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Nokia Hit by Loss of Top Networks Execs
December 03, 2004 07:47:00 AM ET
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/breaking/breakingnewsarticle.asp?feed=OBR&Date=20041203&ID=...
By Brett Young
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said the head of its networks unit had resigned and another senior networks executive left, marking the second round of departures of top management in two weeks at the world's top mobile phone maker.
Nokia, which is also a major wireless infrastructure producer, said on Friday that mobile networks head Sari Baldauf would leave the firm and be replaced by Australian-born Simon Beresford-Wylie, 46, current head of the unit's Asia operations.
In a separate statement it said another senior networks official, Jukka Bergqvist, had resigned, triggering concerns about continuity at the unit which recently recovered from big losses from the sector downturn between 2001 and 2003.
``Any way you look at this it is negative, because Baldauf is a star, as is Bergqvist. They have complemented each other, Bergqvist with his technological know-how, Baldauf with her marketing skills,'' said analyst Helena Nordman-Knutson at Ohman.
Nokia said both executives left for personal reasons.
``It's very much Sari's personal decision,'' Chief Executive Jorma Ollila told a news conference. ``(But) we have a strong organization and we're well-prepared for the transition.''
Ollila, eschewing his usual ebullient tone and reading from handwritten notes, said Baldauf had first approached him about leaving some three years ago, but the move was delayed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the sector downturn.
Ollila and Baldauf both denied that the move was linked to news this week that Nokia won only a small part of a networks deal with U.S. operator Cingular, with Ericsson, Lucent and Siemens taking bigger stakes.
Baldauf, 49, joined Nokia in 1983 and had led networks since 1998. Tapped by the Financial Times as the most influential woman in European business, she was widely seen as a strong candidate to replace Ollila when his contract ends in 2006.
But she told the news conference she had never wanted Ollila's post. ``That has never been my aspiration.''
Nokia's shares were down 0.95 percent at 12.53 euros by 1235 GMT, underperforming a softer sector index.
GROWING LIST
The announcements come less than two weeks after the departure of another senior management executive, Matti Alahuhta, who left to lead lifts maker Kone.
The exit of Alahuhta, who led Nokia's mobile phone unit for years and last year became head of strategy, caused some ripples in the market, given his longstanding tenure at the firm.
But analysts also said that as Alahuhta was left without leadership of a business when Nokia expanded to four units from three at the start of the year, the move was not a total shock. He was replaced by Nokia R&D unit head Tero Ojanpera.
The moves cap a turbulent 15 months for Nokia management, with an organizational revamp at the start of the year bringing in three new bosses for four of its units, as well as a new chief financial officer, Rick Simonson.
But Ollila said Thursday's changes would likely be the last for some time. ``If you want to know if there will be more top executive changes, I wouldn't spend too much time investigating it. It is a bad investment,'' he said.
The arrival of Beresford-Wylie at Networks marks a further injection of non-Finnish management to the company. He joins CFO Simonson and the head of Nokia Enterprise Solutions unit Mary McDowell, both U.S. citizens.
(Additional reporting by Laura Vinha, Niklas Pollard in Stockholm and Lucas van Grinsven in Amsterdam)
© 2004 Reuters
Did anyone notice QCOM after hour = 44.34 +1.28
There must be some money coming from MSFT dividend ($32 billions)invested in QCOM, JMHO.
Symbol Time* Trade* Change* After Hrs Chg* Bid* Ask*
QCOM 5:51PM ET 44.34 1.28 (2.97%) 0.72 (1.65%) 43.88 44.34
Microsoft dividend could boost other stocks
(AFX UK Focus) 2004-12-02 22:23 GMT:
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=5134952&action=article
Article layout: raw
SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) - Even investors who don't own Microsoft shares may benefit from the $32.6 billion cash dividend the company paid to its shareholders Thursday. That's because recipients of the dividend payout - the largest of its kind -- are likely to plow at least some of the money back into the market, either in the tech sector or in dividend-paying stocks, fund managers said. Microsoft , bowing to demands that it share some of its huge cash hoard with shareholders, paid a one-time dividend of $3 a share.
The payout was worth more than the combined market value of software makers Seibel Systems , PeopleSoft , Adobe Systems and BEA Systems , and it could prove a catalyst for other tech stocks in December.
That's because investment professionals who are looking to improve returns by year-end may decide to place bets on tech stocks to capitalize on their penchant for rapid price swings, also known as volatility or beta. Many managers are scrambling to catch up with the indices that serve as their main performance benchmarks, said Romeo Dator, co-manager of the All American Equity Fund for US Global Investors in San Antonio, Texas.
"For people who are behind their indices, tech is the high-beta play," said Dator, whose fund's top holdings include tech firms eBay and Qualcomm , as well as dividend-paying stocks like General Electric .
Dator, whose fund owns 5,000 Microsoft shares, declined to comment on what he would do with the proceeds that the Redmond, Wash.-based company transferred into his fund's coffers as a result of the dividend payout. But the dividend is "a good way to return money quickly to shareholders," as it would add to the "fairly large pile of cash" that investors have on the sidelines. Another investor said Microsoft's decision to return billions to its shareholders could boost the perception that dividend-paying stocks are a good investment in today's market. "The nice thing about dividends is that they demonstrate quality of earnings," said Kenneth Broad, who manages funds worth $1.2 billion for TransAmerica Investment Management in San Francisco. "Companies that monkey around with pro forma numbers are not ones that you usually see paying a dividend," said Broad, whose Premier Growth Opportunity Fund has gained more than 14 percent this year. Investors have warmed up to dividend-paying companies in 2004. Shares of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 that pay dividends have gained more than 14 percent so far this year, about twice the 7.2 percent gain for the overall index. That's a switch from 2003, when dividend-paying stocks underperformed the market by a wide margin. "In 2003, you had a rising tide lifting all boats," while this year has seen a market that has divided into winners and losers, according to Broad. "A dividend is usually a sign of a company with good underlying fundamentals," he said. This story was supplied by CBSMarketWatch. For further information see www.cbsmarketwatch.com.
Re-organisations, re-structurings, name changes, AGM, EGM
Samsung Electronics Unveils 1st Camera Phone with Hard Disk Drive
, 12.02.04, 11:48 AM ET
Asia Pulse Pte Ltd
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/infoimaging/2004/12/02/infoimagingasiapulse_2004_12_02_ix_456...
SEOUL, Dec. 2 Asia Pulse - South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930) on Thursday introduced the world's first camera phone with a 1.5-gigabyte hard disk drive that can store as many as 1,000 photos.
The SPH-V5400 model, equipped with a 1-megapixel camera, can save up to three and a half hours of video with its camcorder feature, Samsung Electronics said in a statement. Its price is set at below 800,000 won (US$767).
Other features include an MP3 digital music player, a radio tuner and an electronic dictionary, the company said.
The phone also has an electronic book function that allows users to read text on the device after downloading it from personal computers or Web sites, it added.
In South Korea, where more than three quarters of the population have mobile phones, built-in cameras are considered a must-have feature in handsets.
The nation also has one of the world's fastest mobile phone networks, using U.S. wireless firm Qualcomm Inc.'s CDMA2000 1X EV-DO (evolution data optimized) technology.
On Wednesday, Samsung Electronics said it overtook Motorola as the world's second-largest mobile phone maker in the third quarter, citing an industry report by Gartner Dataquest.
The report showed Samsung sold 22.9 million mobile phones during the quarter, accounting for 13.8 percent of worldwide sales. Motorola, which lost its No. 2 title for the first time, sold 22.4 million handsets, taking a market share of 13.4 percent, it said.
(Yonhap)
(C) 2004 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
Top 6 technology trends for 2005
http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/dec/02top.htm
Here are some of the top technology trends that will dominate the world of technology in 2005. The trends were listed by the Red Herring magazine on Thursday.
These trends cover a wide range of technological advancements in many different arenas, from the medical field to home entertainment.
Some of the top technology trends include:
1. The end of Moore's Law: Have computer chips run into a wall? Recent evidence suggests that the great leaps forward in computing power may become smaller hops.
Semiconductor makers appear to have hit a limit in how much more power they can squeeze out of computer chips, say the editors of Red Herring magazine.
Moore's Law, the rule that predicts new computer chips will be developed with twice the power of their predecessors every 18 months, may be running into an even higher authority -- the laws of physics.
2. Medical devices that do more than save your life. Gadgets that go inside your body go beyond the stents that prevent heart attacks. Some devices aim to prevent depression, relieve back pain, and even paint your esophagus to reduce acid reflux.
3. Videos, photos and music on your cell phone. Faster cellular networks will make it easier for you to send the pictures you snap with your phone. Korea and Japan are ahead of everybody else, with the United States trailing far behind in so-called 3G or third generation networks.
The US carriers will start deploying faster cellular data networks in 2005 because they finally understand that this is the best way they can get more revenue out of customers.
4. Mini fuel cells. You'll have fewer reasons to swear at dead batteries in 2005. Tiny fuel cells will finally make their first commercial appearance next year. Your laptop will run for days instead of hours and your cell phone will take calls for weeks without a recharge.
Industry analysts say the much anticipated -- and often delayed -- micro fuel cells could sell 100 million units by 2008.
5. Internet telephony. VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) will become a household word in 2005. The technology that sends phone calls over the Internet will continue to grow, delivering good quality conversations at prices the regular phone companies have trouble matching.
With several VoIP vendors offering telephone numbers anywhere in the world, no one will know where you're calling from.
6. The digital living room. The American living room will be a more intense battleground in 2005; this time it will be the traditional consumer electronic vendors versus the PC and software companies.
Sony, Microsoft, Intel and Hewlett-Packard are vying for control of your set top box, in hopes they'll have a better chance to sell you more stuff.
Red Herring has also named the 100 most innovative companies of 2004. Both lists appear in the upcoming issue of Red Herring, which will be available on newsstands December 6.
"Our research indicates that companies will need a highly focussed innovation process to benefit from the trends in 2005," said Joel Dreyfuss, editor-in-chief of Red Herring, in a media release.
Jim, thanks for sorting the Qualcomm WCDMA chipset partners now 3 of top 5, but I do not have any information on QCOM's share in CDMA2000 as requested: <<Wonder what the above’s share is in CDMA2000?>>
TV Phones Prep for Prime Time
DECEMBER 1, 2004
NEWS ANALYSIS
By Olga Kharif
http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2004/tc2004121_1328_tc119.htm
Mobile TV is coming to a cell phone near you -- and it could leave hot offerings like ringtones and text messaging in the dust
Two years ago, Blake Krikorian had to travel on business just as his favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, unexpectedly earned a place in the World Series for the first time in 13 years. Krikorian desperately wanted to watch the games but had few options. At the time, he wished he could watch it on his cell phone. But no such service was available.
Sensing a business opportunity, Krikorian began to investigate the concept, and in June of this year he launched Sling Media. The San Mateo (Calif.)-based company's first product, due out in the first quarter of 2005, will stream video content to handheld devices.
Krikorian has some serious believers in his corner: Backers include venerable venture-capital firm Mobius Venture Capital, and among his partners are the likes of Microsoft (MSFT ) and cell-phone chip vendor Texas Instruments (TXN ). Only one in a slew of upcoming technologies and gadgets designed to keep TV junkies plugged in, Sling Media offers a glimpse of mobile TV, expected to become one of the brighter stars in telecommunications over the next couple of years.
READY AND WAITING? Mobile TV is a promising frontier in the handheld industry. The ranks of subscribers could jump from 273,000 by yearend to 1.2 million in 2005, and revenues could grow from $32.8 million in 2004 to $47.5 million in 2005 –- and $1.9 billion in 2008, figures Clint Wheelock, an analyst with tech consultancy In-Stat.
Eventually, mobile TV might far outshine the markets for popular wireless data services such as ringtones and short text messaging. An In-Stat survey of 1,009 people done in February showed that Americans are far more excited about mobile TV than about any other data application offered so far.
With good reason, perhaps, skeptics abound. But user surveys conducted by Digital Video Recorder (DVR) company TiVo (TIVO ) indicate that Americans spend only two to five hours a week watching feature-length movies. The bulk of their 20-plus TV viewing hours each week goes to watching shorter programs, such as news footage or music videos.
EARLY ADOPTER. Such clips might be perfect for viewing on a cell phone -- say, while you're stuck on a train on the way to work. Many industry watchers believe the handset will turn into the third TV screen in our lives, behind the home TV and the PC. "This is really a service with mass appeal," Wheelock says.
And though the U.S. has lagged behind Asia and Europe in wireless services in the past, it should move into mobile TV at the same pace –- or even faster –- than many other countries, predicts Bill Plummer, vice-president for external affairs at cell-phone maker Nokia (NOK ) in New York.
Lots of companies see the profit potential in mobile TV. By mid-2005, U.S. wireless providers like Verizon Wireless will have built out special, high-speed wireless data networks, allowing for video streaming and on-demand video services. Following in their footsteps are wireless equipment and components suppliers such as Qualcomm (QCOM ), device makers like TiVo, cell-tower operators such as Crown Castle, and cable and satellite service providers and telcos.
NEW NETWORKS. Service providers such as Sprint (FON ) already offer video-related services. It rolled out a slide-show-quality mobile-TV service, called MobiTV, a year ago and followed it with a faster video-streaming service, Sprint TV, this August. The services offer news clips from the likes of CNN and Discovery Channel for $9.99 and as little as $15 a month, respectively.
Sprint is mum on enrollment figures, but "we've been very pleased with the results we've gotten so far," says Jeff Hallock, vice-president for product marketing and strategy at Sprint.
Sprint is so enthusiastic about enrollment that it just unveiled its second video phone, the Sanyo MM-7400, for a highly subsidized price of $229.99 after rebate. "It's very important for us to encourage use," Hallock says.
Rivals are also ramping up testing and trials. In November, Qualcomm announced it would build a nationwide wireless video-and-audio network. Due to come online in 2006, it would be separate from the carrier's networks used for voice and other data services. But it will offer TV-quality video speeds of 30 frames per second –- twice the frame count on Sprint TV -- and up to 100 channels of content. Qualcomm is planning to start trials in the second half of 2005.
CABLE READY? Nokia, the world's largest cell-phone maker, has already begun testing a different mobile video network in Pittsburgh. Its U.S. partner, Crown Castle, has mounted special gear onto its wireless towers to broadcast video to the Nokia 7700, a device with an integrated video camera and video-streaming capabilities. Nokia plans to offer more advanced devices able to use such a network in early 2006, says Plummer. "You have a brand-new opportunity for a whole new business model," he says.
Cable outfits, too, are investigating wireless delivery. "Mobile TV is a lot closer to cable companies' comfort zone [than a lot of other services]," says Larry Schwartz, executive vice-president for global operations at Convergys (CVG ), which provides billing services to the likes of Comcast (CMCSA ) and Cox (COX ). "They're expert at procuring unique content and packaging it," Schwartz adds.
