Q&A Session with Evert Dijkstra, Managing Director of Phonak Communications AG

Evert Dijkstra is the managing director of Phonak Communications AG. In this quick Q&A he details the company’s main areas of operation, what makes its solutions stand out from the crowd, and why you should consider Phonak as your next wireless radio accessory provider.

What is the history of your company?

Founded in Murten, Switzerland in 1992, the success of Phonak Communications AG to date is a result of how well we have built upon Phonak’s already high level of hearing technology expertise. 

By combining the know-how of our hearing aid-producing sister company with our own ongoing independent research and product development we have created a range of wireless communication and hearing protection systems that meet the hearing needs of all our customers, no matter what their fields of operation.

Phonak Communications AG is part of Sonova Group, the world’s leading provider of hearing healthcare products.

What types of products does Phonak Communications offer?

Our systems range from intelligent hearing protection devices with optional communication (Serenity family and primero DPC) through to covert earpieces (Profilo and Phonito) and full-duplex small team communication systems (Condor).

Each of these systems offers crystal clear sound quality, high comfort and the very best Swiss design quality.

What is unique about your organization?

We believe that only Phonak Communications is able to offer such a unique combination of:

• Hearing intelligence – our sister company Phonak has been producing hearing aids since back in 1965 and is an industry-leader in advanced acoustics and hearing technology.
• Miniaturization expertise – our team of developers has many years of experience working in the fields of micro-mechanics and micro-electronics.
• Full systems - our product range includes covert and overt radio earpieces, wiring loops, wireless PTT’s, car installation kits, 2-way radio adaptors, software and more. This variety means we can offer full and easy-to-scale systems that operate immediately out of the box.
  Custom ‘made-to-order’ (MTO) variations of these systems are also available on request.
• The world’s best digital signal processing (DSP) technology – our advanced DSP algorithms mean that Phonak customers only hear the sounds they want to hear, not frustrating surrounding noise.

What sectors do you currently sell your advanced communications products into?

Security & emergency services

Phonak Communications systems are used widely in situations where the lives of emergency and security service staff depend upon their reliability and performance.

When it comes to undercover work such as surveillance operations, users appreciate the unsurpassed discretion and effectiveness our in-ear systems offer.

Broadcast & performance

Systems such as our popular invisity prompting receiver have become a standard component of the audio technician’s toolkit. These products are widely employed in television and film studios for several reasons: they are 100% reliable; easy for the ‘talent’ to use; and crucially, because they sit so snugly inside the ear canal, they cannot be seen by viewers.

Industry

Thanks to our sister company’s many years of hearing expertise, Phonak Communications is the only player in the hearing protection market with such advanced knowledge of hearing acoustics, digital signal processing and wireless technology. As a result, our products guarantee that the user’s hearing and communication needs can be met effectively, whatever the surrounding noise level or situation.

Where have you supplied / sold your communications and hearing protection systems?

We have an extensive and global customer base, spanning:

• Professionals working in security services around the world (covert earpieces and/or small-team comms)
• Police (overt radio headsets)
• Airport firefighters (hearing protection with communication)
• Heavy industry clients (hearing protection with/without communication and or small-team comms)
• Pilots (hearing protection with communication)
• TV presenters and film sound mixers (in-ear prompt receivers)
• And many more…

Where can a customer buy a Phonak Communication system?

This depends largely on the system in question. Our covert and overt security headsets and earpieces for example are largely sold via our global partner network, while a great many of our hearing protection systems are sold direct. Our website has all the details.