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Gartner: Mobile Infrastructure to Grow 9%
10.21.04
STAMFORD, Conn. -- The worldwide mobile network infrastructure market revenue will grow by 9 percent in 2004 reaching nearly $39 billion according to Gartner.
In Western Europe revenue is forecast to reach almost $9.7 billion, an 8 percent increase compared to last year. The growth is primarily driven by mobile operators investing in WCDMA and GSM networks.
"Overall, the worldwide mobile network infrastructure market's revenue will remain stable during the next 3 years, with a slight decline in 2008," says Jason Chapman, principal analyst at Gartner.
"Price erosion will be higher in 3G than the more mature 2G technologies, however equipment volumes for 3G technologies will rise. This growth, due to the additional capacity and software upgrades like HSDPA, will help boost revenue. From a technology standard point of view we will see WCDMA revenue exceeding that of GSM-related technologies by 2007," adds Chapman.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=61513
UPDATE 2-Qualcomm sees supply shortages into first quarter
Thu Oct 21, 2004 03:15 PM ET
By Sinead Carew
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6573925
NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A supply shortage for some mobile phone chips at Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) could stretch into the first quarter of next year as demand continues to rise, the company's chief financial officer said on Thursday.
Qualcomm, which has had problems meeting demand for some mobile phone chips this year, said in July that production capacity constraints were expected to be resolved by year-end.
CFO William Keitel said Qualcomm has resolved most of its supply issues, but is still producing some chips used for transmitting and receiving calls to mobile phones too slowly.
"We'll have it resolved by the end of the first calendar quarter," Keitel said in an interview with Reuters. "Our window on when we expect to be back in balance has been moving out because demand has continued to increase."
Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff said rising demand was good news for Qualcomm, whose shares rose 1.6 percent to $44.08 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq.
"The only question is do their continued supply shortages cause customers to look elsewhere," said Modoff. "I don't think another quarter is a big deal but they've got to resolve it."
Keitel said the shortage relates to radio chips in Qualcomm's 6000 series product range but did not name specific products. Modoff said he thinks Qualcomm is short on some chips for CDMA, a mobile standard used mainly in the United States and Asia.
Qualcomm has long dominated the market for CDMA, but Modoff said he believes rival Texas Instruments (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has products that compete with the Qualcomm chips in question.
Keitel noted that Qualcomm has already asked companies that manufacture its chips for a "significant" increase in production capacity this year.
"We've been successful in that effort and we're having to go back to them for more capacity," he said. Qualcomm plans to announce its outlook for 2005 when it reports its fiscal fourth quarter earnings in November.
Keitel said the company is "planning to have extra capacity available should demand grow higher" than estimates.
Motorola Earnings Growth Seen Stronger Than Peers
10.20.04, 11:14 AM ET
Piper Jaffray raised earnings estimates on Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ), although the research firm said it was "disappointed" with the company's third-quarter global handset shipments. Piper Jaffray noted that third-quarter results were generally in line with its estimates but said it was "disappointed that Motorola's global handset shipments were sequentially lower at 23.3 million units versus 24.1 million last quarter. We believe the slight disappointment in units was due to product refresh of the 'triplet' platform in Europe and Asia and management's historically low channel inventory entering the fourth quarter." The research firm said "Motorola currently has the strongest handset portfolio for the holiday selling season with its strong lineup of GSM products, the CDMA V.710, strong WCDMA portfolio, and several strong products in the pipeline." Based on expectations that the company will see strong handset trends and maintain better gross margin trends, Piper Jaffray raised the 2004 estimate to earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $35.5 billion, from earnings of 82 cents per share on revenue of $35.4 billion. The firm raised the 2005 estimate to $1.03 per share on revenue of $37.1 billion, from earnings of $1.00 per share on revenue of $37.0 billion. Piper Jaffray also raised the 2006 estimate to earnings of $1.12 per share from $1.11. The firm maintained an "outperform" rating on Motorola and said the $25 price target is "reasonable, as we expect Motorola to post stronger earnings growth than several of its competitors."
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/10/20/1020automarketscan05.html
What's the best guess for QCOM stock price in 1-2 years?
