in 1991, when we focused on offering customers user-friendly versions of products such as landlines and fax machines, we moved into specialising in mobile communications for older people in 2001. We discovered a huge appetite for simple, easy-to-use products which enabled as many people as possible to stay in touch with family and friends as the digital world opened up.
Today emporia is synonymous with simple, barrier-free communications. We now sell mobile phones in over 30 countries and rank as the number one brand in the field of mobiles for senior citizens.
