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KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.(BUSINESS WIRE)July 22, 2003InterDigital Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: IDCC), a leading architect, designer and provider of wireless technology and product platforms, today announced that Nokia Corporation (Nokia) has requested binding arbitration regarding Nokia's royalty payment obligations for its worldwide sales of 2G GSM/TDMA (2G) and 2.5G GSM/GPRS/TDMA (2.5G) products under the existing patent license agreement with InterDigital Technology Corporation (ITC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of InterDigital Communications Corporation. Pursuant to the dispute resolution provisions of the patent license agreement, Nokia's request for arbitration was filed in the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Nokia's arbitration request relates to ITC's claim that the patent license agreements ITC signed with Ericsson and Sony Ericsson in March 2003 defined the financial terms under which Nokia would be required to pay royalties on its worldwide sale of 2G and 2.5G products commencing January 1, 2002. Nokia is seeking a determination that it has no royalty obligations to ITC based upon ITC's licensing of Ericsson and Sony Ericsson. Alternatively, Nokia is seeking an order requiring ITC to provide Nokia with access to various documents related to previous litigations, negotiations, and arbitrations with other parties. Pending access to the requested documents, Nokia is seeking to prevent the commencement of arbitration proceedings that would determine royalty amounts owed to ITC for the period starting January 1, 2002. ITC has thirty days to respond to Nokia's request for arbitration. As part of ITC's response, ITC intends to file a counterclaim seeking a determination of and award for royalties owed to ITC by Nokia. Separately, Nokia has indicated that it intends to file an action in Federal Court to gain access to documents previously sealed by the Court related to the now-settled Ericsson litigation. "Resolving royalty issues with Nokia remains a top priority," said William J. Merritt, Executive Vice President, General Patent Counsel and President of ITC. "We believe that we have fully satisfied our contractual obligations and remain confident in our position, including our prior projections as to the amount of royalties owed and to be paid. We are fully prepared to move forward to arbitration."
Chip makers aim to differentiate with products
by Sam Omatseye
July 21, 2003 1:03 PM EST
Chip companies continue to seek their place in the wireless sun with a series of product announcements in base stations and devices.
Skyworks Solutions Inc. introduced what it described as a complete subsystem for E-GPRS, a platform for EDGE handsets. It embodies GSM, GPRS and EDGE technologies.
"This approach has the potential for improving PA (power amplifier) efficiency in EDGE mode by up to 10 percent when compared to conventional architectures, resulting in improved talk times," said the company.
Agere Systems Inc. made a stride with one of its products as it announced that LG Electronics has agreed to deploy its asynchronous transfer mode traffic management switching chips in its wireless base stations.
"Agere's traction with LG Electronics and many other customers demonstrates that the company is strongly positioned for continued leadership in ATM and traffic management chips," said Steve Rago, analyst with iSuppli.
Samsung Electronics also announced that it has unveiled what is called the world's fastest mobile central processing unit known as the S3C2440 with a core speed of 533 megahertz.
The solution will drive the emergence of new services, functions and multimedia content for mobile handheld devices like smart phones and personal digital assistants, according to the company.
"By providing a comprehensive set of common system peripherals, the S3C2440 reduces overall system costs and eliminates the need to configure additional components," said Samsung.
AFT Electronics also got in the chip mix with the launch of its postage stamp-sized flash memory card known as the 512MB MultiMediaCard, which quadruples current capacities and allows consumers to store up to 15 hours of digitally compressed music, according to the company.
AFT said its technology is based on open standards and will be available to OEMs and retail channels at competitive prices.
Cometa hot spot quest cooling off
By Richard Shim and Evan Hansen
CNET News.com
July 21, 2003, 5:54 AM PT
URL: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-5047486.html
Cometa Networks is showing signs of stress as it races to meet an ambitious schedule aimed at making it the biggest provider of high-speed Internet "hot spots" in the United States.
Read more about hot spots
The San Francisco-based start-up, formed late last year with the backing of technology giants IBM, Intel and AT&T, has announced show-stopping plans to build a network of 20,000 hot spots, with 15,000 up and running by 2005. Hot spots are areas where wireless Internet access is available to the public.
Seven months after its launch, however, Cometa remains far behind competitors in the race to snap up the most valuable hot-spot locations and appears unlikely to meet its ambitious timetable, analysts said.
"I don't think they'll have the numbers they projected," said Pyramid Research analyst John Yurke, who recently wrote a research paper predicting Cometa will have only 10,000 hot spots in place by its announced deadline. "Wiring up a McDonald's is one thing. But to do all the rooms in a hotel or cover an airport can take weeks."
A Cometa representative said the company remains on schedule to meet its goals and downplayed suggestions that it is facing unexpected difficulties. "We're on track," said Cometa spokesman John Balbach, although he declined to elaborate.
Cometa has been in the spotlight because of its high-profile backers as well as the scale of its ambitions, which dwarf those of rival networks by aiming to make wireless broadband access nearly ubiquitous in the 50 largest U.S. cities.
Reader Resources
Hot spots
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But analysts point to a number of recent setbacks that signal the honeymoon is over for the start-up, which launched amid expectations that it would dominate the booming market for wireless broadband services.
Earlier this month, Cometa rival Wayport won a seat at a high-profile hot-spot trial with Cometa's only announced customer to date, fast-food giant McDonald's. Meanwhile, in a blow to Cometa's hopes of signing up telecommunications carriers, Verizon Communications and SBC Communications have both recently announced plans to create hot-spot services of their own, undercutting the chances of future partnerships.
Because size is one of the key measurements that carriers and service providers will look for in a partner, Cometa's plan all but requires it to be first in building the country's largest hot-spot network. But that task is looking more daunting now than it did when the company first launched, as companies have since rushed to enter the commercial hot-spot business.
To meet its 15,000 hot-spot goal, Cometa will have to build 500 hot spots a month for the next two-and-a-half years. That pace would quickly create the biggest hot-spot network in the United States. The biggest provider for now, T-Mobile, has just 2,400 active hot spots, and most network providers are building out new sites at a rate of tens per month, rather than hundreds.
But working on a less grand scale can have its advantages, analysts said, particularly in the race to secure high-quality hot-spot locations such as airports, hotels and other travel hubs that are most likely to attract large numbers of potential customers.
Lofty ambitions?