The cable companies are mum on their plans. But a Cox spokesperson says the company is actively evaluating the possibility of offering a wireless video service.
LIMITED RANGE. What's more, many consumers will undoubtedly want to watch something beyond news clips on their cell phones, says Rene Link, a vice-president at wireless consultancy InCode Telecom in San Diego. To meet that demand, Sling Media's device can be attached to a standard DVR or a satellite set-top box. Called Slingbox, it optimizes the video stream from a DVR and sends it on, when requested, to a handheld device or wireless laptop. In theory, you could watch that episode of Frasier you recorded two days ago on your way to work.
For now, though, perfect-picture quality requires a wireless connection with speed of at least 100 kilobits per second. So, streaming devices may be confined to areas equipped with wireless high-speed Internet access technology called Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), such as Starbucks outlets.
TiVo has a different idea. In the next month, it will unveil free software for its subscribers. Once downloaded onto a home PC, it allows users to upload video from a DVR onto a home laptop via a wireless home network (such capabilities exist today, but uploading can be mind-bending for the less geeky crowd). Called TiVo To Go, the software could eventually allow users to upload shows onto their cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Of course, wireless networks have a long way to go in terms of quality and speed before such services will be able to take on the TV. Cell phones' memory would have to grow dramatically, and their battery life would need to make a major leap. Still, mobile TV could be the new horizon in wireless handhelds.
Kharif is a reporter for BusinessWeek Online in Portland, Ore.
Edited by Beth Belton
Louis Navellier -- Blue Chip Growth Letter
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=mktw&guid=%7BE1C584B3%2D74ED%2D4AD5%2D93B2%2D22...
We love the stock. It's a bit of a theme stock, but it's hot and its earning surprises have been relentless. Tech is experiencing a bit of resurgence. There's lot of optimism from companies like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: news, chart, profile) and Dell (DELL: news, chart, profile). All business spending looks good in the third quarter, and even better in the fourth. Businesses are loading up on whatever equipment they need now, so desktop tech, like Apple (AAPL: news, chart, profile) or Autodesk (ADSK: news, chart, profile) look good, as do consumer tech stocks like Qualcomm (QCOM: news, chart, profile), Nextel (NXTP: news, chart, profile) and RIMM, which besides the BlackBerry, also makes a cell phone with a keypad for checking e-mail. We're not concerned about the litigation. They recently experienced a big pullback but have rebounded nicely. It's come back on light volume and we think its going to go higher, especially next year when there will be less tech stocks to buy, RIMM will stick out a little more.
Global Mobile Phone Sales Up 26% In 3Q - Gartner
Wednesday December 1, 8:44 AM EST
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Global mobile handset sales rose 26% to over 167 million units in the third quarter according to the latest data from research company Gartner Inc. (ITB).
The results were surprisingly strong as historically, the third quarter is slow in the lead-up to the Christmas sales period in some key markets.
All regions registered growth apart from Japan, Gartner said.
Carolina Milanesi, Gartner analyst for mobile terminals, said: "New handset models and decreasing prices fueled replacement sales in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America. In Asia, Central Europe and the Middle East, emerging markets continued to add new subscribers."
The big news amongst the vendors was that market leader Nokia Corp. (NOK) lifted its market share above 30% after two consecutive quarters of market share declines, while Samsung Corp. (000830.SE) overtook Motorola Inc. (MOT) as the second-largest global handset maker for the first time.
Ben Wood, a principal analyst at Garner, said; "For Nokia, breaking back through the 30% market share barrier will be an important psychological boost after a disappointing start to the year. Now Nokia must maintain this positive momentum and address shortcomings in the code division multiple access, or CDMA, market to ensure it sustains its position."
Wood told Dow Jones Newswires that Nokia has raised its market share by price cutting, but its big challenge is innovation. He said the company needs to add new handset styles to its portfolio as well as making up for lost ground in the U.S. CDMA market.
"It's like turning around a supertanker," he said.
Regarding Samsung and Motorola's fight for the number two spot, Wood said: " The fourth quarter is neck and neck. Motorola can fight back." He noted that Gartner figures are based on end-user sales, not handsets manufactured.
Wood remained confident that the unexpected strength in the third quarter wouldn't affect the traditionally strong Christmas quarter. He maintained his forecast for 650 million handset sales in 2004, although he said it may be a little higher.
However, Wood said that he expects sales growth to fall to around 10% in 2005 from the 20% levels during 2004. He said although emerging market growth will continue to be strong, the replacement cycle in North America and Western Europe is likely to slow.
Following is a table of the worldwide mobile terminal sales to end-users as provided by Gartner (thousands of units):
Company 3Q 2004 3Q 2004 3Q 2003 3Q 2003
Mkt share Mkt share
Nokia 51,695 30.9% 45,381 34.2%
Samsung 22,981 13.8% 14,837 11.2%
Motorola 22,393 13.4% 19,484 14.7%
Siemens 12,758 7.6% 12,110 9.1%
LG 11,142 6.7% 7,082 5.3%
Sony Ericsson 10,683 6.4% 7,065 5.3%
Others 35,417 21.2% 26,884 20.2%
Total Market 167,070 100% 132,844 100%
Company Web site: Http://www.gartner.com
-By Nic Fildes, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9264; nicolas.fildes@
dowjones.com
Dow Jones Newswires
12-01-04 0844ET
© 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?cat=USMARKET&src=704&feed=dji§ion=news&...
(Updates with comments from Gartner and further market share details)
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=5132796&action=article
HELSINKI (AFX) - Nokia Corp saw its global mobile handset market share rise to 30.9 pct in the third quarter from 29.7 pct in the previous quarter, and from 28.9 pct in the first quarter, estimated market researcher Gartner Inc.
However, the figure remains lower than the year-ago level of 34.2 pct of the market, according to Gartner.
"For Nokia, breaking back through the 30 percent market share barrier will be an important psychological boost after a disappointing start to the year. Now Nokia must maintain this positive momentum and address shortcomings in the code division multiple access (CDMA) market to ensure it sustains its position," said analyst Ben Wood with Gartner.
Gartner estimated worldwide mobile phone sales to have surpassed 167 mln units in the third quarter, a 26 pct increase from the third quarter of 2003.
"Historically, the third quarter is seldom strong," said Carolina Milanesi, analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner.
"The industry expected sales to be flat in preparation for Christmas demand. However, all regions apart from Japan registered year on year growth."
Samsung Corp overtook Motorola to take second position with a third quarter market share of 13.8 pct. Last year, Samsung was estimated to have a third quarter market share of 11.2 pct.
According to Gartner, Samsung sold 22.9 mln handsets in the third quarter, while Motorola sold 22.4 mln units, leaving it with a 13.4 pct market share.
"Samsung's move into second place was a result of strong global performance, delivering an increasing spectrum of products based on multiple technologies," Wood said.
It (Samsung) performed particularly well in North America. Despite this, it remains neck and neck between Motorola and Samsung for second place as 2004 comes to an end.
Gartner said that while Motorola slipped to third position, it still remained the market leader in North America, boosted by the strength of the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (Iden) market.
Gartner said it believes the inventory Motorola built in the channel at the end of this quarter puts it in a good position to fight back for second position in the fourth quarter.
Siemens recovered from a slip in the second quarter and grew its market share to 7.6 pct, compared with 9.1 pct last year.
Gartner said Siemens had surprised the market with a particularly good quarter in the Americas, nearly doubling its market share in North America.
LG, which saw its global market share increase to 6.7 pct from 5.3 pct, had a positive quarter and regained fifth place from Sony Ericsson.
Sony Ericsson was estimated to have a 6.4 pct market share from 5.3 pct one year ago.
helsinki@afxnews.com
ng/am/cmr
Telecom Services' Wide Appeal, S&P's Todd Rosenbluth says many players are cash-healthy and should benefit from the buildout of wireless-broadband networks
Nov 30, 2004
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2004/nf20041130_4426_db006.htm
What's the only sector Standard & Poor's currently has an overweight recommendation on? Answer: telecom services. That group has been outperforming the market so far in 2004, says Todd Rosenbluth, a Standard & Poor's analyst who covers these stocks.
Rosenbluth has several strong buys in telecom services and related companies -- Verizon (VZ ), BCE (BCE ), CenturyTel (CTL ), Alltel (AT ), and Amdocs (DOX ). S&P also lists as strong buys Nextel Communications (NXTL ), Nextel Partners (NXTP ), Qualcomm (QCOM ), and Motorola (MOT ).
Rosenbluth says the factors favoring such stocks include significant free cash flow to support capital spending and dividends, and in some cases, advantages resulting from competition among wireline, wireless, and cable-service providers.
Although wireline service continues to lose ground to wireless, the dominant players in wireless are also wireline companies, which reduces their risk, Rosenbluth says. He notes that the three largest wireless providers in the U.S. are Cingular, owned jointly by BellSouth (BLS ) and SBC Communications (SBC ); Verizon Wireless, owned jointly by Verizon and Vodafone (VOD ), and Sprint PCS (PCS ), owned by Sprint (FON ).
These were among the points Rosenbluth made in an investing chat presented Nov. 23 by BusinessWeek Online and Standard & Poor's on America Online, in response to questions from the audience and from Jack Dierdorff of BW Online. Following are edited excerpts from this chat. AOL subscribers can find a full transcript at keyword: BW Talk.
Todd Rosenbluth is a Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services analyst. He has no ownership interest in or affiliation with any of the companies under discussion in this chat. All of the views expressed in this chat accurately reflect the analysts' personal views regarding any and all of the subject securities or issuers. No part of the analyst's compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this chat. For required disclosure information and price charts for all S&P STARS-ranked companies, go to spsecurities.com and click on "Investment Research" and then on "Required Disclosures & Standard & Poor's STARS vs. Closing Prices Charts."
Q: Todd, the broad market had a very nice post-election run-up but is sort of resting now. How have the telecom stocks fared in these recent days?
A: The integrated telecom stocks that I primarily follow are up nearly 6% in the last 13 weeks. (as of Nov. 19), modestly underperforming the S&P 500. Thus far in 2004, telecom services stocks have been outperformers, and we continue to recommend investors overweight the telecom services portion of their portfolios.
Q: What are your top five picks?
A: The strong buy recommendations from S&P in telecom services and related space, in no particular order, include Verizon, BCE, CenturyTel, Alltel, and Amdocs. I follow all five of these stocks for Standard & Poor's. However, my colleagues have telecom stocks Nextel Communications, Nextel Partners, Qualcomm, and Motorola ranked as strong buys.
Q: Is there any common thread among those stocks making them attractive?
A: Yes, there are two threads that can be pulled together. On the pure telecom-services side, we favor stocks that are generating significant free cash flow to fund capital expenditures and also support relatively strong dividend payouts. Among the stocks in this group are Alltel, Verizon, and BCE. The telecom-related stocks that I mentioned, such as Amdocs, Qualcomm, and Motorola, to name just a few, we believe will be beneficiaries of the competitive environment from wireline, wireless, and cable-service providers.
Q: Anything new happening with the trend to fiber? Your thoughts on Corning (GLW )?
A: My colleague follows Corning shares and has a hold recommendation on the stock, based largely on discounted cash-flow and book-value metrics. We at S&P expect Corning to benefit over the long term from accelerated fiber-to-the-home deployments by telecom operators. In recent weeks, we've heard added insight on the strategy to deploy fiber from both Verizon and SBC Communications.
Q: Your opinion of Nextel?
A: We have a strong buy, or 5 STARS [STARS is S&P's Stock Appreciation Ranking System], on Nextel Communications. We believe the stock is attractively priced relative to its peers. We view favorably Nextel's spectrum agreement announced earlier in November and believe the company's strong brand name has helped to keep its customer turnover at the low end of its national carrier peers.
Q: What about SBC?
A: We have a sell recommendation on SBC Communications. We believe it faces multiple challenges in its wireline and wireless operations that will prevent the company from improving its below-average EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] margins in the near term. Despite a relatively high dividend yield, we believe there are more attractive investment alternatives in the telecom space.
Q: Has the old AT&T Wireless gone live in its new identity?
A: Cingular's acquisition of AT&T Wireless was completed earlier this month, but we believe the integration of these carriers will be complicated and be dilutive to the earnings of parent companies SBC and BellSouth. When quarterly numbers are reported at the end of 2004, we expect Cingular will be the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., but [we] expect there to be continued market-share battles between Cingular and Verizon Wireless. Separately, we expect AT&T (T ) to offer a wireless service at some point in 2005.
Q: Your opinion, please, on Sprint.
A: We have a hold recommendation on Sprint shares. We believe revenues should continue to be aided by wholesale wireless gains and wireless data services. However, we're concerned by the increased access-line losses reported in the third quarter and competitive pressures in the long-distance segment. We believe Sprint deserves to trade at its current EBITDA discount to peers.
Q: Can you recommend a few stocks in the telecom industry that would benefit from a falling dollar?
A: Most of the telecom services stocks that I follow for S&P are based solely in the U.S. However, we do have a strong buy recommendation on Canadian telecom carrier BCE and a hold recommendation on Telefonos de Mexico (TMX ). Both carriers face less competitive pressure in their markets than their U.S. counterparts and provide what we view as a healthy dividend yield to investors.
Q: What's BellSouth's value?
A: S&P has a strong sell recommendation on BellSouth. We believe the company faces sizable challenges in both wireline and wireless operations.
Q: Do you have any sells or strong sells besides SBC and BellSouth?
A: In my coverage universe, we also have a sell recommendation on shares of telecom-services provider SureWest Communications (SURW ). SureWest access line losses in its most recent quarter were wider than its small telecom peers. In addition, we expect higher depreciation expenses and delayed broadband buildouts to depress future results. My colleague also has a sell recommendation on U.S. Cellular (USM ) shares. In our view, USM may realize double-digit revenue growth in 2005 with flat margins. However, with the stock priced above peers on a p-e basis, we have a sell recommendation on the shares.
Q: Is wireline service continuing to lose ground to wireless? And what are the implications for telecom stocks?
A: We expect that minutes of use will continue to flow from wireline services to wireless services as we head into 2005. However, the three largest wireless providers in the U.S. are owned by wireline carriers. We have Cingular, owned jointly by BellSouth and SBC. Verizon Wireless owned jointly by Verizon and Vodafone. And Sprint PCS is owned by Sprint.
So as minutes of use flow from one side of the telecom provider's operations to the other, we expect the traditional wireline providers to be only somewhat affected by the technology shift. However, we view competition from cable-service providers as hurting results for the wireline carriers in the near term.
Q: Do you have thoughts on any phone providers beyond Motorola?
