For the second year running, Gartner ranked NEC number one in worldwide telephony market share! The 2006 report, released in July, ranks vendors based on global line shipments. NEC outperformed the overall market with an 11% annual increase in line shipments and a 12% share of the enterprise telephony market. Success was driven by strong sales throughout the world.

The North America market remains highly competitive and grew by 4% over 2005. The report highlights NEC’s focus on vertical markets and notes the strength of our dealer network and position in the SMB market.

Report highlights:

• The worldwide telephony market grew by 7.4% in 2006:

• Overall growth accelerated by 2.1% in 2006 over 2005, which grew 5.3% over 2004

• TDM lines shipped represented approximately 75% of the market in 2006

• SMB, defined as organizations with fewer than 400 employees, represented 60% of the market in 2006; Enterprise, or organizations with more than 400 employees, represented the remaining 40%

• IP line shipments were up 44% over 2005, representing about 25% of lines shipped in 2006

• IP line shipment growth is up significantly over 2005, which showed 14% growth over the previous year at 18% of the global market