Cometa is under the gun because the company isn't thinking small and is looking to do it all itself, while competitors are moving fast and partnering with others to provide the right mix of services and products, IDC analyst Keith Waryas said.
"Cometa is in a tough spot because they're trying to get big, which makes it difficult for them to react quickly," he said. "But if they don't, they're of no use to carriers."
Cometa's Balbach countered that the company's efforts to create a true national network will result in significant advantages in price and quality of service over competitors, once it is built.
One of the biggest issues facing hot-spot companies is the lack of unified coverage, which might force a business traveler to hop between several different providers over the course of a single trip. This is a problem because customers must typically change computer settings and make different billing arrangements each time they sign on to a new system.
Some networks are striking so-called roaming agreements that allow customers from multiple services to use their equipment and thus quickly expand their service footprints. But Cometa said such arrangements are clunky and face enormous administration problems as the number of networks cobbled together increases. By contrast, the kind of single national network that Cometa plans to build avoids these problems and ultimately stands to reap benefits of scale.
Some analysts said the situation for now favors less ambitious hot-spot providers that have come out of the gate more quickly. Cometa competitor Wayport, for example, already has 650 hot-spot locations that it rents to service providers such as Boingo Wireless. By comparison, Cometa has announced just one customer, McDonald's, which has so far installed just 10 Cometa hot spots at restaurants in New York.
A Wayport representative downplayed the importance of sheer size and emphasized instead the need to get to the market first.
"It's not all about having the largest network; it's about having the best locations with the highest amount of traffic," said Dan Lowden, Wayport's vice president of marketing.
Wireless technology known as Wi-Fi has taken off as a cheap and effective way to share resources on a network, such as a broadband connection, and it has quickly spawned a commercial hot-spot service industry aimed at delivering bandwidth in high-use areas including hotels, airports and truck stops. Anticipating demand, providers are expected to add more than 55,000 new hot spots in the next five years on top of 4,200 locations in the United States at the end of 2002, according to IDC.
But the prospects for the service side of the business are not clear. The major criticism of the service business is that no one has been able to demonstrate a sustainable model. Part of that resides in the fact that the market is still young, but the other part is that it requires many new components and payment models, which are still evolving.
Hot-spot pioneer Joltage, for one, has already folded, saying that it appeared it would take longer than expected to acquire enough customers on its networks for the company to sustain itself.
Hooked on hot spots
Doubts about the viability of the hot-spot market haven't stopped numerous companies from trying to break in. Wireless service provider T-Mobile was among the first to jump into the market in a partnership with coffee chain Starbucks. The second-largest service provider is Boingo Wireless, which offers about 1,300 hot spots including 650 through its roaming agreement with Wayport. Other top providers include iPass, with about 1,000 hot spots that it rents from backend providers.
Some large telephone carriers are looking to build their own hot spots. Verizon has activated 150 free wireless broadband hubs in Manhattan as a sweetener for its digital subscriber line customers and plans to increase that number to 1,000. SBC also has said it will begin offering hot spots to its broadband subscribers under a similar arrangement.
Those announcements are seen as a blow to Cometa because Verizon and SBC represent the kind of big customers that the company is eventually hoping to sign on. Once they build their own networks, they may be less likely to seek out partnerships.
Meanwhile, Cometa is competing head-to-head with rivals in early trials with customers such as McDonald's.
Earlier this year, McDonald's announced plans to test hot spots in hundreds of its fast-food restaurants in New York, Chicago and a major market in California by year's end. The pilot program in Manhattan used Cometa for hot-spot service, but for its trial in San Francisco--which included 75 Bay Area restaurants with most up and running in the next few days--the fast-food chain went with Wayport.
A McDonald's representative said that the company plans to expand its Cometa trial within the next few weeks in New York and New Jersey, but declined to say how many restaurants would be involved.
"At the end of the year we will look at the data and customer feedback and decide where we go from here," the representative said. "We might go with just one provider, or we may use several. It's very much an experiment."
In a sign of how little time Cometa can afford to lose, the company on Wednesday confirmed that it is temporarily outsourcing key network management services to software start-up AuthDirect as it awaits a similar application from investor IBM.
Analysts said Cometa's reliance, even temporarily, on a third-party provider such as AuthDirect underscores the challenges of building a massive network at top speed.
"To reinvent the wheel takes a lot of time and money, especially for research and development in a young market like this," IDC's Waryas said.
News.com's Ben Charny contributed to this report.
Currently (1:50), Thomson I-Watch is showing 44% Institutional trades today. Interesting (MO)
mschere - FWIW- IMHO
I agree 100% with your comment copied below:
At a 2 to 2 1/2 greater rate than 2G..will produce almost $1 Billion in 2006 ..without including SOC sales.
Sony Ericsson Gaining Market Share
By Jan Strupczewski
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Loss-making Swedish-Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson (news - web sites) turned a corner on Tuesday as it reported rising market share and forecast profits in the second half on the back of popular new models and cost cuts.
In the red since its inception in October 2001 except for one break-even quarter, Sony Ericsson has been under severe pressure to deliver results from its parents Ericsson from Sweden, the world's biggest mobile systems maker, and Japanese consumer electronics group Sony.
It is the only one of the top five handset makers still losing money. But after many years of market share losses, both as separate companies and as a combined unit, the firm now claimed significant market share gains on the back of new models sporting cameras, games, color screens and personal organizers.
Sales were 1.125 billion euros in the second quarter, up from 950 million a year earlier as handset shipments rose to 6.7 million units from 5.0 million a year earlier. The recently launched T610 was the best selling phone in its European GSM portfolio. The S0505i megapixel camera phone did well in Japan.
"My first impression is: 'yes, they have turned the corner'. All the ingredients are there and now it's about execution and a continued flow of new and appealing handsets," said WestLB Panmure analyst Thomas Langer. "We can have more and more a feeling that they are there to stay."
The joint venture reported second quarter pre-tax losses of 45 million euros ($50.76 million), adjusted for restructuring costs, against 98 million in the same period of 2002.
"Sony Ericsson is expected to be profitable in the second half of 2003 as a result of the increasing momentum in the... new GSM and Japanese product portfolio," it said in a statement.
Ericsson shares traded 3.8 percent firmer at 9.55 crowns at 1223 GMT, while Sony closed 2.6 percent up at 3990 yen in Tokyo.
