Three European countries have proposed to their Western allies that they drop virtually all restrictions on exporting civilian telecommunications gear.

When the technology boom of the 1990's ran its course, the major companies producing telecommunications gear paid the price.

Lease of computers and other telecommunications gear also dropped 4.5 percent, to $1.64 billion.

Today's move focused on computers and telecommunications gear.

The company has transformed itself from a military contractor and engineering company to a maker of high-speed telecommunications gear.

These manufacturers have made several attempts to sell advanced telecommunications gear to the former Soviet Union.

The Chicago area, meanwhile, began to produce significant quantities of telecommunications gear, electronics, steel, crude oil derivatives, automobiles, and industrial capital goods.

In recent years, the region has also capitalized on the nation's technology boom, establishing in Richardson a niche for designing, building and selling telecommunications gear.

The Chicago area, meanwhile, began to produce significant quantities of telecommunications gear, electronics, steel, automobiles, and industrial products.

Alcatel sold $14.1 billion worth of telecommunications gear last year but only $1.5 billion of those sales were in the United States.