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/wizards/srwtarget.asp?Symbol=qcom
Investors fix targets for most stocks by estimating future earnings per share and then applying a price-to-earnings "multiple", also known as the P/E ratio. Companies with the most consistent earnings history or strongest growth prospects receive the highest P/E multiples. We calculate price targets for the current and next fiscal year by applying the stock's current multiple to the average professional analyst's estimate.
Valuation using QUALCOMM INC 's current multiple (P/E):
Fiscal Year Est Low/High Price Range Avg. Est. Price % Change for Average
9/2004 $41.01-$48.51 $48.07 10.43%
9/2005 $44.54-$59.09 $52.92 21.57%
QUALCOMM INC current price: 43.53
QUALCOMM INC current multiple (P/E): 44.10
QUALCOMM INC average 9/2004 estimate: 1.09
QUALCOMM INC low 9/2004 estimate: 0.93
QUALCOMM INC high 9/2004 estimate: 1.10
QUALCOMM INC average 9/2005 estimate: 1.20
QUALCOMM INC low 9/2005 estimate: 1.01
QUALCOMM INC high 9/2005 estimate: 1.34
What's the best guess for the stock if it were valued like its peers?
Investors often come to believe that a stock is undervalued or overvalued compared to other stocks in its industrial group. To calculate an alternate target price for the current and next fiscal year based on those beliefs, investors can apply the average PE multiple for a company's industrial group to the average professional analyst's earnings estimate for the company in those periods.
Valuation using the industry's current multiple (P/E):
Fiscal Year Est. Price % Change
9/2004 $73.58 69.02%
9/2005 $81.00 86.08%
QUALCOMM INC current price: 43.53
Communication Equipment group current multiple (P/E): 67.50
QUALCOMM INC average 9/2004 analyst estimate: 1.09
QUALCOMM INC average 9/2005 analyst estimate: 1.20
Investors estimate the level of unanimity about a stock's prospects among analysts by calculating the range between the most optimistic and most pessimistic estimates.
Average number of analysts covering QUALCOMM INC : 23
QUALCOMM INC analysts' high/low spread: 25%
QUALCOMM INC analysts' confidence: Low
Interesting post from the Yahoo QCOM Board:
http://finance.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=4686818&tid=qcom&sid=468...
Anybody interested in QCOM T/A?
Go to the following link
http://quotes.nasdaq.com/quote.dll?&mode=stock&symbol=qcom&symbol=&symbol=&symbo...
then click on StockConsultant
Trade indicators for long trades. Upside Trade & Breakout Help
TRADE QUALITY 30%, Poor
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TARGET 1 RESISTANCE Current price at resistance: 43.23 ± 0.65, type single, strength 1
+1% at 43.23 is Target 1
TARGET 2 Price: 43.92 Profit: 2.6% , Profit/Loss Ratio: 1.2 : 1 - Poor for an extreme rally.
BREAKOUT WATCH for possible breakout above 43.88, no resistance in area just above.
Type: Continuation breakout from single resistance.
Target: 46.5, 8.6% Stop: 41.88, Loss: 2.1%, Profit/Loss ratio: 4.1 : 1 - Excellent
Breakout stock patterns
Motorola dials up dollars in 3rd qtr.
October 20, 2004
BY HOWARD WOLINSKY Business Reporter
With revenues from cell phones on the rise, Motorola's third-quarter earnings shot up more than 300 percent from the same period a year earlier, the Schaumburg technology company reported Tuesday.
"This is our third consecutive quarter of strong sales and pre-tax earnings improvement," said Ed Zander, who joined the company in January as chairman and chief executive. "Customers are responding to our portfolio of new products and technologies by giving us market-share growth in several areas."
Motorola said profits totaled $479 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $116 million, or five cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 26 percent to $8.6 billion.
The company received a boost from its cell-phone unit, which posted $390 million in earnings, up from $147 million the previous year quarter. The unit rang up $3.9 billion in sales, up 34 percent.
Mike Zafirovski, Motorola president and chief operating officer, said Motorola increased the number of cell phone models it shipped by 60 percent through the third quarter over a year earlier. The company's Personal Communications Segment cellular phone unit shipped 17 new phone models, 15 of which had color displays and 11 featured integrated cameras.