Ericsson shares were further buoyed by news the firm had won a $500 million contract to expand and upgrade Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile's wireless network in the United States.
NOT PROFITABLE FOR ALL OF 2003
Sony Ericsson, however, said it would not be profitable for the full-year 2003 as previously expected because of losses in the first half and restructuring costs.
Sony Ericsson executive vice president Jan Wareby said the unit sales gave the firm a 6.4 percent share in a market he estimated at 105 million handsets in the second quarter. This would be up from the five percent measured in the first quarter.
The company previously said it would need to reach a seven to 10 percent market share to return to the black, but Wareby said cost-cutting announced last month, which would slash costs by 120 million euros annually, lowered that threshold.
The restructuring involves dumping CDMA (news - web sites) mobile phone production for the North American market and cutting 500 jobs.
Some impact of the savings scheme, which will cost a total of 70 million euros, will already help results in the second half of the year, the company said.
"After the restructuring... we will now be profitable with a market share of around six percent," Wareby told Reuters.
He also said Sony Ericsson would launch new handsets in September, but declined to give more details.
The world's biggest and most successful phone maker Nokia (news - web sites) will report second quarter results on Thursday, while the number two Motorola will publish later on Tuesday. The other big players are South Korea (news - web sites)'s Samsung and Germany's Siemens.
Analyst: Chinese phones are world-class
By Winston Chai
CNETAsia
July 11, 2003, 7:44 AM PT
URL: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-1024971.html
Handset brands like Amoisonic and Haier may be unheard of outside China, but a report suggests these phone makers can now give the likes of Nokia a run for their money.
According to a study by Portelligent, a U.S.-based market research firm specializing in consumer electronics, Chinese handset makers have what it takes to compete both in domestic and export markets around the world.
This conclusion stemmed from an in-depth analysis of 17 handsets from 11 Chinese firms including Amoisonic, Ningbo Bird, Capitel, Eastcom, Haier, Kejian, Konka and Legend, the company said in a statement.
"Having done detailed 'product teardown' analyses of over 100 cell phones from around the world in the last three years, we were favorably impressed by the design of these Chinese products, and by the capabilities of the handset makers behind them," said David Carey, president of Portelligent.
"While still a step behind the major multinationals, Chinese handset makers are rolling out competent products with very competitive manufacturing costs. The rate of progress demonstrated by the Chinese producers and their potential threat to the current pecking order in worldwide handset market share should not be underestimated," he stressed.
The firm said 2G (second generation) and 2.5G phones from the mainland performed well on most counts and are comparable to those produced by major multinationals. In particular, a pen-like GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) phone--from Haier--P5--which features a built-in laser pointer and voice recorder, stood out as a novel design concept, it added.
Portelligent's study also found that Chinese cell phone makers tend to "mix and match" components rather than using a complete chipset and design from a single supplier.
Fujitsu joins Symbian OS camp with DoCoMo phone
by Mike Dano
July 11, 2003 12:01 PM EST
Operating company Symbian claimed another win with the Fujitsu F2102V phone for NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s high-speed FOMA network.
The mobile phone includes two digital cameras for video capabilities, as well as authentication for mobile payments, a memory card storage slot and audio compression for streaming video.
Worldwide shipments of high-end smart phones will increase tenfold from 3.5 million units last year to 45 million units in 2007, according to research firm ARC Group.
"Microsoft is struggling as it continues to be plagued with low sales of the Orange SPV and few carrier partners, while the Symbian OS continues to leverage support from consortium players like Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Panasonic," wrote Shauna Smith, wireless senior analyst for research firm ARS. "However, alternative platforms such as the future Linux OS and the existing Palm and BlackBerry operating systems will continue to threaten both companies."
Publicly announced products based on the Symbian OS include the BenQ P30; Samsung SGH-D700; Siemens SX-1; NTT DoCoMo FOMA F2051 and F2021V, both built by Fujitsu; Sony Ericsson P800 smart phone; and the Nokia 9200 Communicator range, as well as the 7650, 6600, 3650 and N-Gage.
Korean government considers regulating camera phones
by Mike Dano
July 11, 2003 12:52 PM EST
A group of Korea's major mobile-phone makers, including heavyweights Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics, are protesting a possible government plan that would regulate the use of camera phones in Korea, according to the Korea Herald.
Company officials were not immediately available for comment.
Samsung, LG and other members of the Electronic Industries Association of Korea recently met with the country's Ministry of Information and Communication to prevent possible restrictions on camera-phone use.
The move comes as government agencies around the world consider the potential effects of camera phones. Some health and recreation centers in the United Kingdom and Australia have banned camera phones over fears of inappropriate pictures of children.
Interestingly, camera-phone maker Samsung Electronics earlier this week banned camera phones in its electronics factories over fears of industrial espionage.
GSMA issues call for MMS interoperability
by Mike Dano
July 10, 2003 1:01 PM EST
The GSM Association issued a call to the industry to speed the interoperability of multimedia messaging services across the world.
The group said it is working with the Open Mobile Alliance, the 3G Partnership Project and the vendor community to promote operator consensus and commitment to new standards.
"Our MMS Task Force has helped to agree operator needs and ensure they are incorporated in the industry standards," said Rob Conway, the group's head. "Now our Board wants the industry to connect by driving through their implementation and adoption so that more customers can enjoy the benefits of interoperable MMS services across networks, handsets and international boundaries."
The call comes as wireless operators in Europe and Asia work to launch and promote their MMS handsets and services. Some have installed interoperability agreements with other operators, but analysts point out that full interoperability is needed for a successful service.
The GSM Association's call also comes after the CDMA Development Group said it will work to ensure MMS messages from CDMA networks can be transmitted to GSM subscribers.
Wal-Mart Urges Suppliers to Adopt Labels
July 10, 2003
By Chuck Bartels, Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Wal-Mart wants its top 100 suppliers to slap tiny radio transmitters on all products they provide to the retail giant in an effort to better track merchandise while driving costs down.
The technology is intended to provide automatic coordination of goods going into and out of Wal-Mart's 103 distribution centers, replacing what Wal-Mart uses now -- bar codes that are scanned.
As products tagged with radio transmitters get within range of a reader, the distribution center's system automatically picks up the location of the product and details about what's on the pallet, Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams said.
