Wireless Goes Haywire at Motorola: Faulty switches, a tarnished reputation-how bad can it get?

Upstarts have beaten Motorola to the market - by years - with digital phones. And its transmission equipment for digital-cellular networks has been plagued by bugs. With its once-indomitable paging business shrinking and formidable competition squeezing its semiconductor division, it is unclear what sector the $30 billion company can depend on for growth. By early March, PrimeCo Personal Communications is expected to cancel a $500 million contract for digital network equipment. Rival Lucent Technologies Inc. is expected to get the business, one of the biggest orders in the industry.