Zafirovski said the greater number of models "allowed us to hit more niches and segments. We did a much better job of hitting our due dates."
Motorola said it shipped 23.3 million phones, up 15 percent from a year ago, and maintained its global market.
Zafirovski said Motorola is "quite bullish" about prospects in the fourth quarter, when it will introduce new products for the Christmas season, including RAZR, the ultra-thin phone. Last year, the company missed important Christmas shipments of integrated camera phones for Cingular Wireless and Verizon, key customers.
Jane Zweig, chief executive of the Shosteck Group, the telecom research firm, was not surprised by Motorola's strong showing.
"Motorola is making neat-looking phones that people want," she said. "They've also been blessed by missteps by [market leader] Nokia, which doesn't seem to be as innovative as it was before."
She said Motorola also has gained from its new CEO, Zander: "He's got a different style than [former chairman] Chris Galvin. He's an all business kind of guy. He expects execution, and holds people accountable."
Zafirovski said Zander has brought Motorola "urgency on many things, including marketing." He added that new staffers who have joined over the past two years have begun to gel and hit their performance marks.
Zweig predicted that the company will get an additional boost from the new president of its cell phone unit, Ron Garriques, who led a turnaround of Motorola's cellular business in Europe. "Ron sees what Motorola needs to do and does it," she said.
Meanwhile, Nokia and Motorola are both facing energized competition from LG and Samsung.
Other segments of Motorola fared well in the third quarter as well. "There are no smoking guns," Zafirovski said, referring to the earnings.
Among the third-quarter results:
*The broadband set-top box unit's earnings climbed to $34 million from a $4 million loss a year earlier. Revenues rose 31 percent to $589 million.
*The once-suffering cellular infrastructure group saw earnings rise to $175 million from $61 million a year before. Sales were $1.3 billion, up 24 percent.
*The semiconductor group went from a $76 million loss a year ago to $82 million in earnings. Revenue totaled $1.4 billion, up 17 percent. By year's end, Motorola will complete the spin-off of this unit as Freescale Semiconductor.
*The government communication business with two-way radios for public safety increased earnings to $185 million from $146 million. Revenues were $1.2 billion, up 12 percent.
Motorola projected fourth-quarter sales of between $9.3 billion and $9.6 billion, a 16 percent to 20 percent increase from last year.
Motorola said it now has $4.4 billion in net cash available compared with a debt of $41 million at the end of last year.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-moto20.html
LG enjoys soaring mobile handset sales
Consumer electronics conglomerate LG Electronics continues to be one of the world's fastest growing mobile handset makers after recording a 64% increase in third quarter sales to $1.99 billion. The number of units shipped rose by 55% to 11.8 million.
20 Oct 2004, 09:38 GMT -
While CDMA sales increased 8% with strong sales in North America offsetting a domestic downturn, the big expansion was in the GSM market where sales expanded by 353%, due to strong sales in North America and an expansion of the WCDMA market.
In the traditionally strong fourth quarter, the Seoul, South Korea-based company forecasts that sales will be 45% over last year's level at 13 million units, with strong growth in the North American CDMA market. It sees a slight slowdown in the North American GSM market but increases in Europe and other regions.
While LG has been hit by lower capital spending by carriers in the telecoms equipment sector, its telecoms business as a whole recorded a 61.3% increase in revenue to KRW 2.47 billion ($2.1 billion).
The company reports an operating margin of 6.4% in its handset business and its rapid increase in market share is one of the reasons for the problems currently faced by market leader Nokia Corp.
http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=B266A8C7-6865-43CF-B6B0-4DB0AD646979
The Fast Track for Data on 3G UMTS Networks
20th October , 2004
Europe : Siemens Communications will be the first vendor to bring an end-to-end solution for "High Speed Downlink Packet Access" (HSDPA) to market, complete with PC card. This UMTS extension will enable operators to significantly boost data rates in UMTS networks and provide their subscribers with average download speeds of up to 2 to 3 megabits per second. That roughly corresponds to what the fastest DSL connections are currently capable of offering. In January 2005, Siemens will be conducting the first live demonstrations with a HSDPA network. Field tests will begin with mobile operators in Japan and Europe in second quarter 2005. The HSDPA solution from Siemens, comprising network equipment and HSDPA PC cards, will be available for commercial operation beginning from the fourth quarter of 2005.