"It's almost like a voice coming into range of a microphone," Williams said. "It's a unique, quick and efficient way to gather information on a pallet of goods as it comes into a distribution center."
If the technology moves to the shelves, shoppers could see some significant changes. The labels could allow customers to breeze through a checkout line with all their items being read via radio frequency at once.
Williams said Wednesday the company wants its top 100 manufacturers to have the system in place by 2005 on all Wal-Mart products. By 2006, the company wants all its other suppliers to use the technology.
Radio transmitters have promise for retail shelves, as well. With the transmitters on individual products, stores can get signals from areas that need restocking, protect against theft, and determine other product movement.
Wal-Mart cancels 'smart-shelf' trial
By Alorie Gilbert and Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
July 9, 2003, 4:00 AM PT
Wal-Mart Stores has unexpectedly canceled testing for an experimental wireless inventory control system, ending one of the first and most closely watched efforts to bring controversial radio frequency identification technology to store shelves in the United States.
Learn more about RFID technology
A Wal-Mart representative this week told CNET News.com that the retail giant will not conduct a planned trial of a so-called smart-shelf system with partner Gillette that was scheduled to begin last month at an outlet in Brockton, Mass., a Boston suburb.
"The shelf was never completely installed," Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams said. "We didn't want it. Any materials that were there (in Brockton) were removed. We never had products with chips in them."
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology uses microchips to wirelessly transmit product serial numbers to a scanner without the need for human intervention. The technology is seen as an eventual successor to bar-code inventory tracking systems, promising to cut distribution costs for manufacturers and improve retailing margins.
But the technology has drawn barbs from consumer privacy groups that worry about potential abuses if product-tracking tags are allowed to follow people from stores into their homes.
Wal-Mart's proposed smart-shelf system was designed to pick up data transmitted from microchips embedded in Gillette product packaging, alerting store managers via computer when stock is running low on the shelf or when items may have been stolen--two informative and powerful measurements in the retail business.
The benched trial was widely seen as the most aggressive step yet by a retailer to push RFID from warehouses into U.S. stores. Backers of the technology eventually see billions of packaged goods tracked remotely using RFID sensors through in-store systems that might one day help prevent shoplifting and speed shoppers through automated checkout lines.
Those ambitious plans now are likely to take a backseat to proposals to upgrade warehouse operations with RFID technology, which will require fewer chips and less computational power.
Williams said Wal-Mart ceased in-store RFID testing because executives wanted to focus on installing RFID systems in warehouses and distribution centers instead. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail chain with 4,700 stores around the globe, said in early June that it's urging its top 100 suppliers to attach RFID chips to cases and pallets of products that they ship to Wal-Mart warehouses.
A Gillette representative declined to comment on Wal-Mart's decision to pull the plug on the wired shelf but said the Boston-based company remains focused on helping U.K.-based supermarket chain Tesco and German retail conglomerate Metro with similar trials in Europe.
Instant eye on inventory
Retailers are ever watchful for ways of improving the balance between inventory supply and consumer demand. They want to make sure there are enough products on the shelves to meet demand but not so much that they are sitting in a warehouse taking up costly inventory space. The use of RFID technology is viewed as one of the more promising tools to improve visibility of inventory almost instantly. But companies have only dipped their toes into the water, examining installation behind the scenes in warehouse settings.
The smart-shelf trial by blue-chip company Wal-Mart was viewed as a potentially aggressive endorsement of an in-store application because of the company's ability to influence its suppliers and push the adoption of new technologies--something it helped to do with bar-code scanning technology in the 1980s. The unexpected cancellation of the test is letting some of the steam out of the market, but that may be a good thing, according to one analyst.
"The RFID industry has been floundering in a sea of science projects, which is what these trials have been to date," said Jeff Woods, an analyst with research firm Gartner. "This is one of the most overhyped technologies out there, and this can be viewed as a precursor to the bubble bursting for RFID."
Now companies can focus on one mission--and that's being more realistic about the potential of this technology, given its relative youth, Woods added.
Gillette and Wal-Mart had lauded the use of RFID systems to track merchandise in stores. Both said they were eager to explore the technology's potential to boost the profits of retailers and manufacturers by ensuring that products are always available to consumers and by deterring theft.
But soon after Wal-Mart first discussed its smart-shelf trial, privacy advocates began to raise concerns about the technology. The main questions: Would retailers and manufacturers be able to monitor products after consumers purchased them? Could the technology be misused by hackers and criminals or exploited for government surveillance?
Such questions caused big headaches for Italian clothier Benetton when technology maker Philips Semiconductor announced in March that it planned to ship millions of RFID chips for use in Benetton's Sisley line of clothes. Soon after the announcement, U.S.-based privacy group Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering, lashed out at the international clothing chain and called for a worldwide boycott.
Benetton said later, in a clarification, that it had purchased only 200 tags and was still studying the economic practicality of installing the RFID technology. The company also said it would consider the "potential implications relating to individual privacy" before firming up its RFID plans, which it plans to do before the end of the year.
Then, in May, several RFID chip manufacturers pledged to incorporate a "kill switch" into their chips in a move to relieve consumer fears of the technology. The kill switch would let retailers and consumers disable the chips at the checkout counter.
Despite the privacy concerns, Wal-Mart says it has backed away from in-store use of RFID as a matter of priorities, not over concerns of a consumer backlash. "Technology like RFID is so wide, we've chosen to put limits on ourselves to help focus and drive it forward," Williams said.
Not-so-cheap chips
Economics may have played a role in Wal-Mart's decision to shelve its in-store RFID test. RFID chips are still too expensive for wide-scale use with consumer merchandise, said Gillette spokesman Paul Fox. While today's price of around 10 cents a chip is cheap enough to fuel initial trials, Fox said, the cost of the chips have to fall to a fraction of a penny if they are to become ubiquitous in stores. And that will take about 10 to 15 years, he added.
"That's so far in the future," Williams said of the widespread use of RFID on store shelves.
Yet the economics haven't changed significantly since Wal-Mart and Gillette first embarked on the smart-shelf project in January. So why the abrupt change in plans?
One analyst said privacy concerns, though they've been overblown, have become significant enough to be a factor in the development of the technology and market.
