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To: Jim Lurgio who wrote (9084)	3/7/1998 9:37:00 AM
From: Jim Lurgio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

By Monica Alleven Siemens Wireless Terminals last week planned to cut about 80 positions as part of a restructuring, while NEC America Inc. was in the midst of reorganizing after cutting about 40 percent of its paging sales force last month. SWT's cuts were related to the development of code division multiple access handsets. The company plans to focus on PCS 1900 and third-generation handsets and is evaluating options for entering the U.S. CDMA handset market, said Kristine Ryan, spokeswoman at SWT in Richardson, Texas. "Siemens is very committed to North American digital standards," she said, adding that the company already has a PCS 1900 handset on the market in the United States. The company said it will integrate CDMA development with its overall efforts to provide next-generation terminals and infrastructure for the Universal Mobile Telephone Service standard. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute decided major portions of the UMTS will be based on CDMA, and Siemens will work with its counterparts in Germany to develop future UMTS products. Siemens employs more than 500 people in its wireless group, and Siemens Business Communication Systems employs more than 6,000 people nationwide. The company is working to identify employment opportunities to keep affected employees within the company, Ryan said. NEC's cuts came as part of what it calls a restructuring to better reflect market needs. The company cut sales positions and reorganized its repair and service department, moving the customization department to NEC Logistics in Los Angeles, said Tyra Jordan, spokeswoman in NEC's Messaging Terminals Division. Jordan would not reveal the exact number of positions cut or moved. "We had some layoffs, and a lot of people moved," she said. "It's a small fraction of the overall Wireless Division." While the bulk of NEC's paging operation remains in Irving, Texas, the affected sales positions were scattered around the country, she said. The organizational changes are designed for faster turnaround of products, she said, adding that the company's plan is to deliver product within one week. NEC's cuts came as a surprise to some observers because it traditionally has been ranked No. 2 or 3 in pager market share behind Motorola. NEC ranked No. 2 based on Frost & Sullivan's last report using 1996 figures, and that likely still holds true, said analyst Subodh Karnad of Frost & Sullivan in Mountain View, Calif. The 1996 figures showed Motorola with a 74 market share in the numeric pager market, followed by NEC with a 12 percent market share. Uniden America Corp. had a 9 percent share. NEC's cuts and reorganization do not mean pager sales are declining but reflect convergence in the marketplace, Jordan said. "We're changing, just like most of our competitors are changing. People are wanting to see our entire line of products. It's not just a paging market or a cellular market. We're messaging." Some of the people who were laid off were trained on the Beacon Data Pager, NEC's new high-end pager, but there was "nothing detrimental" as a result, and all sales groups are being cross-trained on wireless products, including the Beacon, said Leah Phillips, senior product and marketing manager in the new business development department of NEC's Wireless Communications Division. NEC started shipping the Beacon in December to individual consumers and one wireless distributor, giving customers the option of activating units with a carrier. Carriers are still evaluating the product, and one deal with a major retailer is pending, she said.