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To: Bluestryp who wrote (5493)	6/13/2000 6:57:00 AM
From: JohnG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34857

Will ERICY outsource phones to Tiawan? JOhnG Ericsson mulls outsourcing production By Michael Kramer, Reuters 12 June 2000 The president of Swedish telecommunications group LM Ericsson AB said on Monday he planned to change the company's culture of keeping production in-house in order to keep pace with demand for mobile Internet access. Ericsson President Kurt Hellstrom said Taiwan manufacturers, which already make desktop and notebook computers on behalf of top world brand names, could benefit from the move but did not name any likely partners. "Every time we are talking about the mobile Internet industry we know that this is coming only faster and faster and faster," Hellstrom told reporters at a technology conference in Taiwan. "That is why I'm trying to change Ericsson, to realise that it is more important to be first in the market, to be out there and meeting the demand, than to do it completely by yourself," he said. Analysts have credited Hellstrom, at least in part, for a turnaround in Ericsson's performance, though they criticise the slow pace at which the Swedish firm's products hit retail shelves. Ericsson's chairman and chief executive officer, Lars Ramqvist, said in April he would set down and allow Hellstrom to unite the positions of president and CEO, who hold different roles in Swedish companies. Hellstom said on Monday Ericsson could tap Taiwan's high-tech firms to bulk up its portfolio of mobile phones. "We need to have many more models for our portfolio and we may have thought we could do everything ourselves before. That is not possible," Hellstrom said. "I think there are good opportunities that we will be in collaboration with Taiwanese companies," He said, "It's a very attractive place to outsource or to acquire models to complete the programme." Many of Taiwan's computer hardware makers have unveiled self-designed mobile phones for contract manufacturing customers. Acer Peripherals has said it expects sales to surge 70 percent this year thanks to its growing mobile phone business. Quanta Computer Inc , which expects to become the world's largest notebook computer maker this year, has also launched a line of mobile phones. Although Ericsson restructured itself in April to focus on mobile Internet, Hellstrom said he expected heavy pressure from makers of other mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs). "We are expecting tremendous competitions. I think we see a lot of new players coming into this field," he said. However, he pointed out that growth in mobile Internet would help Ericsson's telecommunications infrastructure business. "We like to stimulate this development because it grows traffic, and traffic means a lot of need for infrastructure and there Ericsson is very strong," he said.