A: My colleagues have hold recommendations on the ADRs [American depositary receipts] of Nokia (NOK ) and Ericsson (ERICY ). As for Nokia, despite better-than-expected recent results, it remains evident to us at S&P that weak average selling prices and intense competition are hurting profitability.
Q: What will be the effect for consumers of fiber-to-the-premises? Will it cost them more?
A: We believe it's still too early to get a sense of the benefits of these new fiber-based video and high-speed data products, as many of them are still being tested in the lab. We believe that consumers will be offered more choices and an expanded bundle of services that range from voice, data, wireless, and high-speed video at what we believe will be an appealing price range in an attempt to attract customers.
As to the benefits of cost savings and improved customer loyalty for carriers such as SBC, we remain skeptical. While it may be a bumpy ride for SBC investors, we believe consumers will be among the beneficiaries over the long term.
Q: Besides fiber, what changes do you see coming to telecom, and what companies might be on the leading edge?
A: We see the buildout of wireless-broadband networks increasing as we head into 2005. Among the carriers leading the wireless-broadband charge are Verizon and Sprint.
In addition, we think 2005 should look similar to late 2004, where telecom-service providers look to increase shareholder value by paying out large portions of their free cash flow in the form of dividends. In the second half of 2004, we've seen telecom carriers such as Alaska Communications (ALSK ) and Citizens Communications instituting what we view as sizable dividends, and we expect other carriers to follow this trend by returning cash to shareholders.
DoCoMo looks overseas for handsets
1 hour, 29 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ft/20041130/bs_ft/96d0f7d242f611d9bea100000e2511c8
By Robert Budden in London
NTT DoCoMo (news - web sites), Japan's dominant mobile operator, is to start selling mobile phones from Nokia (news - web sites) and Motorola next year in a bid to reduce its reliance on local manufacturers.
The move marks a significant cultural shift for the mobile operator, which has traditionally bought mobile phones from Japanese handset makers such as NEC, Panasonic and Fujitsu.
Masao Nakamura, chief executive of DoCoMo, said the group had agreed to purchase a mobile phone from Motorola that would be targeted at business users. He said DoCoMo was also in advanced talks with Nokia to buy a 3G phone that would be sold to lower-spending users.
For Nokia and Motorola, which are experiencing increasing competition from Asian manufacturers across western Europe, the developments represent a chance for them to attack Asian handset makers in their home markets.
The deals with Nokia and Motorola come as DoCoMo signs up MMO, BT Group's former mobile arm,to license its i-modecontent services platform across MMO's operations in the UK, Germany and Ireland.
Under the agreement between the two companies, MMO will pay DoCoMo a sum upfront to license its technology, believed to be less than £5m ($9.5m), as well as an ongoing fee based on revenues from i-mode services.
But the deal appearsto have annoyed Dutchtelecoms operator KPNas it already has an exclusive agreement with DoCoMo to offer i-modein Germany.
KPN said yesterday that it was seeking discussions with DoCoMo on DoCoMo's deal with MMO.
"This is a jigsaw piece that doesn't fit," a spokesman for KPN said on Tuesday.
Peter Erskine, chief executive of MMO, said: "What we get from i-mode is a platform that really does work, access to a lot of contentand scale in the handset business."
Sharp and Sony Ericsson Announce Co-development for 3G FOMA Mobile Phones in Japan
http://www.physorg.com/news2184.html
November 30, 2004
Sharp Corporation and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc. today jointly announced an agreement to co-develop the base software and to share selected hardware for 3G FOMA (Freedom of Multimedia Access) mobile phones for NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
In the area of software development, Sharp and SEMCJ will take NTT DoCoMo’s software platform licence which uses the Symbian OS™ supplied by Symbian and use it as the basis to co-develop new software for FOMA phones. Symbian OS has become the most popular and highly regarded smartphone OS in the world. This success has lead to content developers creating a wide range of high quality and exciting applications for the operating system, further enhancing its appeal and enabling phone users to enjoy high-quality, multi-media and entertainment phones.
Sharp and SEMCJ will also share some selected hardware, working together to build an efficient development environment by sharing both software and hardware development resources. Using the co-developed technology as the basis for new mobile phones, Sharp and SEMCJ hope to realize appealing and attractive FOMA phones which are unique to each brand.
“We are very pleased to work with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.”, said Masafumi Matsumoto, Corporate Executive Director and Group General Manager of Communication Systems Group, Sharp Corporation. “Through this agreement, we look forward to working with SEMCJ to develop the base software for new products so we can launch exciting new Sharp handsets to the market.
“We are very happy to collaborate with Sharp Corporation on FOMA development,” said Yukio Kubota, President of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc. “With this collaboration, we will be able to develop the software base for FOMA phones quickly and efficiently. This will enable us to concentrate on application development and create appealing FOMA phones which are unique to Sony Ericsson and appealing to phone users.”
Following today’s announcement, Sharp and SEMCJ will finalize the details of the cooperation. A concrete schedule for the development of new phones will be decided on in conjunction with NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Imagination Entertainment Selling Verizon's XV660 Early
Posted by Janak Parekh @ 10:00 AM
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,34955
"Be one of the first in the country to own the Nation's FIRST 3G mobile phone. The Verizon Wireless XV660 will be available next year by Verizon and is available now in limited quantities by Imagination Entertainment. The Pocket PC Phone is a full Windows Mobile device that utilizes Verizon's new high speed wireless broadband ED-VO network for incredibly fast internet and email access (300-500 kpbs average)."
Looks like Verizon's really close to selling their version of the HTC Harrier, and if you can't wait for it to appear in stores, here's your chance to get it right away. There are two caveats: I have no idea who Imagination Entertainment is, and you'll have to pay a premium - $950 with a new contract. Since even Verizon's never charged that kind of money for a phone, I suspect there'll be a price drop when they retail it directly. But if you need it right away, there's now a choice.
InvestorIdeas.com Launches Newest Portal, InvestingInWireless.com With Exclusive Article: "The Battle for Market Dominance in the Wireless Sector"
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=76864
POINT ROBERTS, WA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/30/2004 -- www.InvestingInWireless.com, a global news investor portal that provides cutting edge information and research about the Wireless Stock and Investing sector, is pleased to provide investors with an exclusive report about the quickly changing and evolving wireless sector, and the opportunities that exist for companies in this sector, and consequently, for stock market investors. The article discusses the battle for market dominance that is currently being fought by wireless phone/messaging industry players. Carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint are going head to head with data hardware vendors like Dell and HP, as well as cellular mobile hardware providers like Motorola and Nokia, in a battle for the lucrative business/professional market share. As more data intensive applications become the norm (and that sector is really heating up -- witness the popularity of Research in Motion's Blackberry device), which company, and indeed, which type of company, will become a market leader still remains to be seen. The consensus is, however, that small local wired phone carriers are going to have a hard time. The report was prepared by Brian Noer, Writer, Editor, and Market Researcher with InvestorIdeas.com.
InvestingInWireless.com's current list of public companies in the sector includes: 3Com Corp., Aegis Assessments, Inc. (OTC BB: AGSI), Ditech Communications Corp., Leap Wireless Int'l Inc., Lightbridge Inc., Lumera Corporation, Motorola, Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Nokia Corp., Novatel Wireless Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Research In Motion Ltd., Roaming Messenger, Inc. (OTC BB: RMSG), Rogers Wireless Communications Inc., Snocone Systems Inc (OTC BB: SCOS), Verizon Communications, Vodafone Group Plc, and numerous others. For the complete list, click here: http://www.InvestingInWireless.com/IIW/Stock_List.asp
InvestingInWireless.com does not make stock recommendations, but offers a unique free information portal for investors to obtain news, articles, and recent research.
Report Excerpt:
Wireless Data -- The New Killer App?
The telecommunications sector is experiencing a substantial shift in the leading companies, and in the types of companies, that are going head to head to reap the benefits of market share. Wireless technology is evolving at light speed, and industry players are finding that wireless data applications are becoming deal makers or breakers in many business' communications strategies.
At the moment great opportunities exist for many different types of industry participants to stake their market share claims. Wireless carriers, cell phone hardware, and PC hardware manufacturers all have the possibility of dominating the industry. The outcome depends on what type of company will evolve to capitalize on and provide the types of services, service packages, and products, that an increasingly data dependent marketplace requires. In addition, these players will have to take into consideration that the way in which wireless products and services are sold differs greatly from region to region, on a global basis.
Michael Weaver, Managing Director with the Fitch Ratings Telecommunications and Cable Group, predicts a head to head battle between carriers who offer a full portfolio of services packaged in different ways. "Obviously the cable operators have a window of opportunity with their VoIP (Voice over Internet) offering being more widely marketed in the next year in very interesting bundles, featuring both voice and video. The smaller telephone service providers however, will not realistically be in a position to push this type of package until 2006."
"Companies that we favor in the sector," said Fitch's Weaver "would include Verizon Wireless, a blue chip performer that promises strong growth and does offset some of the wire/line pressures that are currently being experienced. We think that Comcast, on the cable side, is a very strong operator that will be a long term competitor and obviously has very good growth prospects, particularly with the introduction of HDTV, digital video recorder functionality, and voice over IP, this year."
Rory Buchalter, analyst with Dominion Bond Rating Services sees tremendous potential for further growth through the increasing introduction of data applications for business users. "We see users, who in the past would not consider wireless for their total communication needs, giving this option a closer look as speeds, services, and features evolve. Companies can now rethink the way they do business because wireless gives them more flexibility."
Going forward, the growth of data applications is essential. Right now in the North American market, as a percentage of revenue, data accounts for about 10% of revenues, but looking ahead perhaps ten years, Buchalter projects that data could work its way up to 50%.
For the full article, including news on recent market movers and IPOs, click here: http://www.InvestingInWireless.com/IIW/News/Wireless_Data.asp
ECON Investor Relations Inc., (ECON Corporate Services), owns the domain www.InvestingInWireless.com.
Disclaimer: ECON Corporate Services Inc (ECON) is the owner of this domain. ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.
The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies," as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. InvestingInWireless.com/ECON is not presently being compensated by any Featured Companies in the wireless sector. InvestorIdeas and its HomelandDefenseStocks.com portal is compensated by three companies mentioned in this article stock list: Aegis Assessments, Inc.: Four thousand dollars per month, Snocone Systems, Inc.: Four thousand dollars per month and Roaming Messenger, Inc.: Two Thousand Dollars per month and One Thousand Dollars per month equivalent in shares.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant
800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com
Brian Noer
866-730-1152
Email: bnoer@investorideas.com
Web Site: http://www.InvestorIdeas.com
ZTE expects overseas sales to triple by 2006
http://english1.people.com.cn/200411/30/eng20041130_165633.html
Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp., the country's second-largest homegrown telecoms gear maker, said Sunday its overseas sales were expected to triple to 40 percent of total sales by 2006.
ZTE, which has already floated its A shares in Shenzhen, plans to raise about US$398 million through another initial public offering in Hong Kong on Dec. 9, Shenzhen Daily reported Tuesday.
It has been exporting to more than 60 countries including India, Pakistan, Russia and Egypt. In the first half of this year, its overseas sales climbed to 13.4 percent of total sales from 11.4 percent in 2002.
"We have been exploring the overseas markets for eight years. In the near term we are focusing on emerging markets, which are very similar to that of China five to 10 years ago," Hou Weigui, chairman of ZTE, told a video conference from New York, where the company is marketing its share offering.
"Due to our successful experience at home in the past, we are able to compete effectively and cover the needs of our customers in those regions, both for CDMA and GSM standards," he said.
ZTE plans to sell 141 million shares, or 15 percent of its enlarged share capital, at HK$17.5 to HK$22.0 per share for its initial public offering. It will fix the IPO price Friday.
There is also an over-allotment option to sell shares representing 13.5 percent of the total number of shares offered.
The company has said it plans to use about 60 percent of the IPO proceeds for overseas expansion.
Higher gross profit margins overseas were offset by bigger distribution costs -- giving a net margin about the same as in the Chinese market, it said.
The rest 40 percent of the IPO proceeds will be used for research and development.
ZTE reported a net profit of 213.2 million yuan (US$25.7) for the third quarter of this year, up from 82.2 million yuan in the same period last year, partially spurred by increased handset sales.
Source: Shenzhen Daily
A weaker dollar favors Qualcomm
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/comment/aaronpressman/10196468_2.html
Dollar Defies Greenspan Fix
<<At the very least, a weaker dollar favors exporters such as technology and machinery manufacturers, respective examples being Qualcomm (QCOM:Nasdaq - commentary - research) and Deere (DE:NYSE - commentary - research). Raw materials producers such as Phelps Dodge (PD:NYSE - commentary - research) also get a boost as dollar-denominated commodities rise in price to offset the decline in the currency.>>
QUALCOMM Announces Open Call for Presentations for BREW 2005 Conference
Tuesday November 30, 7:30 am ET
- Wireless Industry Experts Invited to Submit for Business and Technical Tracks -
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041130/latu018_1.html
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM - News), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced an open call for presentations for the BREW 2005 Conference which brings together an innovative and influential community of BREW® publishers, developers, content providers, technology providers, operators and device manufacturers from around the world. Presentation submissions will be accepted now through Feb. 7, 2005 and notification will follow by March 14, 2005. Presenters can submit their session proposal by visiting www.brew2005.com and completing an online form. The BREW 2005 Conference will be held June 1-3 in San Diego.
"QUALCOMM's BREW 2005 Conference brings together a broad array of key stakeholders throughout the wireless industry. Last year's event was sold out and the conference continues to expand its attendee list providing presenters an unparalleled opportunity to gain exposure in front of a large highly engaged audience of peers and fellow industry experts," said Gina Lombardi, senior vice president of marketing and product management at QUALCOMM Internet Services. "QUALCOMM looks forward to receiving presentations from wireless experts who can share their valued expertise and vision as part of next year's conference agenda."
BREW 2005 presentations will be accepted for the following three agenda tracks:
* Business -- Monetize ideas, maximize revenue and get insights through
case studies, market analysis, examination of trends and forecasts.
Learn from the business models and commercialization strategies of
industry leaders around the world.
* Technical -- Technology updates, practical "how to" advice and ideas
for taking advantage of the power and promise of the BREW solution.
* Technical Tutorials -- Technical lectures to explore functionality and
best practices for using the requisite tools included in the BREW
solution.
Last year's BREW 2004 Conference featured more than 60 speakers who focused on a broad range of business and technical topics related to the wireless data industry. Building upon that success, the BREW 2005 Conference will feature presentations on the latest advancements in the wireless data marketplace, appealing to an industry audience that is tech-savvy, entrepreneurial and eager to learn. Additional information on the BREW 2005 Conference can be found at www.brew2005.com.
QUALCOMM's BREW system provides products and services that connect the mobile marketplace value chain, which includes publishers, developers, content providers, device manufacturers, operators and consumers.