"With the early availability of our HSDPA solution, we will be putting UMTS mobile operators in pole position: They'll be the first in the market to be able to offer average download speeds of up to 2 to 3 megabits per second," said Christoph Caselitz, President of Mobile Networks at Siemens Communications. "This turbo data service will be a crucial buying criterion, first and foremost on the part of business users. The first providers to have this service in their portfolios will be able to reap the highest margins."
All that Siemens customers will need in order to integrate HSDPA into an existing UMTS network will be a software update. The reason: Since 2002, Siemens has been delivering only HSDPA-capable UMTS base stations. This means that with only minimal additional investments, UMTS operators will be able to provide high added value to a lucrative customer segment, business users. They typically need to wirelessly download very large volumes of data to their notebooks while they're out and about, and they value the kind of features that only HSDPA, of all the wireless broadband technologies, can offer: Roaming and high data security.
HSDPA allows more users than before to be provided simultaneously with higher data rates. This means that the existing frequency band is better utilized and the costs per bit reduced. Mobile operators can thus improve their margins with increased traffic in the networks.
With the end-to-end HSDPA solution, Siemens will further expand its position as a leading vendor in the 3G sector. Today, one out of every two commercial UMTS networks worldwide comes from Siemens and its technology partner NEC; this represents coverage for 90 percent of all 3G subscribers worldwide.
HSDPA
High Speed Downlink Packet Access involves a modulation mode that affords theoretical downlink data rates of up to 14 Mbit/s, a theoretical value under laboratory conditions. In actual practice, though, downlink rates per subscriber will still range between 2 and 3 megabits per second. HSDPA is an element of Release 5 of the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiplex) specifications. This new UMTS performance feature contains a transfer format called "high-speed downlink shared channel." Its fundamental principle: More data users can be supplied at a higher data rate on the downlink channel; i.e. greater volumes of data can be transported significantly faster from the mobile network to the subscriber's device. This optimized transport channel and the employment of new modulation methods boost maximum transfer rates and minimize delay times. Consumers will notice HSDPA in the form of a significantly better quality of service. Performance will be considerably improved, for example, in connection with downloads, Internet access or access to enterprise networks.
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/October2004/8515.htm
Buying Into Wireless Broadband
By Dave Mock
October 19, 2004
Remember when your 14.4kbps modem made you the coolest kid on the block? You could blow away all those 9.6kbps wannabes and download the latest ASCII battleship game in hours. Oh, how the world has changed.
Upping the ante on your gaming buddies now means you'll be opting for one of dozens of new broadband offerings that offer an astounding 100 times the speed of your old Hayes dinosaur. In the last few weeks, a slew of announcements from major wireless and telecom players has opened up a plethora of offerings that allow one to not only consume bits faster than ever before but also to do it while mobile. Now that is cool.
Wireless giants Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint PCS (NYSE: FON) started the show earlier this year by announcing a nationwide push to outfit their mobile networks with Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM) EV-DO technology, giving consumers 300-500kbps over the same reception area of your wireless phone.
Not to be left out, hefty competitors such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) have been throwing big money at a future technology called WiMax, which will basically boost the speed and coverage of what consumers have seen with Wi-Fi hotspots. And speaking of Wi-Fi, private hotspot aggregator Boingo Wireless has just partnered with VoIP firm Vonage to offer voice capabilities to those signed up for Boingo's Wi-Fi data service.
Not to be outdone, SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) announced that it would slash the price of its Wi-Fi service (more than 3,900 hotspots) to a mere $2 per month. The company is seeking to convert their DSL base of 4.3 million into mobile broadband junkies by bundling free Wi-Fi for six months ($2 thereafter) with their Yahoo! DSL service packages. David Gardner has his money on SBC as a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick (check out what's in his head with a free trial here).
