Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Who Built The Wireless Operation?

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 05:17:09 -0500

Who BuiltThe Wireless Operation?

By Ed Sperling
Electronic News
1/6/2003

Avnet Inc.'s RF and Microwave unit today inked a deal to
distribute Bluetooth and radio frequency solutions to Philips
Electronics' customers, but the agreement may be just the
beginning of an entirely new growth area for distributors.

Because of the complexity of implementing wireless solutions,
Avnet has positioned itself as a general contractor for wireless
services and amassed a group of seven services subcontractors that
can design and install its components.

"The problem is that they first come to us and say they want to
put in wireless connectivity," said Joel Levine, president of
Avnet's RF and Microwave division. "We ask them how many do they
want and whether they have the resources to get it done
themselves. And pretty soon we'd become an extension of their
design team."

Levine says the issue is getting more complicated rather than
simpler, involving everything from RF, software, baseband,
firmware, compatibility issues and power management. "With every
application, someone has a great idea but they haven't thought
through the resources," he said.

Playing general contractor has long been the most lucrative
portion of the solutions business. Companies like IBM Global
Services and Electronic Data Systems have built huge businesses,
not to mention hefty profits, by aggregating customers and
services. But most distributors have only dabbled in this market
until now.

Yet hard times have forced many companies to cut costs and
outsource more of their IT infrastructure, opening the door to
companies like Avnet to win new business by selling broad-based
solutions that involve both components and third-party service.

"The semiconductor suppliers pointed the opportunity out to us,"
Levine said. "They said they have just enough bandwidth to handle
their tier-one customers. The Philips business is aimed at the
company that needs to get it as close to out-of-the-box
functionality as possible. But if the opportunity is big enough,
they're willing to work with a third party."

http://www.e-insite.net/electronicnews/index.asp?layout=article&ar
ticleid=CA268897&spacedesc=news

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/