Publishers and developers worldwide are generating revenue from BREW-based applications and content, and 27 manufacturers have offered more than 150 BREW-enabled device models to consumers. BREW is successfully enabling the commercial wireless data services of many successful operators, including Verizon Wireless, Alaska Communication Systems, ALLTEL, Cellular One, Cellular South, Cricket Communications, MetroPCS, Midwest Wireless, NTELOS, Rural Cellular Corporation and U.S. Cellular in the United States, Bermuda Digital Communications, China Unicom, KDDI in Japan, KTF in South Korea, Hutch in Thailand, VIBO in Taiwan, Tata in India, Telstra in Australia, VIVO in Brazil, Iusacell in Mexico, BellSouth Argentina, BellSouth Chile, BellSouth Colombia, BellSouth Ecuador, BellSouth Guatemala, BellSouth Nicaragua, BellSouth Panama, BellSouth Peru, Movicom in Argentina, Movicom in Uruguay, Telcel and Movilnet in Venezuela, Verizon Dominicana in the Dominican Republic, Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico, Pelephone in Israel and Zapp in Romania.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2003 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the extent and speed to which the BREW solution is adopted and deployed, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 26, 2004, and most recent Form 10-Q.
QUALCOMM and BREW are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
QUALCOMM Contacts:
Michele Bakic, QUALCOMM Internet Services
Phone: 1-858-651-4017
E-mail: mbakic@qualcomm.com
or
Emily Gin, Corporate Public Relations
Phone: 1-858-651-4084
E-mail: publicrelations@qualcomm.com
or
Bill Davidson, Investor Relations
Phone: 1-858-658-4813
E-mail: ir@qualcomm.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: QUALCOMM Incorporated
INTERVIEW:NZ Telecom: 3G Ops To Put Pressure On Vodafone
By Shri Navaratnam
Monday November 29, 4:06 AM
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/041129/15/3ovwe.html
WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Telecom Corp. (TEL.NZ) said it expects its recently launched third-generation mobile phone operations to put pressure on New Zealand's No. 1 operator, Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN).
"With the 3G launch, the feedback so far has been pretty positive, and we've hit our initial targets quite easily from our retail outlets and direct sales stores," said Telecom Chief Financial Officer Marko Bogoievski.
"I think for a short period of time it will put pressure on Vodafone," he said, noting that the U.K. company has already launched special, discounted offers to business customers.
Vodafone, the world's largest mobile services provider, has said it won't launch its own domestic 3G service until the middle of next year. It has already begun building its W-CDMA 3G mobile network in New Zealand and Australia after selecting Nokia Corp. (NOK) for the project in May.
Bogoievski said Telecom's initial NZ$40 million investment in Evolution Data Optimized, or EV-DO, technology will be "very competitive" with Vodafone's W-CDMA network.
He rejected some commentators' assertion that Vodafone's W-CDMA technology will have handset advantage over Telecom, saying no one knows which 3G technology will set the benchmark for global standards in the long-term.
Analysts have said the W-CDMA technology may have handset advantage because more global players are currently on that platform. However, they note that EV-DO is also fast catching up and would be able to close the gap with big players such as Sprint backing that technology.
"That would be an issue in the long term, which no one really knows about as you are trying to make judgments on which is going to end up being a global standards," he said.
Telecom would be prepared to switch technologies, however, if dynamics in the 3G market warranted such a move, he added. "We think it's prudent to keep a close watch on other technologies and make sure our customers are sort of made future-proof."
Sprint Partnership To Help
In the short- to medium-term, Bogoievski said Telecom is confident of putting up effective competition to Vodafone when the U.K. giant launches its own 3G services next year.
He said Telecom is beginning to reap benefits from its partnership with U.S. carrier Sprint, which announced its own plans to for a phased national network rollout of EV-DO in the U.S. in July this year.
Bogoievski said the partnership will enable Telecom to introduce Push-to-Talk phones next month and video messaging around Christmas.
"We are also putting in place an investment proposal for video streaming," he said, without elaborating.
"There's quite a lot of uptake in devices such as 3G data cards, in fact we've run out of stock and are working to quickly replace them," he said.
Commenting on the market share losses to Vodafone, Bogoievski said most of the erosion had occurred in the low-margin prepaid customer base - a consequence of Telecom migrating customers from its analog network to its digital 1XRT and CDMA networks.
"In fact, in the business market we've done more than hold our share, we are pretty happy with the position there," he said.
Vodafone said recently it has increased its share of the local mobile market to 56.3% from 55.4% in July this year.
However, Vodafone's success appears to have come at a slight cost with average revenue per customer in the 12 months to September decreasing marginally by 0.7% on year to NZ$661 a year, or around NZ$55 a month. The erosion in ARPU was due to a fall in the postpaid base, where Telecom has managed to make some ground.
Mobile Carriers Move to Put Their Names on More Phones
By MATT RICHTEL and KEN BELSON
Published: November 29, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/29/technology/29cell.html?ex=1102395600&en=341e83193bd25d9e&e....
nited States cellphone operators, hoping to bolster their brands, are flirting with selling handsets that feature their names exclusively.
The effort, which follows a trend in Asia and Europe, means the companies may eventually sell more models that do not include the names of popular manufacturers. In October, T-Mobile released a device, the Sidekick, that send and receives e-mail messages and is made by Sharp but it features only the T-Mobile brand. In August, Sprint started selling a mobile phone built by Pantech, a Korean company, without the maker's name.
More of these handsets are likely to follow, analysts say, because United States cellphone carriers want to better manage and tailor features and services on the phones. And by working directly with "no name" manufacturers in Taiwan, South Korea and elsewhere, they might also gain leverage over phone makers and potentially reduce their costs.
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The operators "are looking to control the hearts and minds of the end user," said John Jackson, an analyst with the Yankee Group, a market research firm. "It's an exercise taking place worldwide as operators look to build consumer affinity."
Still, the strategy could threaten the long and fruitful, but in some ways fragile, relationship of phone operators and makers. The five largest United States carriers buy about $12 billion a year in handsets from the manufacturers, Mr. Jackson said, and the two sides have an interest in keeping each other alive.
Consumers know the manufacturers' brands, and studies show they choose a phone based partly on who makes it. The biggest makers, like Motorola, Nokia and Kyocera, spend heavily to market their phones. They also develop features for their phones that the operators would be hard pressed to replicate.
While Asian carriers in particular have eliminated the brand names of phone makers and use low-cost manufacturers, similar efforts in the United States are only starting. With the American market reaching saturation, competition to retain customers has intensified so operators are trying to build brand loyalty.
About a year and a half ago, Cingular Wireless, the largest United States cellular phone company, began internal discussions about whether to produce its own branded phone, said a spokesman, Clay Owen. The company, he said, wanted to create lower-cost phones using off-brand manufacturers and make Cingular's name more prominent.
"If you've got any brand loyalty you can leverage, that's a factor in creating phones with exclusive brands," he said.
In the end, Cingular's research showed that consumers continued to buy phones based on the reputation of the manufacturer, Mr. Owen said, though he added that Cingular continues to consider building phones featuring its brand exclusively.
Sprint generally sells phones that share the brand with manufacturers like Samsung and Sanyo. However, last August, the company began selling a phone made by Audiovox that bears only the Sprint brand.
John A. Garcia, Sprint's vice president for sales and distribution, said the handset was an aberration, not a sign of things to come. "That one must have slipped out," he said. Sprint, he said, likes to keep two brand names on the phone, to appeal to consumers who like a specific brand and to give the manufacturer an incentive to built the best phone.
Still, he said, the dynamics have shifted considerably between operators and makers. Until a few years ago, he said, phone operators accepted more generic models. But as carriers have grown and defined their strategies more, they are now dictating more terms.
"It used to be that Motorola would stack up the shelves and say, 'This is what we've got; take it or leave it,' " Mr. Garcia said. Now, he said, manufacturers customize their phones for each operator and for different tiers of service, depending on whether an operator wants to focus on games, business applications and so on.
This is what has gone on in Japan and South Korea for many years. For example, NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest provider, puts out a list of features and services it wants in its new handsets. With its latest 900i series, DoCoMo asked five makers - Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Panasonic and Sharp - to build phones that included cameras with resolution of at least one megapixel and video functions, a slot for memory cards, a Web browser and software that enables e-mail, games and other services.
For all that, the only sign of the manufacturers' work is a letter in front of the number 900. For instance, the DoCoMo F900 is made by Fujitsu, and the S900 by Sharp.
The bulk of the changes being made are inside the phones. The computer chips are so sophisticated that they become the off-the-shelf innards for a cellphone maker, Mr. Jackson of the Yankee Group said. This means that manufacturers can build basic phones at lower costs.
"You plop it in and wrap plastic around it and you've got a cellphone," he said, though he added that the rigorous standards demanded by network operators do not make it simple for any manufacturer to begin making phones.
Jeffrey K. Belk, senior vice president for marketing at Qualcomm, which makes chips for mobile phones, said the number of manufacturers was growing quickly, especially in Asia. Visiting phone stores in Shanghai or Beijing, he said, he did not recognize some of the makers.
The operators are taking advantage of a growing number of manufacturers and models, he said, and the same thing may be coming to Western markets. This would be in Qualcomm's interest because it gains influence if it is less beholden to the specifications of a few big manufacturers.
Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, is working harder with the operators to customize its handsets with software and features they request. "It used to be no more than a logo on the phone," said a Nokia spokesman, Keith Nowak. "But now we're working deeper into the development process with the carriers. The larger the carrier, the more we can do that."
Hot Stocks On 'Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street'
Monday November 29, 10:44 AM
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041129/5/1sb67.html
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The following companies were mentioned during the Nov. 26 airing of "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street," which was guest hosted by CNBC's Consuelo Mack.
Symantec Corp. (SYMC); VeriSign Inc. (VRSN); Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM); Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX); Procter & Gamble Co. (PG); Coca-Cola Co. (KO); Aetna Inc. (AET); W.R. Berkley Corp. (BER); Pulte Homes Inc. (PHM); Ashland Inc. (ASH); Haggar Corp. (HGGR), Audiovox Corp. (VOXX).
The year began with stock market expectations that were way too high coupled with tremendous political uncertainty; however as the year ends, "I feel pretty good about it," said Roger McNamee, co-Founder of Integral Capital Partners.
"As an investor I think that this is a stock picker's market; you still have to be very cautious, but I think that '05 has got good things available for us," McNamee said.
Additionally, he said the market environment is unlikely to change much over the next five or 10 years, which is unfortunate since people expected things would get a lot better coming out of the recession and after 9/11.
McNamee said the sectors he is most focused on are technology and media. "At the moment I think the balance very strongly favors the consumer side over enterprise technology," he said.
McNamee said he likes companies involved with security software such as Symantec and VeriSign. Additionally, he likes wireless data stocks, such as Qualcomm and Flextronics.
Nick Sargen, chief investment officer with Fort Washington Investment Advisors, said the only one clear trend in the market this year was higher oil prices. Looking ahead, however, he said, the major focus is on the dollar, which is likely headed lower.
Sargen said the real thing that needs to be avoided is a dollar crisis, where global investors become worried about owning dollar-denominated securities like U.S. bonds. In the event that that happens, Sargen said the Federal Reserve would likely take a more aggressive move in raising interest rates.
Sargen said he recommends Procter & Gamble and Coke, both of which are in the consumer arena.
Marty Zweig, fund manager with Zweig DiMenna, said he is concerned with inflation because it is coming back, and may will eventually prompt the Fed to keep hiking rates to combat it. "It's not at the critical level yet, but you're seeing it in the gold prices and you're seeing it in the dollar being weak. So maybe it's time to worry about some of these things, too," he said.
Zweig said that he is more of a conservative, and likes to invest in stocks with low P/E ratios. Among the stocks that he recommends are Aetna, W.R. Berkley, Pulte Homes and Ashland.
Thomas Kahn, co-director of investments with Kahn Brothers & Co., considers himself a value investor as he likes to look at companies that have either no debt or very low debt and lots of cash or other assets.
He said that if a company has managers who have big positions, that's a very good thing, and if Wall Street isn't following the company that's very important because that usually means the stock is appropriately priced.
Among the stocks that Kahn recommends are Haggar and Audiovox.
Arch memories, Qualcomm daydreams: Playing 'what if'
Alexander Soule
Journal Staff
INDUSTRY WRAPUPS
From the November 26, 2004 print edition
Tech biz
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2004/11/29/newscolumn1.html
It was not Cingular, and it was not Verizon Wireless -- but it was the only significant wireless provider we could call our own.
Following its merger with Metrocall Holdings, Arch Wireless is now USA Mobility, and it is no longer based in Westborough, instead listing its headquarters in Metrocall's base of Alexandria, Va.
Arch Wireless occupied the low-rent district of the wireless world -- pagers -- and in a way reflects the old, spare Massachusetts culture from which it sprang.
The Pilgrims got here first -- Arch Wireless arrived in 1986, predating the spread of mobile phones. And whereas major mobile phone carriers encourage people to yuk it up with their friends, Arch's technology necessitated keeping things short and simple -- just the way crusty Yankees like it.
But unlike other players, Arch did not evolve with the times. Chicago's Motorola has survived to become the lone U.S. company that can make a reasonable claim to status as a conglomerate in the wireless sector. Waterloo, Ontario, is home to Research in Motion, whose Blackberry messaging device Arch Wireless attempted to mimic. San Diego has Qualcomm, whose chips revolutionized the cell phone industry by creating an inexpensive way to send data.
What's left in Massachusetts? Well, we still have one of the largest wireless-tower operators in the world in American Tower Corp. We have chip makers Analog Devices Inc. in Norwood, and Woburn's Skyworks Solutions. We have radio manufacturer M/A-Com in Lowell, though it is owned by Tyco International of Bermuda.
Big names in their industries all, but names that do not carry the magical ring of Blackberry or Qualcomm.
Actually, Qualcomm represents one of those big "what ifs" locally. Founder and Chief Executive Irwin Jacobs taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before heading out to the University of California San Diego. He would go on to co-found a satellite company there called Linkabit, ultimately merging it with M/A-Com.
His next startup would be Qualcomm, establishing him as an industry giant. Too bad we missed out on the Jacobs gravy train, but as the saying goes, there is always another trolley coming down the tracks.
Founded a few days after the March 2000 crash of the Nasdaq, Chelmsford-based Airvana Corp. has thrived by developing a new iteration of the CDMA technology pioneered by Qualcomm for mobile phone data transmission.
Every few months, speculation is renewed that Airvana will reward its investors and 200 employees next year with an initial public offering of stock; the same rumors surround Starent Networks in Wilmington, which was incorporated the same week as Airvana.