Rumblings of even more intriguing competition coming to the market are from young entrants with big backing. Private player Flarion has been telegraphing its future recently with vendors Siemens (NYSE: SI) and Netgear (Nasdaq: NTGR) both signing on to build equipment based upon their Flash-OFDM wireless technology. Nextel Communications has Flash-OFDM service in North Carolina, but the equipment deals foretell a much wider deployment possibly coming. Add in broadband over power lines and Craig McCaw's dark horse Clearwire, and 2005 is shaping up to be a defining year for broadband.
The end game for all this activity is twofold -- consumers will see cheaper mobile broadband service, and investors will have their picks battling in a more cutthroat market.
The first issue of David Gardner's new ultimate growth service is out. Take a free test drive here, and see what his money is on.
Fool contributor Dave Mock's keen knowledge of Hayes modems and ASCII foretells his nerdlinger roots. He owns shares of Intel.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04101905.htm
CDMA2000 Industry Celebrates Successes and Sets Roadmap for Technology Evolution at 2004 CDMA Americas Congress
COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 19, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- More than 1,100 wireless leaders from over 37 countries attended the ninth annual CDMA Americas Congress in Miami, organized by the CDMA Development Group (CDG). Operators, equipment vendors, content providers, application developers and analysts shared CDMA2000(r) success stories and discussed market opportunities, business strategies and evolution to next-generation networks and services. The prevailing theme of the conference was emerging opportunities for data services. With the introduction of CDMA2000 1X and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, data is the fastest-growing business for many carriers, and some forecast that it will contribute 50 percent of revenues in five years.
In his opening address, Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG, highlighted that CDMA is the driving force in the wireless industry: CDMA is the fastest-growing technology worldwide, CDMA2000 is leading 3G with 94 operators and more than 124 million users in 47 countries, and 3G CDMA technologies will dominate the wireless market by 2009. During keynote addresses, operators from around the world detailed how they are capitalizing on the advantages of CDMA2000 to deliver both voice and data services, leading to greater subscriber acquisition, lower churn and increased revenues.
Dick Lynch, senior vice president and chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless, detailed the carrier's recent CDMA2000 1xEV-DO expansion to 14 markets in the U.S., noting that the service will be national in 2005. The 1xEV-DO service, branded BroadbandAccess, is targeting the enterprise market, but will expand into the consumer market next year, with the introduction of 1xEV-DO handsets in the next few months. Lynch stressed that the 1xEV-DO deployment is an extension of Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) 's network strategy, and the operator will be evaluating 1xEV-DO Rev. A, which offers voice over IP, to offer new services and improve network performance and efficiencies.
Byung Moo Kim, Ph. D, president, SK Telecom International, outlined how targeted branding and marketing have allowed the operator to differentiate and maximize revenue potential for CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO services. Bharat B. Anand, president, regulatory affairs for Reliance Infocomm, the largest wireless operator in India, presented how the operator has capitalized on the high-speed data capabilities of CDMA2000 1X to introduce a wide range of innovative services, from video streaming, mobile banking and wireless point-of-sale solutions, to enterprise solutions. John Rooney, president and CEO of U.S. Cellular, called for the industry to continue to collaborate on delivering customized services, simplicity and carrier inter-operability.
"From the testimonials and demonstrations given during the 2004 Americas Congress, it is clear that wireless operators using CDMA2000 technology enjoy flexibility, increased network efficiency, and new revenue opportunities," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "CDMA2000 carriers have a clear evolution path to the all-IP network of the future, and as networks and services converge, they will be able to deliver a richer customer experience and pursue new market opportunities and revenue streams."
Panel sessions and presentations at the event focused on technology evolution and business strategies. Speakers in the technology track discussed the evolution to high-speed data, the advancement of 1xEV-DO and 1xEV-DV, the implementation of all-IP networks, and how to integrate emerging technologies. The business track featured winning segmentation and branding strategies, consumer and enterprise market opportunities and revenue-generating applications, with content and application providers discussing the latest trends in wireless games and music. The Congress also offered interactive workshops, the tenth annual CDMA Test Forum, exhibits of the latest technologies, applications and handsets, and the presentation of the 3G CDMA Industry Achievement Awards.