"Consumers that are aware of RFID and privacy feel it is very significant, and they are probably more concerned than they should be," said Ian McPherson, an analyst with research firm Wireless Data Research Group. "The likelihood that people can be tracked beyond the check stand is very low."
According to a survey it conducted in May, Research firm Gartner said that 55 percent of the consumers it polled would shop in stores where RFID technology is being used if it meant faster checkouts. About 16 percent said they would probably or definitely stop shopping in a store using RFID, and 28 percent were undecided. However, when their payment information was electronically stored, almost half, about 45 percent, said they would be unwilling to shop in those stores.
Another issue for companies looking to test RFID technology is the strain on their inventory networks. For a company Wal-Mart's size, it could have more than a billion products worth of data being collected, stored and sent through its inventory network, which means an extremely sophisticated system would have to be in place to properly process the data, McPherson said.
mschere - Both of the patents approved today seem to focus on data transmission (MO). To me, this is what will distinguish IDCC in this digital world. Good times are just ahead!
BTW - Thanks for all of the research that you share here!
United States Patent 6,590,927
Zeira , et al. July 8, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Method of employing weighted open loop power control for a user equipment
Abstract
A method of the employing weighted open loop power control in a user equipment (UE) is initiated by the UE receiving a communication and measuring its received power level. Based on, in part, the received communication's power level and the communication's transmission power level, a path loss estimate is determined. A quality of the path loss estimate is also determined. The transmission power level for a communication from the UE is based, in part, on weighting the path loss estimate in response to the quality of the estimate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Zeira; Ariela (Trumball, CT); Shin; Sung-Hyuk (Fort Lee, NJ)
Assignee: InterDigital Technology Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 083239
Filed: February 26, 2002
Current U.S. Class: 375/130; 375/146; 370/342; 455/522
Intern'l Class: H04B 001/69
Field of Search: 375/130,140,295 370/342,318,347 455/522,69
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United States Patent 6,591,109
Pan July 8, 2003
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Cross cell user equipment interference reduction in a time division duplex communication system using code division multiple access
Abstract
Potentially interfering user equipments with respect to a particular UE are identified in a time division duplex communication system using code division multiple access. Timeslots used for uplink transmissions by a plurality of nearby UEs are identified. Each nearby UE is not in a cell of the particular UE and is geographically close to the particular UE. At the particular UE, an interference level is measured in each of the identified timeslots. The identified timeslots are classified using the measured interference level. Non-interfering and interfering UEs are determined using the identified timeslots for each UE and the timeslot classification.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Pan; Jung-Lin (Selden, NY)
Assignee: InterDigital Technology Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 003487
Filed: November 1, 2001
Current U.S. Class: 455/452; 455/63; 370/335; 370/336
Intern'l Class: H04Q 007/20; H04B 015/00
Field of Search: 455/450,452,62,63,67.1,67.3,509,524 370/329,330,335,336,347,337
OT: Rookie - I went the the baseball game at Bowen Field last night. They lost the game 5 to 4 but the fireworks after the game were great! Even better than that, I had a date with me! The WV summer is in full force here. Let me know if you get to visit and we will get together.
I hope that everyone had a pleasant and safe Fourth of July holiday!
All my best,
I am seeing pre-market of 26,200 shares. Is this correct? EOM
mschere - FWIW - I agree completely with your assessment copied below:
I will be patient..It is my fault because I have an ECONOMIC THEORY that is only in my head..and since it has never been touched on by any of our four Analysts or most on this Board..I will expand.. My THEORY is that while IDCC is receiving or has received or will receive from all 2G licensees including Nokia and Samsung..less than 1/2%...Their 3G rate will be no less than 2X to 2 1/2X than that of 2G...IMO: The Nokia 2G portion of their license did have some triggering event such as MFL from some other named competitors...2G was at that point in time an ongoing standard..IDCC was weak,and hanging by a thread...3G is only today a 90% completed World Standard...and was an unknown commodity in 1998 ...The Nokia 3G rate clause IMO: is a completley different ANIMAL than the early 2G rate clause..TDD is solidly embedded in the 3G portion ..and Nokia would have have wanted to set the rate bilateral with IDCC...Both parties in 1998 did not know who else would be a factor for 3G ..except Qualcomm who had a lock on CDMA and CDMA2000..More later on the subject..But I am convinced that the same sales results for Nokia/Samsung in 2005-2006 will produce 2X to 2 1/2X todays numbers for IDCC...
Dishfan –
You are correct (as usual), I was referring to 3G enabled units. But I should explain some of my other assumptions (biases with no apparent supporting confirmations).
~ I believe that the now famous “framework” for an ultimate Nokia all inclusive agreement contains a little gem (MO) that is in IDCC’s favor. I can not confirm this, but I believe that in the original Nokia / Interdigital contract in 1999, part of the framework for a 3G royalty rate provided for a minimum royalty rate as a multiple of the final 2G royalty rate. I believe that the previously agreed to multiple is close to three. Therefore, if you found my $1.70 per 3G phone to be reasonable, the corresponding 2G royalty rate would be at least $.56 per unit.
~ I believe that manufacturers have a definite need to simplify (read downsize) their product offerings in order to contain expenses. The large number of possible product lines will soon jeopardize profit margins. (MO) Therefore, I would expect that the first products to be eliminated will be single mode units (2G).
On a lighter note, by 2006, I think you will see package deals offered to the retail market at “Big Lots” that may include such offerings as a six-pack of 2G phones together you’re your choice of an 8 – track tape and the buggy-whip of your dreams!
my3sons87 -
Your comment, "...they would have given us a dime per unit by now. So, I don't think they like the terms as it is more than 10 cents per unit for the IPR."
(IN MY MOST HUMBLE OPINION) I believe that IDCC will average $1.70 per handset from first tier manufacturers after applicable quantity discounts on all dual mode units sold. Second tier firms will pay more (IMHO).
I can not form an opinion on IPR dollars from Basestations.
My dollar range per chip concerning the Infineon joint project is $1.50 to $4.50 depending on the capability requirements of each purchaser. Also I believe those firms buying IDCC assisted chips will get a price break on the combined royalties. (JMHO)
Chips used in PDA’s will (IMHO) be subject to a price cap per unit sold and a similar cap (MO) will apply to the IPR royalty from such units. I can not form a opinion regarding such maximum price caps.
Bottom line for me: I would not be here for a dime per unit.