They may want to strike while wireless's "big iron" is hot. I recently ran into an Internet-era millionaire who confided to me that he would never launch a wireless equipment company today.
"There are no profits in it," he said. "All profits up and down the wireless chain are being squeezed out."
That is what happened to Arch Wireless, which held off intense competition in the paging industry only to run into the emergence of Blackberry and new pricing plans from cell phone carriers. A lightning bankruptcy round later, it is controlled by the Virginians.
Airvana was started in March 2000, around the time that Murali Aravamudan co-founded Winphoria Networks, which also happened to be the week the Nasdaq bear market started.
They share something in else in common -- both launched with backing from Waltham-based Matrix Partners.
Motorola spent $150 million to acquire Winphoria two years ago. Now Aravamudan has started a new company on cash fronted by Matrix, but he apparently has abandoned the wireless market. All we know for the time being is that Veveo.TV is developing some type of Internet-enabled video software.
Aravamudan may be out of wireless, but it is more important to reflect on who is in.
There are indicators that Boston may finally take its place alongside San Diego on the short list of wireless innovation -- by developing small wireless devices that send short bursts of data over short distances.
Ember Corp., Millennial Net, Radianse, ThingMagic and other local startups freely throw out terms like "revolutionary" to describe the impact of their products, and all indicate intense interest in their products.
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Malden, said last week he hopes to free up more unlicensed frequencies for such uses, saying it will spur such innovation even further.
What if the next Irwin Jacobs is among us as we speak -- er, instant message?
Alexander Soule covers emerging technologies and startups. He can be reached at asoule@bizjournals.com.
Telstra verges on $1bn, 3G pick
By Fleur Leyden
November 29, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking/Telstra-verges-on-1bn-3G-pick/2004/11/28/1101577353643.html?onec...
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Phone companies jostling for Telstra's soon-to-be decided $1 billion third generation network tender are offering 'free' handsets.
Telstra is close to finalising a tender, worth up to $1 billion, for third generation network (3G) equipment and the expansion of Hutchison's 3G network.
Sources close to the bidding vendors said an upgrade of Telstra's "core" network, including installing the software platform and applications needed for 3G, will be part of the tender.
Expenses for servicing the network for three to four years, and an outlay for 3G handsets, is also part of the tender.
Telstra spokesman Michael Grealy said a tender process was under way but he would not comment on its size.
Phones companies including Ericsson, NEC, Siemens and Nokia are believed to be bidding aggressively for the tender, with some believed to be including "free" handsets as a sweetener.
In August, Telstra paid $450 million for 50 per cent of Hutchison's 3G network, built by Ericsson. Telstra said it would spend $150 million upgrading the network.
Telstra's domestic capital expenditure will increase from $2.9 billion in 2003-04 to $3.2 billion this year.
Earlier this month, Optus and Vodafone said they would spend a combined $1 billion on their 3G networks. That includes spending an estimated $700 million on building a joint radio access network for 2000 3G base stations as well as the duo each spending $100-$150 million to build separate core networks.
Nokia has been selected to provide the core network and radio access networks for Optus and Vodafone.
Meanwhile, Telstra is struggling to cope with its GSM digital network, with sources close to the telco concerned it has reached full capacity in metropolitan areas, resulting in slower call connection times and frequent drop-outs. Fixing the problem will cost an estimated $80-$100 million.
Instead, Telstra is making prepaid CDMA offers in a bid to migrate customers from digital to its CDMA network.
However, Mr Grealy said the reason for making the CDMA offers was purely competitive and he denied that Telstra's digital network was overloaded.
"The GSM network remains a very high quality network with 6.5 million customers on it . . . the GSM network is operating very well," Mr Grealy said.
Two months ago, Telstra said it had connected its one millionth mobile customer to its CDMA network.
David Moffatt, Telstra group managing director, consumer and marketing, said most of that growth had come from metropolitan areas.
Telstra shares ended 4 ¢ higher at $4.85 on Friday.
China ZTE Expects Sales Abroad To Bring 40% Rev In 2006
Sunday November 28, 2:27 PM
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041128/5/1sa8y.html
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--China's No. 2 telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp. (0763.HK) said Sunday it expects overseas sales to rise to contribute around 40% of its total revenue in 2006, compared with 13.4% posted in the first half of 2004.
The Shenzhen-listed company, which plans to raise around US$398 million through its listing in Hong Kong on December 9, said overseas business and handset sales will be the main growth drivers going forward.
"The telecommunications landscapes in emerging markets now are similar to that of China five to 10 years ago," said ZTE Chairman Hou Weigui at a video conference with reporters.
"Due to our successful experience at home in the past, we are able to compete effectively and cover the needs of our customers in those regions, both for CDMA and GSM standards," he said.
Code Division Multiple Access and Global System for Mobile Communications are two incompatible wireless standards.
ZTE plans to sell 141 million shares, or 15% of its enlarged share capital, at HK$17.5 to HK$22.0 per share, excluding fees, for its initial public offering. The company will fix the IPO price on Dec. 3. There is an overallotment option to sell shares representing 13.5% of the total number of shares offered.
ZTE is setting the first example of a Chinese-listed company seeking overseas listing in Hong Kong.
The company will use 60% of its proceeds on overseas expansion and 40% on research and development.
ZTE expects to book around CNY900 million on capital expenditure in 2005, mainly on construction of its R&D center and purchase of other facilities, up from an estimated CNY400 million for 2004.
Company President Yin Yimin told reporters while ZTE hasn't built any third-generation telecom network anywhere in the world, it has been participating in a number of commercial trials for 3G networks, including the three wireless standards currently considered by the Chinese government.
"We are well-prepared for 3G rollout under all three standards," Yin said.
The Chinese government has never said publicly how or when it will license phone companies to offer 3G services, or specified which technologies will be used.
The three standards being considered are China's homegrown Time Division-Synchronous CDMA or TD-SCDMA, wideband code division multiple access or WCDMA and CDMA2000, which is incompatible with WCDMA.
At the end of Sept. 30, ZTE's short term and long term bank borrowings totaled CNY1.87 billion.
In the first half to June 30, ZTE made net profit of CNY724.1 million, up from CNY317.6 million in the corresponding period of 2003, under Hong Kong accounting standards.
Third quarter net profit this year was CNY213.2 million, up from CNY82.2 million in the same quarter last year, due to increased handset sales.
The company said in its prospectus that contribution from its equipment sale for personal handyphone system, or PHS, network in 2004 will be lower than that in 2003, as domestic service providers shift the focus of their capital spending from PHS systems in anticipation of introduction of 3G in China.
In the handset segment, the company continues to experience pricing pressure, particularly in GSM and PHS handsets.
PHS network equipment sale accounted for 29.7% of ZTE's revenue in the first half of this year, and 43.2% in the entire 2003, while PHS handset sales brought in 15.9% of revenue in the first half.
Goldman Sachs is the sole global coordinator and sole bookrunner for ZTE's IPO.
Siemens expects rapid 3G rollout to overtake 2G-GSM technology
By EDU H. LOPEZ
http://www.mb.com.ph/INFO2004112723281.html
Local mobile phone operators may be looking at the third-generation (3G) mobile phone equipment in their future expansion and migration plans from the current second-generation (2G) GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) technology.
GSM is a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world.
It uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA). It operates at either the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz frequency band.
Is the local mobile market ready for the 3G phone? The two mobile operators Smart Communications and Globe Telecoms are raking money from current GSM technology and may not jump immediately to the 3G technology.
Migrating to 3G phone would entail huge capital expenditure on the part the mobile phone providers that would include investments in putting the network and 3G handsets.
While the Philippines is a "GSM country," the rollout of 3G mobile phone equipment is growing rapidly in other Asian countries like Hong Kong, China, Korea and Japan.
At the recent 3G World Congress in Hong Kong, Lothar Pauly, chief executive officer (CEO) of Siemens Communications said the 3G W-CDMA is spreading faster than GSM. This new technology is being well received by consumers.
W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is a third-generation (3G) mobile wireless technology that promises much higher data speeds to mobile and portable wireless devices than commonly offered in today’s market.
It can support mobile or portable voice, images, data, and video communications at up to 2 Mbps (local area access) or 384 Kbps (wide area access).
The input signals are digitized and transmitted in coded, spread-spectrum mode over a broad range of frequencies. A 5 MHz-wide carrier is used, compared with 200 kHz-wide carrier for narrowband CDMA.
Siemens has recently signed a W-CDMA contract with Maxis Malaysia.
Other Asian countries would soon be awarding their first or new 3G licenses such as Indonesia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam, said Pauly.
"Not only have we had local Siemens companies in these countries for decades, we are also a reliable partner as a GSM and wireline supplier. And we view Siemens as the ideal partner for supporting our customers as they move from 2G to 3G and on the mobile future beyond 3G."
There are more than 10 million W-CDMA users throughout the world. It was projected that the number would reach more150 million by 2006.
"Not only is 3G being rapidly adopted, it’s also widespread. The UMTS Forum estimates that more than 70 operators worldwide will have 3G W-CDMA-enabled networks by the end of 2004," said Pauly.
Pauly expects Asia to be the next big 3G W-CDMA market with 3G phone calls already becoming part of the daily life in Japan.
Hong Kong and Australia have launched 3G services, while contracts are going to be awarded to service providers in other Asian countries.
"Siemens intend to supply a major share of the 3G market and would assume a leading role. W-CDMA is also going to spread rapidly in Asia," said Pauly. By 2009, about 80 percent of all investments in mobile networks will be forW-CDMA.
Pauly noted that China is the biggest market for 3G W-CDMA in Asia. It was anticipated that 3G licenses would be awarded next year in China.
Between 2005 and 2007, China would account for about 40 percent of the Asian W-CDMA market in terms of operator expenditures, said Pauly.
"Siemens is well-positioned in China to support GSM operators in migrating to 3G with a joint venture with Huawei to jointly develop, manufacture and market TD-SCDMA."
TD-SCDMA (time division synchronous code division multiple access) is China’s local 3G standard that belongs to the UMTS family which gives Siemens a unique position and capable of supply both W-CDMA and TD-SCDMA.
TD-SCDMA is a mobile telephone standard for wireless network operators who want to move from a second generation (2G) wireless network to a third-generation (3G) one.
Supporting data transmission at speeds up to 2 Mbps, TD-SCDMA combines support for both circuit-switched data, such as speech or video, and also packet-switched data from the Internet. The standard combines time division multiple access (TDMA) with an adaptive, synchronous-mode code division multiple access (CDMA) component.
CONVERGENCE
With the availability of high-speed Internet through broadband, users are able to make phone calls, surf the Internet and transfer data while they are from their homes or offices.
"An in the future, this will bur the distinction between wireline and wireless. We have a myriad of technologies for wireless data transfer 3G W-CDMA, WLAN and son WIMAX and Flash-OFDM," said Pauly.
"It will be a matter of putting all these technologies together in one network. And this is the Siemens’ vision. We have achieved the number one position in wireless broadband access as proven recently by the Research Group, Current Analysis."
Central to this development is Siemens’ IP-based multimedia subsystem (IMS), a network platform that can provision services over diverse technologies and in a wide range of scenarios.
Pauly explained that IMS uses an IP transport network and accommodates all access technologies such as GPRS (general packet radio service), W-CDMA and WLAN (wireless local area network) including fixed-line access technologies.
IMS helps mobile operators keep their operating expenses low, rapidly build and deploy new services by leveraging central user administration and standardized interfaces and enable peer-to-peer real-time services such as voice, data and video.
"Push and talk" is an example of a new service that runs on IMS. It allows a user to use the mobile phone like a walkie-talkie.
"We’re convinced that "push and talk" would establish itself as a new form of communication and generate greater revenues for the mobile phone operators.
Just like the SMS, the mobile world will be inconceivable without it," said Pauly.
As 3G technologies evolve and bandwidth capacities increase, it would be easy to manage both the voice and data networks.
The ARC Group predicts that wireless access to common front office applications would be generating between $15 and $20 billion in revenues worldwide by 2009.
Front office applications include e-mail, electronic calendars, personal contacts and shared corporate resources including Intranets and corporate directories.
Pauly expects Asia to surpass Europe in terms of the number of enterprise subscribers. In response to this growing demand, Siemens is offering a new standard e-mail push solution Mobile Office Advantage.
This new solution enables enterprises to read and answer corporate e-mails in real time while on the move and offers them secure access to the Internet or Intranet.
It can be integrated into all existing networks and enterprises can easily incorporate it into their own IT environments and operated it themselves, said Pauly.
Saturday, November 27, 2004 12:11 AM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=INFOTECH&oid=64098
Siemens aims for leading position in Asia's 3G/W-CDMA industry
As the W-CDMA technology picks up speed in Asia, Siemens positions itself to become one of the key players of this new innovation by recently joining in the debut of the 3G/W-CDMA base tation.
The Siemens Communications group intends to supply a major share of this market with W-CDMA infrastructure and to build on its global 3G success with its partner NEC.
“By the year 2009, W-CDMA will account for an investment share of around 80 percent of Asian mobile networks. Thanks to our long-standing contacts with operations in the region, we see ourselves as being outstandingly positioned to equip our partners for the 3G age. Our target is to attain the leading position in this arena,” said Siemens Communications Group president Lothar Pauly during the recent 3G World Congress in Hong Kong.
Aimed to promote and expand 3G worldwide, the event is the telecom industry’s established global forum for discussion of the challenges and solution that face the industry today.
The recent 3G World Congress and Exhibition offered delegates the opportunity to consider 2G-to-3G migration issues relating to CDMA2000, W-CDMA and China’s proposed TD-SCMA technologies, among others. This reflects the need of Asian carriers who are facing fiercely competitive markets, changing regulatory environments, complex choices and legacy issues.
Recently, Siemens signed a 3G/W-CDMA contract with Malaysian operator Maxis. Technology leaders Siemens and NEC also debuted the new generation of NB-880 W-CDMA base stations in Hong Kong. These base stations are more cost-effective for operators as they require around one-third less electricity, which in effect can serve larger numbers of subscribers. It is also equipped with the 3G/W-CDMA turbo data service HSDPA.
Asia offers mobile markets that are in different stages of development. While 3G telephony is commonly used in Japan, it is not until recently that licenses and initial contracts were awarded in most of the other countries in the region. Siemens is especially interested to penetrate China, where licenses are expected to be awarded next year.
Siemens intends to supply the Chinese market with 3G/W-CDMA and the TD-SCMA technology, the local 3G standard that the firm is developing in a joint venture with Huawei. Within a few years, China will be Asia’s largest market accounting for around 40 percent of operator investment in 3G/W-CDMA. Currently, Siemens and NEC are already the leading suppliers of this country. “Today more than 10 million mobile subscribers worldwide are making phone calls over 3G/W-CDMA and with 90 percent of all W-CDMA users using the Siemens-NEC technology. We intend to build upon this success in Asia,” Pauly added.