Keynote speakers were Michael Neuman, President and COO, Bell Mobility; Mark Henderson, President and CEO, Ericsson Canada; Cindy Christy, President, Mobility Business, Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU - news) ; Soren Peterson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Business Development and Strategy, Mobile Phone Business Group, Nokia; Richard Lowe, President, CDMA Networks, Nortel Networks; Paul Jacobs, Executive Vice President and President of Wireless Internet Group, Qualcomm; Bharat B. Anand, President, Regulatory Affairs, Reliance Infocomm; Byung Moo Kim, Ph. D, President, SK Telecom International; Doug Rasor, Vice President, Manager, Worldwide Strategic Marketing, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - news) ; John Rooney, President and CEO, U.S. Cellular; Dick Lynch, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Verizon Wireless; and Dan Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile USA.
This year's sponsors included Comverse, Dyaptive Systems, Ericsson (Stockholm: ERICb.ST - news) , Kyocera Wireless, Lucent Technologies, Nokia (Helsinki: news) , Nortel Networks, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM - news) , Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW - news) , Texas Instruments and UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI - news) . For a complete list of sponsors and exhibitors, as well as the final agenda, please visit the event Web site at www.cdma-americas.com.
About CDMA2000: 100 Million and Growing
With more than 124 million subscribers worldwide, CDMA2000 is leading the global migration to 3G networks and services. CDMA2000 benefited from the extensive experience acquired through the development and operation of cdmaOne(tm) systems, and was designed to be a very efficient and robust technology. CDMA, the basis for cdmaOne and CDMA2000, was used as the platform for TD-SCDMA and WCDMA, the two other leading IMT-2000 technologies. Supporting both voice and data, CDMA2000 was designed to operate in the 450, 800, 1700, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands. More information on CDMA2000 is available on the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
About the CDG
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA technologies. The 100 member companies of the CDG include many of the world's largest wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of CDMA features and services, public relations, education and seminars, regulatory affairs and international support. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG subcommittees on CDMA-related matters. For more information about the CDG, contact the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030 or visit the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/041019/290/f4ukx.html
Europe starts to bear fruit, Qualcomm strikes Siemens 3G chips deal
October 19 2004
by Tony Hallett
Europe starts to bear fruit
Siemens has chosen Qualcomm as its second major supplier of chipsets for 3G phones based on the W-CDMA standard.
The San Diego-based provider of mobile phone building block technology has trumpeted the deal as its most important win in Europe so far. Qualcomm is known for pioneering second-generation CDMA technology and has so far only made 3G inroads in Asia and the US.
Enrico Salvatori, Qualcomm VP operations for Europe, said the deal shows his company's "technical solution and business model are applicable in all markets" and called Siemens "a very major European customer" - the largest the company has.
Qualcomm is also happy because Siemens is a major provider of network infrastructure and would want testing to show chipsets work across all sorts of networks. Upcoming Qualcomm offerings will address technologies with speeds either side of 3G known as EDGE and HSDPA.
Qualcomm supplies chipsets to around two dozen vendors globally. The company's founder and CEO, Dr Irwin Jacobs, has stated that the vendor would like to command around 50 per cent of the global W-CDMA chipset market, though fierce competition is likely from other well-known names.
Siemens is also happy to work with various companies. Its existing 3G handsets are based on chips from Motorola, a Siemens spokesman said. He didn't say when handsets based on the Qualcomm components are expected to be available or which types of device they will be, though a roll out in the first half of next year seems likely.
Qualcomm already supplies the technology upon which various 3G datacards using W-CDMA are based, such as those sold by Vodafone.
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39125093,00.htm
Nortel Demos CDMA450 in Tampere, Finland(Europe) today.
10.19.04
HELSINKI -- Nordisk Mobiltelefon and Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)(TSX:NT) are presenting a live demonstration of the broadband mobile technology CDMA 450 in Tampere, Finland today. The trial system, implemented with Digita Oy, the Finnish TV and radio mast operator, brings the prospect of improved geographical reach for advanced mobile services in Nordic countries at data rates up to 2.45 megabits per second.
CDMA 450 systems offer basic speech and data transfer services, as well as SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Message Service), e-mail, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and Web browsing. But CDMA 450 can provide greater geographical coverage from less base stations because it operates in the lower 450 megahertz (MHz) radio frequency.
