NEC America, Inc. has announced a nearly fivefold growth in its share of the IP telephony marketplace during the first quarter of 2003, according to InfoTech.

In the June InfoTech report entitled, "InfoTrack for Enterprise Communications," NEC America grew its share of the US IP telephony market to 6.3%. These results appear in the Converged Systems category, which include systems that support mixed TDM and IP environments. According to InfoTech, this segment represents more than 62% of the total IP telephony market.

InfoTech tracks shipments of NEC's NEAX 2000 IPS and NEAX 2400 IPX communications platforms, which allow users to deploy IP and traditional TDM switching from a single system.

"We attribute our success to the growing preference among enterprise customers for an open, flexible, reliable approach to deploying IP," says Mike Rosen, general manager, NEC America's marketing and sales support division. "The ambidextrous nature of NEC platforms means customers can deploy cost-effective TDM where business needs demand it while having the option to utilize IP where it's needed. NEC also addresses the availability and quality of service issues that other approaches may not have incorporated as yet."

NEC's flexible IP solutions are well-timed, as recent national business media are reporting a rise in sales for companies offering wireless networks and voice-over-IP phones, thus creating an even more opportunistic environment for the company to increase its footprint among small to medium-sized businesses.

"Over the past year, NEC has introduced a full line of converged systems that provide customers a range of choices based on customer size and how extensively they intend to deploy IP end points," says Frank Stinson, of InfoTech. "NEC's market share growth indicates that customers are reacting favorably to these new choices, as the IP telephony market moves toward
mainstream adoption."

NEC America, Inc., based in Irving, Texas, manufactures customer premise communications systems. For more information visit www.cng.nec.com.