He also noted that the focus of this development is the IMS (IP-based Multimedia Subsystem), a standardized platform that can quickly and cost-effectively provide a wealth of IP-based applications such as the push and talk or the walkie-talkie function for mobile handsets, which also runs on IMS. Siemens is currently showing this practical new service and is currently being introduced to the market. “By next year, Asia will already be overtaking Europe in demand for mobile enterprise solutions and will actually drive the market for them,” said Pauly.
In Hong Kong Siemens and NEC also debuted the new NB-880 3G/W-CDMA base station. This is the third-generation 3G/W-CDMA base station, which will begin shipping in January 2005.
These base stations come with the HSDPA turbo data service. HSDPA provides average download speeds of between two to three megabytes per second for 3G/W-CDMA subscribers. This roughly corresponds to the fastest DSL connection that is currently available in the market.
In addition, these new base stations are extremely economical when it comes to power consumption. Mobile operators can save around one-third on energy costs using this service. Moreover, they can also serve twice as many subscribers that will, in effect, make them market leaders in terms of capacity. The comparison with GSM is especially vivid since a NodeB 880 offers the same subscriber capacity as 10 GSM base stations put together.
Korean Producers Continue Global CDMA Supremacy
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200411/kt2004112618382111800.htm
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
South Korean cell phone makers continue to stay in the driver¡¯s seat in the world¡¯s code division multiple access (CDMA) phone market, according to a U.S.-based research institute.
Strategic Analytics on Thursday announced Samsung Electronics has sold roughly 6.9 million CDMA phones during the July-Sept. period to secure a back-to-back quarterly top ranking.
Samsung¡¯s archrival LG Electronics has shipped some 6 million phones during the third quarter for the second slot and Nokia was a distant third with 3.9 million units.
Samsung got off to a somewhat rocky start this year as 2003 champion LG extended its CDMA dominance into the first quarter with a 19.8-percent market share against Samsung¡¯s 18.5 percent.
However, Samsung outpaced its ferocious local rival during the next three months by jumping its share to 23.2 percent while LG lost ground to 18.4 percent.
Korea has been touted as a powerhouse for CDMA as the nation opted the offspring of Qualcomm as its national standard and more than 36 million people today carry phones made under the format.
As for the global standard for mobile communications (GSM), the alternative system prevalent in Europe, Samsung made a gigantic leap by tying for second with Motorola with sales of 12.8 million phones during the third quarter.
``Because the GSM market explains more than 70 percent of the world¡¯s handset sales, our progress in the sector will bode well for our future. We expect to outclass Motorola in the final quarter,¡¯¡¯ a Samsung official said.
LG also advanced substantially by carving out a 4.7-percent niche in the GSM market during the same period to take sixth position, up three notches from the previous quarter.
On the back of such notable performances in the two mainstream cell phone standards, Samsung closed in on Motorola in the overall market.
Samsung accounted for 13.6 percent of the global market, just 0.3 of a percentage point behind the world¡¯s runner-up player Motorola, which trails Nokia¡¯s 30.7-percent share.
LG also increased its hold to 7 percent to grab the fifth slot, outpacing Sony-Ericsson¡¯s 6.4 percent.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
11-26-2004 18:40
TI bullish on video phones, 3G
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=38125&liArticleTypeID=1&li....
by Suzanne Deffree at Electronic News
Friday 26 November 2004
Texas Instruments continues to put its weight behind video conferencing on the mobile handset. Indeed, Mike Yonker, CTO of cellular systems in TI's wireless terminals business unit, believes it will be a strong driver for the 3G market.
"For the 3G networks that have been deployed and seen success, what I've heard is that they've seen video conferencing as the first app that people think about when they think about 3G," he said in an interview with Electronic News.
TI's partner DoCoMo in Japan, which uses the Dallas-based company's OMAP technology in its 3G W-CDMA phones, has been active in video over the handset in Asia for years, Yonker said.
"The reality is in Japan there are literally new metrics being created as a result of some of the applications available," he said. "Before, maybe the only two ways we would measure the performance of a phone were talk time and standby time. Now, there's actually video talk time on DoCoMo phones."
TI and DoCoMo are not alone in the emerging 3G market. Recently, Intel and Symbian announced the joint development of a reference platform for a new class of 3G devices based on the Symbian OS and Intel’s XScale technology. Qualcomm, a player in the market from 3G's birth, in October announced its $19m cash buy of Spike Technologies, a semiconductor design services company that complements its work in the space.
Meanwhile, TI's latest major step toward 3G usage remains in the video-over-handset arena. OMAP-based Hollywood, its single digital TV chip for cell phones that will capture 24 to 30 frames per second and allow users to watch live broadcasts, is expected to sample in 2006.
Custom solutions like Hollywood, pushed by applications like video -- not standard technologies -- are what will bring the 3G market to full speed, Yonker believes.
"The reality is, even if you look at the 2.5G market today, we're 50 per cent of the standard chipset market. But the standard chipset market is still a smaller portion of the overall market for semiconductors. The custom solutions still dominate."
TI's expectations for the market are high. The company predicts 3G-handset shipment growth from about 240 million in 2004 to 440 million in 2008, 415 million of which will be W-CDMA handsets.
"After the hype of 3G a few years ago, it became sort of a forbidden word for a while. But now it is really coming around to delivering on the promise," Yonker said. "We'll see a couple of years from now the difference between a 3G phone and a 2.5G phone will be the better applications and that will drive the transition a lot."
www.ti.com
BREW, WIPI Aim To Become Mainstream Smart Phone OS
Thursday, November 25, 2004
By Sung Ho-chul & Kwon Geon-ho
http://english.etnews.co.kr/news/detail_top.html?id=200411250001&art_grad=9
Two wireless platforms, Qualcomm¡¯s BREW and domestically-developed standard 'WIPI' are in race with Microsoft's ¡®Windows Mobile' and Nokia's 'Symbian' to become a market-dominating operating system.
Wireless platforms have served as middleware that lets mobile phones run games, maps and other applications.
With processors installed into handsets failing to catch up with evolution of OSs, however, competition had been limited. Now that processors with enhanced functions are available, wide adoption of smart phones installed with operating systems such as Windows Mobile and Symbian, which run a variety of applications, is gaining steam.
Wireless platforms such as BREW and WIPI are also increasingly tailored for OS functions. Qualcomm's BREW has become the dominating platform in the CDMA area, propelled by the growing numbers of customers using U.S. Varizone and Japan's KDDI service.
BREW remains open to interoperability with Windows and Symbian, while gearing up for a battle in the OS market. The move is seen as opposite to the downsizing trends of OSs, which have moved from mainframe and Unix to Windows and Windows CE.
Qualcomm unveiled BREW 3.1 in May this year, offering enhanced user interface. "We plan to roll out BREW 4.0 in the first half of next year, and the new software will play more than 80% of OS role," said a manager at the company.
"Windows Mobile may get ahead in smart phones adopting mass-market processors, but BREW will likely secure a leading position in the MSM (CDMA) area," said Oh Jae-ha, executive director at Qualcomm Korea.
"MSM 6000 series comes with less than 20% of communication functions, and the trends will continue through MSM 7000, reflecting the changing wireless environment," he added. "Competition between BREW and Windows Mobile will most likely heat up in the changing market."
It remains to be seen how well the MSM chip developer will compete with OS makers. Another major factor is whether KTF will continue using BREW after adoption of WIPI technology in April next year.
The Korea Wireless Internet Standards Forum (KWISF) is crating a long-term strategy for WIPI in the smart phone era. The forum is mulling over adding OS functions to WIPI and placing WIPI over embedded Linux.
"We still see risk of developing a proprietary OS," said Kim Seon-ja, researcher at the KWISF. "We plan to launch a smart phone department to work out challenges ahead"
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) tested installation of WIPI over embedded Linux 'Qplus', and it plans to showcase the technology at Soft Expo set for next month.
"Embedded Linux will likely increase presence in the Northeast Asian region," said Kim Heung-nam, embedded software researcher at the ETRI. "By installing WIPI over embedded Linux and ensuring downstream interoperability of content, we will be able to be better positioned for smart phone competition."
"The idea of linking WIPI with another OS to compete with Windows Mobile sounds hardly convincing," said an industry expert, however.
ATI and Qualcomm join in mobile ecstasy
Mobile business larger than PC
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19894
By Fuad Abazovic in the Bosnian wilds: Thursday 25 November 2004, 21:40
THERE ARE MUCH more mobile phones in each house than computers. Not many houses have more than one PC but I can think of few; the Fudzilla residence and Inquirer central in Harrow are good examples.
Just few days earlier in Londonium we heard that ATI and Qualcomm joined the swards to conquer the mobile market. Qualcomm showed us where mobile phones are going and I can tell that if you don’t like 3D you won't like near future of mobile phones.
Normal non thecky people have more mobile phones than PCs. That’s what Qualcomm realised quite some time ago and that's what ATI learned in last few quarters ago.
Qualcomm told us that all of their customers are requesting 3D interfaces, 3D icons, 3D games and even 3D ring tones on their mobile phones. 3D ring phone means that your phone plays 3D animation when it rings we understood.
We saw first 3D game steps on mobile phones and we saw bowling games and Collin Mcray rally on mobile phones and it looks small and funny but it what customers demans in present or near future.
Qualcomm offers quite few solutions for mobile phones now but if you want Qualcomm chip and 3D support you will have to get ATI chip separately. Qualcomm made its chips compliant to its partner ATI 3D / multimedia chips. Both companies are working on their first unified chip and they will continue to do 2D and 3D chip as one chip solution. This should happen at beginning of 2005 we understood.
This is just first step and ATI / Qualcomm roadmap looks impressive they showed us some plans till 2007 where you can expect your media chip with 32 to crazy 64 MB of graphic memory on mobile phone chip.
Nvidia might be in trouble to fight ATI on this market as Qualcomm is very high ranked player but we have to wait and see what is going to happen in Nvidia vs. ATI mobile phone chip wars.
Mobile phone future looks 3Dchip inside to me weather you want it or not. µ
Gloves come off as TI, Qualcomm spar over 3G chips
Thu Nov 25, 2004 09:53 PM ET
By Doug Young
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh74227_2004-11-26_02-53-23_hkg...
HONG KONG, Nov 26 (Reuters) - For the top two makers of mobile phone chips, it's time to take the gloves off.
For years, Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) have avoided direct competition by focussing on different mobile technologies: in TI's case, the GSM standard used by 80 percent of mobile subscribers; for Qualcomm, the CDMA system used in parts of the United States and Asia.
Now, the advent of new standards for third-generation mobiles is driving the companies onto each other's turf and raising the prospect that Qualcomm will dominate a 3G chip market forecast to be worth billions of dollars in the next few years.
San Diego-based Qualcomm, as well as making chips for the 3G standard that will succeed CDMA, is tasting early success with its semiconductors for the GSM successor.
TI, likewise, is offering chips for both of the new technologies that will turn mobile phones into broadband Internet-enabled devices.
But Qualcomm has an advantage in that both 3G standards are based on its patented CDMA technology, as their names attest: the GSM successor is called WCDMA, while the plain CDMA networks are upgrading to CDMA 2000.
"Next year is going to be a brand new game," said Warren Lau, a semiconductor analyst at Macquarie Securities. "Qualcomm seems to be doing pretty well in Europe with their WCDMA chipsets. But I'm not sure if they can repeat their success in Asia."
TI has dominated the market for GSM phone chips with a 60-70 percent share and hopes to do the same for WCDMA. But Qualcomm has set itself a target of half the WCDMA market, albeit not any time soon.
"Our target is to try to get up around 50 percent ... as quickly as possible," Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs told reporters on the sidelines of a 3G conference last week in Hong Kong. "Often people laugh at that when we say that's our target."
NO LAUGHING MATTER
It's no laughing matter for TI. Qualcomm forecasts its WCDMA chip sales will double in 2005, albeit from a low base, and has already signed on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) , the third-biggest mobile maker, number four player Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and sixth-ranked LG Electronics Ltd. (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) for its WCDMA chips.
Qualcomm is also wooing market leader Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Japan's NEC Corp. (6701.T: Quote, Profile, Research) , although it is likely to face competition from other chip makers such as Agere Systems Inc. (AGRa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , Analog Devices Inc. (ADI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) and Philips Electronics NV (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) .
Next year is rapidly shaping up as a watershed year for 3G, with the recent or pending launch of services by heavyweights such as Europe's Vodafone Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , U.S. carrier Verizon (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , and Australia's Telstra Corp. (TLS.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) .
Merrill Lynch estimated WCDMA phone sales will grow from 14 million this year to 45 million in 2005. CDMA and CDMA 2000 handset sales combined, of which half or more of them are now 3G, are expected to grow to 160 million in 2005 from 145 million.
Still, 3G phones will remain a small fraction of total mobile sales Merrill forecasts will reach 658 million in 2005.
TI sees its 3G chip sales overtaking its 2G business only in 2006. Phone makers have begun testing its new CDMA 2000 chips, said Doug Rasor, TI's worldwide strategic marketing manager, although he declined to name customers.
Pacific Crest Securities analyst James Faucette said Qualcomm has a leg up on TI when it comes to 3G chip design.
"For the foreseeable future, I don't particularly see Texas Instruments' designs being very competitive," said Faucette, who rates Qualcomm a "sector outperform" but does not cover TI.
"As far as WCDMA, Texas Instruments doesn't really have a competitive design in the market yet ... I would expect that you'll see phones based on Qualcomm solutions for WCDMA rolling out in Hong Kong and Australia." (Additional reporting by Daniel Sorid in San Francisco)
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
TI expects 3G mobile chipset sales to soar
2004-11-23 06:53
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/23/content_394617.htm
HONG KONG: Texas Instruments (TI) Inc, the world's largest manufacturer of cellphone chips, announced last week that it expects its third-generation (3G) mobile chipset sales to overtake its second-generation chip business by 2006.
"It's probably not next year, but maybe the year after that," Doug Rasor, TI's worldwide strategic marketing manager, said during the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong.
Rasor said 3G chip revenues will probably surpass 2G revenues first, because 3G chips are more expensive, and unit sales will follow.
TI, which posted US$3.25 billion in revenues in the third quarter, derives about one-third of that from handset chip sales.
It supplies about two-thirds of the world's chips for phones that use GSM, the second-generation standard for wireless communications.
TI now makes chips for a new generation of phones, which use WCDMA, the 3G upgrade for GSM that allows data-rich functions like live broadcast streaming and video downloads.
Mobile phone operators hope such premium applications will justify their expense of billions of dollars to buy 3G licenses, upgrade their systems and develop new applications.