"Our founding vision was to provide consumers and professionals in rural areas with advanced digital mobile communications services," said Arnfinn Roste, chief executive officer, Nordisk Mobiltelefon. "Today we are demonstrating that this vision can become a reality, providing both mobile telephony and broadband access across the Nordic region."
"Today's activity is a demonstration of Nortel Networks CDMA 450, CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO capability and an illustration of the benefits it could bring to rural areas in the Nordics," said Jorma Laasasenaho, general manager, Nortel Networks Finland. "By introducing CDMA 450 to the region we hope to powerfully illustrate the value that this internationally established standard deployed in networks around the world can bring."
Nortel Networks Ltd.
Nordisk Mobiltelefon AB
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=61223
Lucent Expands China Unicom
10.19.04
BEIJING -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU - message board) today announced a series of contracts totaling $107 million with China Unicom's provincial subsidiaries in Zhejiang, Shaanxi and Liaoning for their CDMA network expansion projects. Lucent will supply its industry-leading CDMA2000 solutions to improve the capacity and coverage of Unicom's mobile networks in the three provinces. Lucent Worldwide Services, Lucent's services arm, will support these network deployments.
With this expansion, China Unicom will be able to offer new revenue-generating services such as video-on-demand, live streaming audio and high-speed mobile Internet access to its subscribers. Because Lucent's equipment can be cost-effectively upgraded to support more advanced third-generation (3G) services, these deployments also will lay a solid foundation for the future evolution to 3G.
"Lucent has played a very significant role in China Unicom's CDMA network expansion efforts, which underscores our leadership in CDMA technology and our outstanding relationship with this sophisticated service provider," said Ivan Shen, chairman of Lucent Technologies China. "Lucent is committed to providing the most innovative technologies, solutions and services to help China Unicom succeed in the fast-paced communications marketplace."
The fruitful collaboration between China Unicom and Lucent on the development of the operator's CDMA network began in May 2001 and has remained strong ever since. "The agreements announced today expands Lucent's presence in China's CDMA market and reflects the recognition on the part of Chinese customers of Lucent's technological excellence and ability to provide strong local support," Shen added
"China is a strategic market for Lucent, and we are devoting considerable effort to ensuring that China Unicom is able to deploy the most cutting-edge technologies to support next-generation services on their network, one of the world's largest," said Cindy Christy, president of Lucent's Mobility Solutions Group.
Lucent Technologies Inc.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=61241
Update : LG sells 11.8m phones in 3Q, ranking world's fourth handset maker
http://www.telecomskorea.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=785&Itemid=2
Tuesday, 19 October 2004
LG Electronics shipped 11.8 million handsets to the global market in the 3rd quarter, ranking 4th following Nokia, Motorola and Samsung Electronics. Sonly Ericsson sold 10.7 million units during the same period and Siemens has yet to reveal the 3rd quarter results next month with the sales estimated to be less than 10 million units.
LG Electronics’ quarterly handset sales passed the 10 million mark for the first time and its revenue from handset sales rose 64% to 2, 285 billion won ($2 billion) year on year.
The sales of GSM handsets increased 35% thanks to the strong performance in North America and the growing WCDMA market, the handset maker added. Meanwhile, the company’s CDMA handset sales fell 25% due to the sluggish demand in Korea but marked 12% growth year on year in North America.
The company expects to sell 13 million handsets in the 4th quarter, up 45% year on year. While sales of CDMA and GSM handsets are likely to boom in North America and Europe, respectively, the company forecasts.
By Seong-ju Lee
Research and Markets: Global Mobile Shipment Volume Reached 150 Million Units in Taiwan at the Beginning of 2004
Tuesday October 19, 4:28 am ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041019/lntu003_1.html
DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of 'The Taiwanese Mobile Phone Industry, 1Q 2004 and Beyond' to their offering.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040820/RESEARCH )
The shipment value totalled approximately US$1 billion in the first quarter of 2004. For the first time, Taiwanese shipment fell behind global shipment growth due to limited contracts and customers' increased in-house production. Value was boosted due to Taiwanese branded efforts in southeast Asian markets. In the second quarter, Taiwanese shipment volume is expected to see gains due to an increase in branded shipments and shortened generational transitions between models. Yet dwindling demand for knocked-down kits from China and competition for business from major vendors will present challenges.
