Lucent increases lead in wireless business phone market; New pocket business phone available

Business Wire, Oct 9, 1996

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 1996--Lucent Technologies today announced it has increased its lead in the hot U.S. market for wireless business telecommunications equipment, and moved to reinforce its leadership by introducing a new wireless pocket-phone for its most popular communications systems.

According to independent analyst firm, Phillips InfoTech, second quarter U.S. market share figures show Lucent as No. 1 with 41 percent of wireless business handsets, up from 37 percent in the first quarter of 1996. Results also showed Lucent having 32 percent of wireless business telephone system revenues, up from 27 percent.

"This wireless business system market is growing phenomenally, and Lucent is far ahead of its nearest competitors," said Alan Mendelson, president of Phillips InfoTech. "Our research indicates that the in-building wireless handsets market will pick up and grow by more than 90 percent average annually, over the next three years."

Weighing only eight onuces, the new pocket-phone announced today is model MDW 9030P for Lucent's TransTalk(TM) 9000 system. Despite its diminutive size, the phone provides all the functions of a business desk phone, including alpha-numeric display for calling party ID, hold, transfer, conference, speed dial, programmable buttons, and access to voice mail.

The battery provides three and a half hours of continuous talk time and 30 hours of standby time. The pocket-phone's "quick charger" helps provide continuous talk time.

TransTalk 9000, a digital wireless business system, is Lucent Technologies' leading wireless business product. Used by tens of thousands of organizations, including field officials and staff during the recent Atlanta Olympics, this single-zone, multi-line phone system transmits clear wireless signals over an area the size of an Olympic stadium. Users take or place calls at work on a convenient handset, anywhere they happen to be.

Supporting up to 18 wireless phones, the TransTalk wireless system operates in the ISM portion of the radio spectrum, incurring no air-time charges. "This free air time feature is one of the main reasons customers buy," said Barry Weinbaum, business wireless market director for Lucent Technologies. "Businesses are interested, too, in the revenue gains, efficiency and customer service improvements these systems provide."

TransTalk 9000 works with all of Lucent's popular business communications systems: DEFINITY(R), PARTNER(R) and MERLIN LEGEND(R). It is just one of the Bell Labs designed wireless products in Lucent's FreeWorks portfolio of wireless business products. Others include the Definity Wireless Business System/PWT, a multi-zone, mult-line system, supporting the U.S. Personal Wireless Telecommunications standard, in environments up to four million square feet, and two other systems designed for the major wireless standards prevalent outside the United States.

For all these systems an innovative, patented Bell Labs expert system called WiSE (Wireless System Engineering) allows designers to program a specific building's design and construction into a computer, which then shows engineers exactly where to place system antennas for most effective communication.

Lucent Technologies, formed as a result of AT&T's restructuring, designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, consumer and business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company.

Customers interested in further wireless business system information should contact 908/953-6057.

CONTACT: Lucent Technologies

Rosemary Yaecker, 908/953-7512

ryaecker@lucent.com