Microcell to bundle service with Sprint Canada
June 19, 2003 1:46 PM EST
TORONTO--A Canadian mobile operator is getting into the bundling game, with Canada's Microcell announcing an agreement with Sprint Canada Inc. to offer a residential wireline-wireless bundled service.
The service, scheduled to be launched this fall, will offer one point of contact and one monthly bill for subscribers, Microcell said.
Under the agreement, Sprint Canada will co-market Microcell's Fido service to current and local service customers. Microcell will provide technical support service, and Sprint Canada will offer sales, marketing, customer billing and payment processing services. Sprint Canada will have access to Microcell's GSM-based network and technical support services.
Sprint Canada has more than 150,000 local residential customers and will offer the Fido service in all Fido markets where Sprint Canada offers local service, representing a total area of 4 million residential households.
Several U.S. wireless carriers have recently announced similar bundling agreements with parent wireline companies.
Mschere -
My reading of the tea leaves implied (IMO) in numerous posts over the past 6 years leads me to believe that IDCC's royalty rates have a dollar cap for a maximum royalty that can be collected per unit regardless of the wholesale price from the OEM. Some of the big price tags for these early models will be subject to the max royalty cap. JMHO
Closing volume was 1,185,236 - EOM
Nokia unveils new phones, Kodak deal
by Mike Dano
June 16, 2003 1:26 PM EST
Nokia Corp. continued its massive handset push by unveiling two new advanced mobile phones, announcing a new partnership with photo company Kodak and commercially shipping its dual-mode GSM/W-CDMA 6650 phone.
J-Phone and Mobilkom Austria will begin selling the 6650 in June. Nokia said it expects about 20 more operators will introduce W-CDMA technology during the second half of this year.
"The Nokia 6650 is a perfect companion for the traveling business professional, who needs both high-speed data services, such as the fast downloading of e-mails to his laptop and access to information services, as well as extensive roaming. For a Japanese user, the Nokia 6650 offers seamless roaming in Europe and Asia, and for a GSM user, seamless roaming in Japan," said Juha Putkiranta, senior vice president of Nokia's mobile-phone business.
Separately, Nokia released its new GSM color-screen 3100, which features an XHTML browser and Java downloading capabilities. The company also released another camera phone, the 6600, which features Java capabilities and an integrated camera with 2x zoom. To support its camera phones, Nokia announced a deal with Kodak to allow phone users to store and download their pictures using the Kodak Picture Center Online service. The service will allow users to turn their favorite pictures into prints.
In other phone news, Audiovox Corp. announced it regained compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements and will continue to trade under the symbol VOXX.
Siemens Mobile Acceleration Launches Operations in Finland Targeting Start-up Companies Focusing on Wireless Mobile Communication
Friday June 13, 4:30 am ET
MUNICH, Germany & HELSINKI, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2003--Siemens Mobile Acceleration today announced its entrance into the Finnish wireless market. The investor will support Finnish start-up companies devoted to mobile technology, mobile applications and mobile services. Support offered by Siemens Mobile Acceleration includes capital, continuous coaching by senior management consultants and access to Siemens' worldwide R&D facilities as well as its marketing networks. The sales support offered by the Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (Siemens mobile), with a global customer base of 150 telecom operators, is one of the unique assets for attracting wireless entrepreneurs.
Two years after its initial launch, Siemens Mobile Acceleration is already one of the leading European investors in its field with more than 2,000 business ideas assessed and a build-up portfolio comprising 12 companies. The company is represented in a number of European countries, has a broad business base in China, and recently opened an office in the USA. Now it is targeting the market in Finland.
"Mobile communications is brimming with new business opportunities. The success of future mobile businesses depends on attractive applications and service, opening up exciting new opportunities for start-up companies", said Dietrich Ulmer, CEO of Siemens Mobile Acceleration. "Finland is obviously one of the most highly developed countries in terms of mobile communications worldwide and has a well-known reputation for pioneering wireless technologies and applications. We therefore see a lot of opportunities for business ideas here."
"Finland is one of the leading clusters of new ideas and talented people in the wireless field, but today there is an urgent need for early stage financing and support to reach international markets. Siemens Mobile Acceleration encourages all young wireless companies seeking early stage financing and support to get in contact for possible cooperation," said Osmo Koskisto, representative of Siemens Mobile Acceleration in Finland. As part of smac's Scandinavian team he will cover all business proposals there.
"As one of the leading suppliers in the market, Siemens focuses on active innovations in the complete range of mobile communications from infrastructure and devices to applications. The activities of Siemens Mobile Acceleration boost the variety of our end-to-end solution offerings. In Finland this will further strengthen our position based on our strong competence in mobile solutions and the number 2 position for mobile phones," said Petteri Kleemola, director of Siemens Information and Communication Mobile in Finland.
You can access further information about Siemens Mobile at : http://www.siemens-mobile.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Siemens AG
Press Office
Information and Communication Mobile
Peter Kellner
Tel.: +49-89 636-29146; Fax: -29178
E-mail: peter.kellner@siemens.com
Zi Corp., UTStarcom in Licensing Pact
Thursday June 12, 11:38 am ET
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Zi Corp. agreed to license its text input technology for use in UTStarcom Inc.'s handsets.
Financial details weren't disclosed. A Zi Corp. representative wasn't immediately available to say whether the contract will allow the cash-strapped company to make loan payments that are due later in June.
As reported June 6, Zi Corp. may have to make extra payments totalling $90,000 if it doesn't repay its $1.94 million loan 45 days from the day the loan was secured on May 7.
In a press release Thursday, Zi Corp. said that UTStarcom, a communications- equipment vendor based in California, plans to use eZiText text input technology, for both the Chinese and English languages, in UTStarcom-designed Personal Access System, or PAS, handsets.
UTStarcom expects to release the PAS handsets embedded with eZiText in China in the second quarter.
"Our strategy is to target specific market segments and work with the leaders in those markets and UTStarcom is one of the most important providers of PAS equipment in China," noted Gary Mendel, vice president of sales and marketing at Zi Corp.
Mendel added that PAS is very popular in China and elsewhere in the world. The service had about 12 million subscribers at the end of 2002, that number has grown to about 20 million so far this year.
Shares of Zi Corp. hit a high of $3.73 earlier Thursday and traded recently at $3.70, up 82 cents, or 28.5% on Nasdaq volume of 122,951 shares. Average daily volume is 36,680 shares.