Companies with WCDMA services now at or near operation include Europe's Vodafone, Australia's Telstra Corp, Japan's NTT DoCoMo and France Telecom's Orange.
Reflecting the rapid rise of its 3G chips, 25 per cent of TI's sequential revenue growth for its wireless division in the third quarter came from WCDMA chip sales, Rasor said.
"It's on a hockey stick sort of curve," he said of the growth rate for WCDMA chip sales.
"3G is being rolled out pretty aggressively."
TI is also hoping enter market for 3G handset chips used in CDMA 2000, the world's other major standard for 3G mobile systems, and an area dominated by the technology's developer, Qualcomm Inc.
CDMA 2000 and its predecessor, CDMA, account for about 20 per cent of the world's 1.2 billion mobile subscribers. GSM and WCDMA make up most of the remainder.
Rasor said several handset makers are testing TI's newly developed CDMA 2000 chips. None have placed major orders.
Qualcomm's chief executive, Irwin Jacobs, also in Hong Kong for the congress, previously said his company developed WCDMA chips, and that it hoped to hold half of the market.
But, he acknowledged that will take at least "several years."
Agencies via Xinhua
(Business Weekly 11/23/2004 page15)
Did anybody notice that QCOM Short Interest dropped significantly from 10/15 to 11/25/04:
Short Interest
Oct. 15, 2004 25,565,865
Nov. 25, 2004 18,701,830
-----------
Reduced by 6,864,035
===========
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/quotes_full.asp?kind=shortint&symbol=QCOM&selected=QCOM
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=qcom
ZTE unveils new CDMA2000 1xEV-DO solution
23/11/2004 by Parthajit
http://www.digitalmediaasia.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4552
ZTE Corp of China, the telecom equipment manufacturer, revealed what it describes as ‘ground breaking’ new technologies in CDMA2000 and WCDMA in Hong Kong last week.
ZTE’s new CDMA2000 solution, the 1xEV-DO+1x Release A, supports both voice and data simultaneously, and offers wireless packet data services.
With a speed of 307.2kbps in a single carrier wave, 1x ReleaseA is an enhancement to the earlier Release0, the company noted. While the Release0-based 1x system has already been put into operation in more than 90 commercial networks, the ReleaseA is expected to be formally introduced into the international market shortly.
ZTE’s all-IP platform is reported to solve problems of QoS and has been applied to a number of 3G base stations. According to the company, one major advantage in adopting the all-IP-based solution is that it keeps the network structure consistent throughout the whole process, from core network to access network, minimising investment risk for the telecom operators.
Sprint, Verizon Outpace Cingular With Mobile Data Bet (Update1)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=a9l0qkwH_xk4
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Usama Houlila pesters Sprint Corp. every week to begin its faster wireless-data service for the 1,000 attorneys of Chicago law firm McDermott, Will & Emery, where he is a technology manager.
Sprint, the third-largest U.S. mobile carrier, is winning a $1 billion bet that impatient customers such as Houlila will pay for speedier data service. So is Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 carrier. Together, they'll spend $2 billion by 2006 to build high- speed mobile networks for data, the fastest-growing part of the $100 billion U.S. cellular market.
``In every meeting, we bring it up,'' says Houlila, 36. McDermott's lawyers next year will be able to download 30-page files by laptops from outside the office in less than two minutes using Sprint's new technology -- 10 times faster than now.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless are now at least a year ahead of competitors -- including Cingular Wireless LLC, the largest carrier -- in developing so-called third generation or 3G mobile networks, says Mark Hesse-Withbroe, who helps choose $125 billion of investments at U.S. Bancorp Asset Management in Minneapolis.
``Having that head start will certainly give them a better opportunity to make these investments profitable,'' says Hesse- Withbroe, 34. U.S. Bancorp's holdings as of the end of September included 6.6 million shares of Verizon Communications Inc., parent of Bedminster, New Jersey-based Verizon Wireless, and 728,000 shares of Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint.
Cingular Cuts Jobs
Atlanta-based Cingular inherited a high-speed network in six markets from its Oct. 27 acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. It moved today to create cost savings from the $41 billion purchase, saying it will cut 7,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce. The reductions will begin after this year, spokesman Mark Siegel said in an interview.
Sometime next year, Cingular will begin adding to the markets it received in the AT&T Wireless acquisition to build a national network, says spokesman Clay Owen.
``We'll have that built out in a time that's competitive with the other major players in the U.S.,'' says Owen, declining to be more specific. Cingular hasn't said when it will complete the upgrade.
The 3G networks will help turn mobile phones and laptops equipped with wireless cards into devices with quick Internet access. Users will be able to transmit documents, music files, photos and video clips almost as quickly as they can now with cable modems and high-speed phone lines.
$32 Billion Market
That will bring a 10-fold increase in the U.S. data market, to $32 billion by the end of 2008, according to the research company TeleCompetition Inc. of San Ramon, California. Meanwhile, with almost two-thirds of the U.S. population now using mobile phones, overall growth in wireless subscribers is slowing, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a wireless trade group.
``The opportunity for non-voice services absolutely dwarfs the revenue opportunity that we've seen so far in the mobile voice market,'' says Albert Lin, a telecom analyst at American Technology Research in San Francisco. ``These new services are what's going to keep the revenue for these companies growing,'' says Lin, 37. He has a ``buy'' rating on Verizon Communications shares and doesn't own any.
``For the first time in almost a decade, we see a significant difference that will be material to the fortunes of the various carriers,'' says Lin.
Push-to-Talk
The last comparable event was in 1996, Lin says, when Nextel Communications Inc. began selling its nationwide ``push-to-talk'' service, which enables callers to use the phone as a walkie- talkie. That has given Reston, Virginia-based Nextel average monthly customer revenue of $69, the highest in the industry.
Push-to-talk helped propel Nextel's shares to a fourfold gain in less than eight years, to $28.42 from $6.53 on Dec. 31, 1996. The Standard and Poor's 500 Telecommunication Services Index fell 5.9 percent over the same period.
Nextel, the fifth-largest carrier, has said it expects to have a next-generation network in place by early 2007.
Executives of both Sprint and Verizon Wireless say they expect to complete their national 3G networks by early 2006.
At Verizon Wireless, mobile data sales will more than double to $1 billion this year from $400 million in 2003, says John Stratton, 43, chief marketing officer. The company hopes to triple the proportion of revenue from data by 2010, to 15 percent from 4.7 percent in this year's third quarter, says Chief Executive Dennis Strigl, 58.
The shares of the company's two owners have risen this year. Stock of New York-based Verizon Communications has soared 17 percent, to $40.99. Vodafone Group Plc of the U.K. has increased 4.3 percent to 144.50 pence in London.
Wireless Sales Double
At Sprint, wireless-data sales more than doubled to $255 million in the third quarter from a year earlier, accounting for 6.8 percent of total mobile-phone revenue. The company hasn't provided a full-year data forecast. The average amount that Sprint's customers spend on data each month could double by 2008 to $10, says President Len Lauer, 47.
Sprint stock has risen 17 percent, to $22.51 from $19.27 on April 23, when the company combined two separate classes of shares tracking its wireless and wire-line units.
Bellevue, Washington-based T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest carrier, hasn't announced a timetable or said which technology it will use. The company has the largest wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, network in the U.S., says spokesman Bryan Zidar. Wi-Fi is an alternative to 3G technology. T-Mobile is owned by Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom AG, whose shares have risen 10 percent this year in Frankfurt to 16 euros.
`Awful Lot of Lifting'
Cingular will face challenges building a 3G network as it completes the AT&T Wireless merger, says U.S. Bancorp's Hesse- Withbroe.
``It's not that Cingular can't get there,'' he says. ``That's just an awful lot of lifting.''
That's one reason Hesse-Withbroe says he has been cautious about the shares of Cingular's parent companies, which have declined this year. SBC Communications Inc. shares have fallen 2.1 percent to $25.52 while BellSouth Corp. stock has dropped 3.3 percent to $27.36.
Cingular will be too busy with the merger to build a national 3G network before 2007, says Philip Marshall, the director of wireless-technology research at the Yankee Group, a Boston-based research and consulting firm.
Demand for 3G services is growing because company information officers are no longer satisfied with the speed of today's mobile data, says Stratton, Verizon Wireless's marketing chief.
`Hunger for Wireless'
``You've got a lot of people out there who have now got a bit of hunger for wireless connectivity on a broadband basis but have been frustrated by the limited availability,'' says Stratton.
Verizon Wireless and Sprint have staked their fortunes on a 3G technology different from the one adopted by most carriers worldwide, including Cingular. It is known as Evolution Data Optimized, or EVDO. Their standard allows average data speeds as fast as 500 kilobits per second.
That compares with 384 kilobits for Cingular's Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, or UMTS, the 3G technology for roughly 70 percent of phones globally that now operate on the wireless standard known as Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM.
To be sure, profits from big investments in 3G have so far been elusive. European phone companies including Vodafone, the world's biggest wireless operator, Deutsche Telekom and Milan- based Telecom Italia Mobile SpA, Italy's largest mobile phone company, raised debt and spent about $100 billion in 2000 on licenses for fast-data services.
Wi-Fi and WiMax
When the Internet bubble burst, the burden of debt forced companies to sell units and write off the cost of the licenses.
The European carriers are only now beginning to offer 3G services. Newbury, England-based Vodafone introduced its version on Nov. 10 in 12 European countries and Japan.
Asia is a different story. In the past 18 months, 8.5 million South Koreans have signed up for 3G services including video-news clips from carriers such as SK Telecom Co., the country's biggest mobile operator. It uses the same EVDO technology as Verizon Wireless and Sprint. High-speed services have also begun to take hold in Japan, which has 1 million users, according to a Nov. 16 report from Credit Suisse First Boston analysts.
Even if U.S. demand for 3G services continues to build, Sprint and Verizon Wireless run the risk that their new wireless networks will be eclipsed by other technologies. One contender is WiMax, which makes high-speed Internet access available as far as 30 miles from base stations. Another is Wi-Fi, a short-range version of WiMax that has proliferated at coffee shops, libraries and shopping malls where access is provided at an hourly rate or at no charge.
`Mass-Market Acceptance'
Sprint and Verizon Wireless have Wi-Fi services and say they are studying WiMax. Their investments in those technologies are dwarfed by their spending on 3G networks. If the other technologies win out, the two companies could be forced to write off millions of dollars in the 3G investments.
Verizon Wireless has signed up 75,000 customers for high- speed data in 16 cities and plans to make it available to almost two-thirds of the U.S. by the end of 2005.
Sprint will begin testing its network in two Midwest markets before the end of the year and plans to have service in most U.S. cities by the end of 2005, spokesman Scott Stoffel says.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless are initially aiming to win corporate customers, whose employees will use laptops with wireless cards to tap into corporate computers while traveling or working outside the office.
Use of mobile-phone handsets by consumers, professionals and companies will eventually account for 90 percent of 3G sales, says Lauer, Sprint's president. Basic monthly service fees per device will range from about $15 for consumers to $80 for corporate users, he says.
The upgrade to 3G will enable doctors to view X-rays on palm- size mobile screens and allow consumers to shoot and e-mail full- motion videos with their phones, says Lauer, citing two examples.
``You've got to get the mass-market acceptance along with the business acceptance for it to pay,'' says Lauer.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dana Cimilluca in New York at dcimilluca@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Emma Moody at emoody@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 23, 2004 16:00 EST
Researchers suggest quick 3G launching
www.chinaview.cn 2004-11-22 09:05:19
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/content_2245125.htm" target="_blank">http://www.the3gportal.com/cgi-bin/framer/framer.cgi?http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-11/22/co...
BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The launch of the third-generation (3G) mobile communications system in China can not afford another delay, but it must be done with caution, suggests a leading market research house, China Daily reported Monday.
Helen Wang, telecommunications research manager with the US-headquartered market research firm International Data Corp's Chinese branch, says she believes China can not delay releasing 3G licences.
The launch of 3G in the world's largest telecoms market in terms of subscribers has been a hot topic since 2001, but China has postponed granting licenses to operators, which has been speculated to happen this year.
The latest speculation on the date of 3G licence release is around the middle of next year.
IDC's Wang said 3G must be a developed mobile system at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, but it will take at least three years of operation to gather experience and build a complete and efficient network. Therefore, the country needs to start 3G next year, or it will face challenges in providing developed 3G systems to athletes and visitors from around the world at the Games.
Wang said it is important to create market demand, rather than waiting for developed applications.
She said as China has the world's largest mobile communications subscriber population and one of the most advanced telecoms infrastructures, it should use its advantage and become a leader in 3G applications.
If the 3G launch is successful, Chinese telecoms operators, equipment and handset makers, and software developers would have a great chance to spread their experience and products to other parts of the world.
IDC researches show that the deployment of the wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), a European-dominant 3G standard, has achieved significant growth this year and investment in WCDMA will start to increase significantly beginning next year.
The company predicts WCDMA subscribers will rise to 15 million by the end of this year.
WCDMA is one of the three major 3G standards. The other two are US-led CDMA 2000 and Chinese-initiated time division synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA).
IDC said capital spending on the WCDMA systems worldwide was about US$4 billion in 2003, but it will rise to about US$8 billion in 2005 and US$15 billion in 2007.
However, despite the necessity to launch 3G in China, Wang warned operators should not expect quick success in the short term.
She said operators may have to wait for at least three years to make profits from 3G services, so they must control their spending tightly and outsource some services to cut costs.
When telecoms carriers begin to build 3G networks, the networks do not need to have large capacity, but must leave enough room for future expansion. Enditem
(China Daily)
Why Beijing Has 3G on Hold
NOVEMBER 23, 2004
CHINA JOURNAL
By Bruce Einhorn
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2004/nf20041123_6420_db065.htm
Why Beijing Has 3G on Hold
It wants to develop a homegrown standard that will give China clout in the telecom world, but the one it's pushing isn't up to snuff yet
China has more cellular users than any other nation on earth. More than 300 million Chinese -- more than the total number of men, women, and children living in the U.S. -- have mobile phones, and that population continues to grow by millions a month. Yet China remains a laggard when it comes to the cutting edge of telecom technology: third-generation (3G) cellular services.
While neighbors like Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong boast operators that have 3G networks up and running, Chinese phone users are still waiting for 3G. Worse, government in Beijing hasn't even gotten around to issuing 3G licenses yet.
LATE START. The delay isn't due to lack of interest. The Chinese are keen to be players in 3G. Because the government wants to use its market clout to influence the development of 3G worldwide, it has helped foster a homegrown 3G standard -- TD-SCDMA -- that can compete against the two commonly accepted worldwide standards -- UMTS, which is dominant in most of Western Europe and parts of Asia -- and CDMA2000.
