Rockwell May Sell Switching Systems Unit : Divestiture: Company weighs options for telecommunications equipment division, which it says would be better off on its own.

SEAL BEACH — Rockwell said Thursday that it is considering alternatives for its switching systems division, including putting the telecommunications equipment unit up for sale.

Rockwell, a diversified technology company based in Seal Beach, said it may sell the unit, form a strategic alliance with another telecommunications company or spin off the division through a public stock offering.

Because technology is changing so rapidly in the industry, Rockwell decided that the division would be better off on its own or allied with a partner, said Mary Lou Kromer, spokeswoman for the unit at its Downers Grove, Ill., headquarters. She said the unit is profitable and holds a dominant position in the industry, but she would not give details of its financial performance.

Two decades ago, the division pioneered a branch of telecommunications known as automatic call distribution. Special equipment receives incoming phone calls and routes them to available operators.

The systems are used for airline reservations and catalogue shopping, by car-rental agencies and even government agencies. The division has 650 employees and is one of two units of Rockwell’s telecommunications group, which generated about $545 million in revenue last year.

The other unit is the digital communications division in Newport Beach, which makes computer modem and fax machine components.

Dillon Read & Co., a New York investment bank, will assist Rockwell in pursuing options for the switching systems division.

In Thursday’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Rockwell’s stock gained $1 a share to close at $36.75.