Company Web site: http://www.zicorp.com
-Jacquie Jordan; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400
Mandate – Just a thought
Maybe the mandate came from Nokia in the form of “No established royalty rate” with IDCC until IDCC let ERICY out of the noose by way of a settlement in order that Nokia could acquire ERICY without having an infringement legal action attached to the acquisition.
Indemnification fascinates me.
Indemnification must be confined to that period of time between 1995 (limitations granted in IDCC 2G license agreements) and whenever 3G begins. After the ERICY agreement that time gap (IMO) should be covered by a new license with ALL infringers OR look directly to the indemnifier to replace the royalty cash flow as they pledged by their action of Indemnifying. That is (IMO) an onerous obligation! Is F & J still on retainer? Someone should be making demands and there a very few of these kinds of options to be considered!!! (JMHO)
Per the report from HalpernCapital:
”Details of the RIMM agreement. The RIMM agreement covers handheld devices built to GSM/GPRS/EDGE standards, but does not include anything built using CDMA standards.”
It makes me wonder whether or not RIMM believes that they are indemnified regarding the CDMA standard. Could that mean that IDCC would be looking for payment resulting from RIMM’s CDMA standard product from a different entity?
Court Upholds Upcoming Right to Retain Cell Phone Number
June 6, 2003
By Caron Carlson
WASHINGTON—By the end of the year, cell phone users will be entitled to keep their phone numbers if they switch to a new service provider, a federal appeals court decided today in rejecting a plea from the wireless industry to overturn the obligation. However, the industry may go back to court this fall to continue fighting the rules, so check back in November before switching.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the Federal Communications Commission in upholding rules regarding number portability, which require service providers to "port" a customer's number to a new provider on request, beginning Nov. 24.
"The simple truth is that having to change phone numbers presents a barrier to switching carriers, even if not a total barrier, since consumers cannot compare and choose between various service plans and options as efficiently," Judge Harry Edwards wrote for the court.
The FCC in 1996 gave the wireless industry about three years to prepare for number portability, ordering carriers to provide the service in June 1999. However, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association convinced the FCC to postpone the deadline to 2002. Last year, the commission gave the industry another one-year extension, but it refused to let carriers off the hook permanently.
"t was reasonable for the FCC to conclude that wireless consumers would switch carriers at even higher rates if they could keep their phone numbers," Edwards wrote in the decision issued Friday. "The current high switching rate does no more than establish that some consumers are willing to pay the additional costs associated with changing numbers in order to change service providers."
CTIA (renamed the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association) expressed disappointment today in the decision, charging that it puts pressure on the FCC to define how number portability must be achieved or else witness "chaos" in the marketplace.
"There are only 24 weeks between now and the portability deadline, but the basic `how tos' have yet to be addressed," said Tom Wheeler, president and CEO of CTIA. "If there is to be number portability in November, the FCC must announce final rules by Labor Day or consumers will find chaos in the market."
The FCC has the authority to forbear from enforcing rules that it decides are not necessary. Arguing that "necessary" means "absolutely required," CTIA and Verizon Wireless tried to convince the court in April that number portability is not necessary because there is sufficient competition in the wireless market. The court disagreed, taking the industry to task for its stance. "In the instant forbearance context, application of petitioners' definition of `necessary' would lead to an absurd result, because it is difficult to imagine a regulation whose enforcement is absolutely required or indispensable to protect consumers," Edwards wrote. "[W]e think that it would defy common sense to adopt a construction of "necessary" that can never be met." For now, wireless carriers are ordered to prepare for number portability by the November deadline, but as even the court noted in today's decision, the industry may be able to bring the FCC back to court once the deadline arrives.
FCC allows Connecticut to create wireless area code
by Heather Forsgren Weaver
June 06, 2003 12:43 PM EST
WASHINGTON--Connecticut won a two-year fight to implement a specific area code for wireless and certain other phone numbers.
The Federal Communications Commission said the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control could establish a separate area code for wireless and other non-geographic services.
The new area code, which will overlay the current 203 and 860 area codes, will apply only to new wireless subscribers. The overlay can only be used for wireless phone numbers for three years. After that, the area code must be opened to all telecom users.
Wireless carriers will be required to return numbers in the 203 and 860 area codes that have not been used. The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau also must approve Connecticut's implementation plan before the new code can be established.
Connecticut has been a leader in the fight against the wireless industry to establish service-specific overlays and technology-specific area code overlays. Until 2001, the FCC had ruled against states, including Connecticut, wanting to establish these special area codes. The wireless industry believes it is discriminatory to allow overlays specifically for wireless phone numbers.
Connecticut asked the FCC for the overlay in 2001. That it took more than two years for the agency to respond to Connecticut's request concerned FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. "I sincerely hope that other states that follow the path Connecticut blazes here receive a speedier and less conditional response from the FCC."
State regulators like the concept of technology-specific overlays because they believe it will conserve numbers in already-established area codes. The wireless industry believes that a wireless-specific area code alerts people that they are dialing a wireless device and that some people who may not want others to know they are using such a device will not sign up for wireless service.
In addition, the wireless industry is concerned about the identity some people have with area codes. An episode of TV show "Seinfeld" dealt with this identity issue when one of the characters was given a New York telephone number not in the traditional 212 area code.
June 25 calls -
I have a few of these calls. My current thoughts are that, any brokerage firm on the sidelines about issuing a buy recommendation, would have wanted to wait until after the annual stockholders meeting to glean any confirmation to support the IDCC story. It may take a few days for them to buy some inventory and get final internal approvals before publishing the new coverage. Next week looks prime for this possibility, so I plan to continue to hold my calls for the time being. Also more margin calls against the shorts seem appropriate.
Tempered Expectations Mark Telecom Industry
June 5, 2003
By Caron Carlson
ATLANTA--Irrational exuberance in telecommunications is dead, and industry experts at this year's Supercomm show displayed a healthy measure of skepticism about the pace of technology development and about the rollout of services delivered over new technologies.
"We can't do much on the network right now. It's really only been designed for Internet access," said Paul France, who heads the Internet & Data Design Centre at BTexact Technologies, a unit of British Telecommunications plc. Speaking at a panel discussion on broadband applications Thursday, France said that a number of valuable broadband applications will likely spur greater broadband penetration rates once the network is better equipped to deliver them.