San Diego-based Qualcomm (QCOM ) backs CDMA2000, which has won acceptance in the U.S. and South Korea. Beijing's thinking has been that if China has a locally produced alternative, it could reduce the amount of royalties it would have to pay to foreigners while helping Chinese tech companies become more powerful globally.
It's reasonable to think that success in 3G could lead to Chinese-originated standards in other technologies. But the problem is China got off to a late start on its 3G standard. And while it has received assistance from the outside -- most notably from German giant Siemens (SI ), which has been working for years with Chinese partners to help develop TD-SCDMA -- no network anywhere uses it yet. The reason is simple: TD-SCDMA isn't yet ready for prime time.
UNSTABLE NETWORK. Many people in the telecom industry have long assumed that China's regulators will choose to have all three standards, but until the local favorite can be seen as more or less equal to the other two, that's not possible. So Beijing has stalled. The conventional wisdom was that the government would make a decision by the end of 2004, but as the year winds down, it's clear that nothing is going to happen.
How much longer can the stalling go on? That was the question on the minds of many people attending a major 3G trade show in Hong Kong last week. Giving more urgency to the speculation were press reports that the Information Industry Ministry, China's telecom regulator, had conducted trials on TD-SCDMA that produced less-than-ideal results. The Ministry has said the TD-SCDMA trials showed that the network was unstable and unreliable and that not enough TD-SCDMA-compatible handsets were available.
"Tech-wise, certainly they are lagging," says George Huang, Nortel Networks' (NT ) vice-president for greater China. Indeed, Nortel has been one of the most active foreign companies in working with Chinese partners to spur the development of TD-SCDMA. "Expectations are quite high, and that makes people say that it's not going well." While Huang says he's hopeful, he concedes that more work must be done before TD-SCDMA is commercially viable.
OLYMPIC PRESSURE. Some people are getting impatient. "TD-SCDMA has certainly fallen short of expectations," says Jing Wang, Qualcomm's chairman for greater China. "It's becoming very dangerous for them to continue to delay and wait for TD-SCDMA to work at a commercial level." He argues that it makes little sense for China to sacrifice its 3G future for TD-SCDMA. With the Olympics to be held in Beijing in 2008 and the regime determined for them to be a showcase of China's economic and technology might, the government will want to have 3G networks up and running, Wang says. "They don't want to be embarrassed."
He points out that given the amount of time it will take for mobile operators to get their networks operational, the Chinese government's stalling game will have to end soon. And Wang says continued delay will hurt Chinese companies like Huawei Technologies and ZTE, which want to manufacture and sell 3G handsets worldwide. Without a strong home market, they'll be at a big disadvantage compared to rivals like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Nokia (NOK ), and Motorola (MOT ). "2005 is the year they will have to issue the 3G licenses," he says.
Some people say there's no reason to worry. Siemens, which this year formed a joint venture with Huawei to focus on TD-SCDMA, is pushing ahead, says Lothar Pauly, president and CEO of Siemens Communications. The German company didn't take part in the recent trials that were disappointing, according to Pauly. "We're going to conduct our trials starting in December, and we're pretty confident that our equipment will work sufficiently," he says. "We'll have equipment commercially available in the middle of 2005."
NO CRITICAL MASS. More foreign companies are showing interest, despite the shortcomings so far. For instance, Analog Devices (ADI ), based in Norwood, Mass., announced at the Hong Kong show that it was launching a new chipset for TD-SCDMA handsets. In a press release, Christian Kermarrec, a vice-president at Analog, said, "We expect TD-SCDMA handset design activity to increase rapidly over the coming months."
These announcements are positive for the Chinese standard. The big problem, though, is that few other countries have shown much interest in TD-SCDMA. And until they do, there's less incentive for a critical mass of companies to invest the time and money required to make phones capable of working on the standard.
As a result, the handsets now available are pretty clunky, says Amer G. El-Nahi, Asia Pacific executive director of marketing and strategy for mobility solutions at Lucent Technologies (LU ). "Right now, TD-SCDMA handsets are about as big as a refrigerator," he says, only half-joking. "There is a lot of work to be done." And not much time is left.
Einhorn is BusinessWeek's Asia Economics correspondent, based in Hong Kong Follow China Journal only on BusinessWeek Online
Edited by Patricia O'Connell
Mobile companies now bet on TV
JAN STRUPCZEWSKI & SINEAD CAREW
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/932378.cms
REUTERS[ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004 12:23:15 PM]
STOCKHOLM / NEW YORK: A reality show or soap opera on your mobile phone? This is the vision of top telecom firms as they hope that from 2006 consumers will sign up for new phones that can receive digital television signals.
Some executives predict that full-fledged television could be the biggest mobile hit since voice calls.
"Mobile TV is actually the most important application beyond voice and messaging in phones," said Andrew Cole, a vice president for consultancy AT Kearney.
He believes US users alone will spend $30 billion annually on mobile TV, money that will go to telecom operators, equipment makers and broadcasters.
"The light goes on when you see it. It is very watchable," Cole said of live TV demonstrations on phones in South Korea.
Mobile phone users with high-speed, third generation handsets can already watch some TV channels that are broadcast via a low-quality wireless Internet video stream, provided by Vodafone in its 3G markets at a cost of €12 per hour, rather than the high quality of broadcast typical for TV sets.
Mass market mobile TV will only become possible with a new type of broadcasting and with mobile phones that have separate TV antennae alongside mobile communications aerials to pick up the signal.
The broadcast, formatted for mobile phones in a standard called Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H), could be made over frequencies now used by analogue TV stations, once they vacate them by switching to digital broadcasting.
Users will need to buy a new phone with an additional chipset and an antenna, and operators will have to agree on a revenue-sharing scheme with TV stations.
Users want TV
In countries where most people already have mobile phones, telecom companies are searching for ways to keep growing by trying to make people spend more on services such as Internet surfing, picture swapping and live video calls.
These services have been slow to catch on, and people still mainly use mobiles to make phone calls or send short text messages.
But a trial in Germany by Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, and Vodafone, the largest mobile operator, showed 80 per cent of people wanted TV on their mobiles and were willing to pay €12 ($15.63) per month for it.
Surveys by smaller rival Sony Ericsson show interest from up to 40 per cent of users.
"Everything points in the same direction – this is one quite promising service," said Bengt Stavenow, a senior Sony Ericsson executive dealing with mobile TV technology.
Cole forecast consumer spending of as much as $20 a month for mobile TV in the United States, where Nokia is also running tests and wireless chip maker Qualcomm plans to build a dedicated network for digital TV services.
Nokia expects handsets to be available in 2006 that can access 20 to 50 TV channels, and Qualcomm expects to begin operating a US network around the same time. Sprint, the No. 3 US mobile provider which now delivers video on demand to phones, has said it is keen to offer live TV.
Research by handset makers shows people would probably watch sitcoms and news or sports programming while commuting.
"On average, people watch three to 15 minutes. It's typically news or music TV. Very rarely do they want a film – there are better receivers for that," said Seppo Sutela, head of Nokia's Rich Media department. "This will become a 'killer application' for the mobile phone."
Hype or reality
The TV programme could also be broadcast by the operator over its own 3G network via a technology called Multimedia Broadcast & Multicast Services, which is expected to be ready in 2006.
Nokia's trial TV phone, used in tests in Germany, Finland, Britain, United States and Australia, is bulkier than normal because of the additional chipset and antenna.
The company promises to produce commercial TV phones that do not differ from today's advanced handsets, which have features such as personal organisers.
Sony Ericsson's Stavenow said the cost of an additional TV chip in phones should be only between $10-15.
But at least one high-level official acknowledges that mobile TV might not be a global success.
"I'm cautiously optimistic on how well that's going to do," said Ron Garriques, who heads the mobile phone unit at Motorola, the world's No. 2 handset maker. "I think it's really important to look at this market by market."
Text messaging is still much more popular among European than US consumers. Asian users have been quicker to embrace advanced phones than the rest of the world.
Multiple technology standards and the availability of digital TV in individual countries could stunt global progress of the market.
Gartner analyst Jason Chapman is conservative about the viability of mobile TV. Operators will feel obliged to follow the crowd in providing the service, he said, like many have with live video calls, which are offered in Europe and Asia but have yet to become popular.
"Mobile TV will go the same route," Chapman said. Only a few percent of US consumers responding to a Yankee Group survey put TV at the top of their list for new mobile features.
"It's certainly far from being proven," said Yankee analyst Keith Mallinson. "But people don't know until they've tried it."
Semiconductor Makers Race In Developing Chips For Portable Broadcast Receivers
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
By Kim Kyu-tae & Sung Ho-chul
http://english.etnews.co.kr/news/detail_top.html?id=200411230006&art_grad=9
In an attempt to take leadership in the looming market for chips for portable digital broadcast receivers, leading semiconductor makers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm are racing in development of chips based on different specifications.
While Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics developed a chip for receivers of terrestrial digital multimedia broadcast (DMB) in June and September, respectively, Frontier Silicon, a Europe-based semiconductor maker, plans to introduce a similar chip next year targeting the market in Korea.
In European portable digital TV specification DVB-H camp, TI unveiled last month a plan for developing a chip for receivers, while Sony and Motorola are reportedly developing similar chips. "The company will develop a DVB-H-based receiver chip in conjunction with Nokia and will roll out its samples next year," said Rich Templeton, CEO of TI.
Qualcomm, which supports FLO specification, decided to roll out a DMB receiver chip in the fourth quarter of next year. "The DMB receiver chip is designed to be compatible with its communication baseband chips with higher capacities than 'MSM6500', and it is power-efficient even in high frequencies," said Oh Jae-ha, executive director at Qualcomm Korea.
Fast moves of these semiconductor makers are aimed at taking an initiative in the world market by demonstrating superiority in their respective technologies before any one of them is settled as de facto standard.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are seeking to branch out into world receiver chip market based on their foundation in the domestic terrestrial and satellite DMB market, while TI and Qualcomm are attempting to expand to world market based on their strongholds in European HVB-H and U.S. FLO market, respectively.
Industry observers predict that chip makers will be split into two contrasting groups, a winner group and a loser one, in 2006. This is because terrestrial and satellite DMB service will be commercialized in the first half of 2005, DVB-H service in the second half of 2005, and FLO service will be launched in 2006.
"A consecutive unveiling of sample chips and development plans means that chip makers are girding for commercial portable digital broadcasting service, triggering technology competitions," said executive director Oh.
ZTE Unveils Ground Breaking New Technology At 3G World Congress
11/22/2004
http://www.electronicsweb.com/content/news/article.asp?docid=%7bFD447302-AF99-47E4-8576-E6AB706909E9...
ZTE Corporation of China, China’s largest listed telecommunications equipment manufacturer and a major exhibitor at the 3G World Congress & Exhibition in Hong Kong (Booth 1104, Hall 7), revealed its ground breaking new technologies in CDMA and WCDMA today.
Optimized 3G CDMA2000 solution
Supporting both voice and data at the same time, and offering wireless packet data services, ZTE’s new solution ”1xEV-DO+1x Release A” is the optimized 3G CDMA2000 system that was formally introduced to the overseas market. Visitors to the stand at the show will be able to see ZTE’s 1xEV-DO demonstrate a rate of up to 2.4 Mbps wireless data services, which supports main 3G services such as streaming media and videophone. High speed document download and Internet surfing is a major feature for visitors.
As fast as 307.2 kbit/s of a single carrier wave, 1x ReleaseA is the enhanced edition of Release0, showing a doubled speed rate of the previous edition. The Release0 based 1x system has already been put into use in more than 90 commercial networks.
Showcasing the groundbreaking “1xEV-DO+1x ReleaseA” solution is further evidence of ZTE’s formidable capabilities in CDMA research and development and signifies that ZTE is at the forefront of the world’s leading 3G CDMA2000 field.
All-IP based platform ensures the consistent network structures
As a leading pioneer of IP 3G platforms in the telecommunications industry, ZTE’s all-IP platform smoothly resolves the problems of QoS and has been successfully applied to a number of 3G base stations. The advantage of adopting the all-IP based solution lies in the fact that it keeps the network structure consistent throughout the whole process, from core network to access network, and minimizes the risk of the telecom operators’ investment. An all-IP based solution also offers great flexibility for the network in transmission, management and maintenance.
As the largest CDMA system equipment supplier in China, ZTE announced in September that it had won a CDMA2000 1x network construction project in Vietnam that covers 13 provinces, including the most densely populated areas and highly developed zones in the country, making ZTE the largest CDMA system provider to the fast-growing Vietnam market. Following this achievement, ZTE has also announced that its project of CDMA2000 1x will go live in Nepal, which will make the company the biggest telecommunications equipment supplier in the country. According to Nepal Telecom, this is the biggest project they have ever undertaken in the history of the Nepal telecom market.
Additionally, ZTE has won several major international CDMA contracts in the last six months, including projects in India, Indonesia, Russia, Egypt, and Mongolia. ZTE’s CDMA mobile communication systems have now topped 18 million lines worldwide and its CDMA products have been successfully deployed in over 20 countries.
Technical breakthrough in the WCDMA field
Apart from the advanced CDMA based solutions, ZTE will also be demonstrating its latest research results in the WCDMA area.
Following the WCDMA V2 commercially used system, ZTE will be introducing its V3 serial products at the 3G Congress to meet the ever-changing needs of the markets. The products integrate the optimized all-IP structure and many other cutting-edge technologies and will considerably improve the performance stability and maintainability of the equipment.
The enhanced WCDMA technology based on R5, HSDPA, is another eye-catching technical achievement that ZTE is presenting at the event. This technology greatly expands the transmit rate and can be easily supported by the relative equipment with smooth software upgrade.
ZTE’s WCDMA system has been successfully applied for commercial use in Tunis and ZTE has beaten all other competitors to make the first ever 3G call in Tunisia. This means that ZTE can successfully construct WCDMA Networks for commercial use and has become one of the few telecommunications manufacturers that can deploy 3G commercial networks in the world.
Strongly supported by its leading-edge technologies and continuous commitment towards product innovation and improvement, ZTE’s 3G CDMA2000 and WCDMA technologies are empowering telecommunications operators and vendors to expand their customer base and maximize their revenue generation.
About ZTE: ZTE Corporation is China’s largest listed telecommunications equipment provider specializing in offering customized network solutions for telecom carriers worldwide. The company develops and manufactures telecommunications equipment for fixed, mobile, data and optical networks, intelligent networks and next generation networks as well as mobile phones.
http://www.zte.com.cn/English/index.jsp
About 3G world congress & exhibition: it is the only international event focusing on ALL 3G services and applications being delivered commercially today. 3G world congress & exhibition 2004 is the 9th edition of the 3G World Congress & Exhibition, which promises to be the biggest and best event in its history. It has finalised with over 125 speakers and over 1000 congress delegates and 5000 exhibition visitors with 3000 sqm of exhibition space this time.