"A whole layer of infrastructure is missing from today's broadband network," said France, who suggested that application service providers will develop more attractive content if access providers create a more open approach to the Internet. An open portal approach could mean a change in pricing from flat rate to application-based charging, he predicted.
BellSouth Eyes Bigger Piece of Managed Services Pie
BellSouth's Ackerman: Deregulation Will Spur Investment
BellSouth, Cisco Team to Offer IP Services
Carriers to Get IP Products
AT&T Pledges Improved Customer Experience
After too many years of hype about telecommunications technologies that have yet to become fruitful, industry luminaries here urged tempered expectations about emerging services, particularly wireless data.
"Even back in the early '90s we were talking about wireless data being right around the corner, said William Clift, chief technology officer at Cingular Wireless LLC. "It's been right around the corner, right around the corner, right around the corner."
Addressing show attendees late Wednesday, Clift said that the mobile environment requires higher speeds than available to meet user expectations. The wireless industry should be careful not to over-promote emerging services, such as high-resolution color displays and low latency, particularly in the United States, where users have high expectations about data delivery.
"We need to avoid falling into the same trap as the Internet industry," Clift said. "The network capabilities are still young."
As is the case with wireline broadband applications, the uptake of wireless data applications depends largely on the ubiquity of access.
"Ubiquitous data access is a critical thing for all of us," said Kevin Kahn, a fellow with the Corporate Technology Group at Intel Corp. More spectrum, better technologies, such as 802.15.3a and 802.16, and better wireless authentication and billing systems will drive access availability, Kahn said.
Summing up the mood at this year's Supercomm, Greg Douglass, vice president of technology services at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. LLC, noted a change from last year's show, when the realities of the sluggish economy were sinking in.
"Last year it was shock and awe," Douglass said. "Now, we're in the reconstruction phase. It's going to take some time. We have to rebuild, but we'll make it."
Copyright (c) 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sendo sues U.K.'s Orange over Smartphone patent infringement
By BOB BREWIN
JUNE 05, 2003
Sendo Ltd., a mobile phone manufacturer, has sued mobile phone carrier Orange SA over the design of a circuit board used in the Orange SPV Smartphone, Sendo said in a statement.
Last December, Birmingham, England-based Sendo sued Microsoft Corp. in a federal district court in Texas, alleging that Microsoft used a partnership between the two companies to develop a smart phone and "plunder" Sendo's intellectual property (see story). The Smartphone uses a Microsoft operating system.
Stuart Jackson, a spokesman for London-based Orange, denied that his company violated any of Sendo's intellectual property rights. Jackson said Orange had contacted the designer of the circuit board in the Orange SPV, Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp., about the lawsuit.
Although Sendo's U.S. suit over the Smartphone developed by Microsoft and sold by Orange focused on the operating system, the suit in the U.K. High Court of Justice has zeroed in on the circuit board design. In a statement, Sendo said the Orange SPV "infringes a patent granted to Sendo relating to the design of the circuitry board within the phone."
Sendo CEO Hugh Brogan said in a statement that the company has patent rights covering the phone's design, and after trying to resolve the issue in "an amicable manner" had decided to go to court to restrain the sale of the Orange SPV.
Microsoft has asked the Texas court to dismiss the other suit, which is still proceeding in pretrial arguments.
Source: Computerworld
CTIA joins coalition against Nextel in 800 MHz band
by Heather Forsgren Weaver
June 05, 2003 12:52 PM EST
WASHINGTON--The board of directors of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association on Wednesday voted to join a coalition that supports technical solutions to solving the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band.
"The board voted to support the coalition filing on Wednesday. How and when that will manifest itself has yet to be determined," said CTIA spokesman Travis Larson.
CTIA was noticeably absent from a filing made late last month that advocated a technical solution to the public-safety interference problem.
Apparently, Tim Donahue, president and chief executive officer of Nextel Communications Inc., called for a vote on the coalition proposal. Donahue gave up the gavel as chairman of the CTIA board at Wednesday's meeting.
Nextel supports a plan that would split the 800 MHz band into two parts--one for cellularized systems and one for non-cellularized systems. The most controversial aspect of the plan is that Nextel would receive 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band (1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz).
The coalition proposal, which industry sources said was being led by CTIA, urged the Federal Communications Commission to rely on best practices to solve the interference problems where they occur.
The coalition proposal is also supported by the United Telecom Council, which represents utility communication systems.
Also, the Private Wireless Coalition, which along with Nextel is supporting a rebanding plan for the 800 MHz band, released a statement on Wednesday saying that a technical solution should be seen as a complement, not a replacement for its plan.
"The PWC has endorsed the consensus plan because it offers a technical answer, a funding mechanism and a detailed implementation roadmap that will permit the [FCC] to reach its objectives," said the PWC.
Indemnification Questions –
1.) What action should IDCC take against the Indemnifier?
2.) What alternatives does IDCC have against those who will not license using the indemnification clause as an excuse?
3.) If some financial royalty arrangement is negotiated with the Indemnifier, should it not be at a royalty rate that is higher that any other licensee and (IMO) would not qualify for any quantity discounts?
4.) What does the Indemnifier stand to loose if IDCC’s license is required?
5.) How many different companies have a license with the Indemnifier that contains that clause?
6.) Can the Indemnifier afford the consequences of not acquiring a cross license agreement with IDCC or to acquire IDCC itself.
Singapore's M1 to launch video streaming
May 30, 2003 12:48 PM EST
SINGAPORE--MobileOne said it will launch a video streaming service Monday for its users with Nokia 3650 phones, making it the first operator in Singapore and one of the first in the world to offer the service. The launch follows M1's video download service launch in March.
The operator said there are more than 20 music videos and movie trailers that customers initially can download from its mobile portal, and the service will eventually include an extensive library of content including cartoons, videos of catwalk models and live news.
The service will be available on M1's GPRS network, and GPRS charges apply at 60 cents per kilobyte.
Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. launched a video streaming service this month on its third-generation network. Jordan's Fastlink also offers video streaming over a GPRS network.
Does IDCC still trade on the stock exchange in Germany? If the answer is yes, can anyone direct me to a link that would show the volume of trading on that exchange since the Ericy 2G resolution. TIA