The List of Topics discussed in this report:
Quarterly forecast of Taiwanese shipment volume up to 4Q 2004. Special discussions on WCDMA, and the growing dominance of East Asian makers and their branded business. 1Q 2004 review of volume, volume by assembly level, value, ASP, and product architecture including product mix, product mix by tier, displays, camera modules and handset shapes. Taiwanese mobile phone market share of baseband, power amplifier, and transceiver suppliers. Manufacturer rankings and profiles, customer portfolios, industry concentration analysis, production locations, shipment destinations, and business types.
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c7272
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Research and Markets
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353 1 4100 980
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Research and Markets
Is this TI effect? After Hours, QCOM = 44.15 + 1.68
It seems that Qualcomm is going to repeat the 1999 performence(JMHO).
Symbol Time* Trade* Change* After Hrs Chg* Bid* Ask*
QCOM 5:52PM ET 44.15 1.68 (3.96%) 0.55 (1.26%) 44.10 44.18
Texas Instruments 3rd-Qtr Sales Reach Nine-Year High (Update2)
Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Texas Instruments Inc., the world's biggest maker of mobile-phone processors, said profit rose to $563 million as third-quarter sales reached their highest point for the period in nine years.
Net income was 32 cents a share for the three months ending Sept. 30, from $447 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier, the Dallas-based company said in a statement. Sales climbed 28 percent to $3.25 billion.
Fourth-quarter profit will be as high as 28 cents a share on sales of as much as $3.2 billion, Texas Instruments said. Chief Executive Rich Templeton is benefiting as mobile-phone makers buy chips to meet demand for phones that surf the Internet, snap photos and play music. Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest handset maker and Texas Instruments' largest client, said global sales of wireless handsets will gain 20 percent this year.
``On the wireless handset side, we're hearing better things,'' said Michael Masdea, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston in San Francisco who rates the shares ``outperform'' and said he doesn't own them. ``What's driving Texas Instruments forward is digital communications,'' he said before the results were released.
Wireless products generated 35 percent of first-half sales in Texas Instruments' semiconductor unit, which also makes chips that control household electronics such as televisions.
Shares of Texas Instruments rose 93 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $22.02 in extended trading, after results were released. They had fallen 13 cents to $21.09 by 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, and declined 28 percent this year.
Forecasts
Texas Instruments expects fourth-quarter profit of 24 cents to 28 cents on sales of $2.96 billion to $3.2 billion. The company was expected to report profit of 26 cents, the average estimate of 32 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, and sales of $3.21 billion.
Worldwide mobile-phone sales may rise as high as 630 million handsets this year, from 520 million in 2003, Nokia said last week. Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher Gartner Inc. said last month that number could reach 650 million.
Templeton, 45, is trying to lessen his dependence on Nokia as the Espoo, Finland-based handset maker loses market share to Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Texas Instruments' digital signal processors are the main chips in cell phones and allow handsets to make calls, connect to the Internet and perform other functions.
Texas Instruments cut its sales forecast for the third quarter Sept. 8, explaining that some non-wireless clients were reducing inventories and buying less. Ron Slaymaker, the company's vice president of investor relations, said at the time that revenue from handsets was ``running on plan.''
Legal Victory
Texas Instruments on Oct. 6 won a lawsuit brought by Qualcomm Inc., its nearest competitor in mobile-phone processors, that allows Texas Instruments to continue selling a chip that uses Qualcomm's patents without paying royalties.
The victory may help Templeton extend his company's dominance in one handset standard, the Global System for Mobile communications, or GSM, to standards used in so-called third- generation, or 3G, phones. Qualcomm's patents are a central piece of a new standard known as wideband-code-division multiple access, or W-CDMA. The W-CDMA market may reach $10 billion by 2008, according to researcher IDC.
Templeton won a $51 million investment in July from NTT DoCoMo Inc., the world's second-biggest wireless carrier, to develop processors used in DoCoMo phones. Motorola, the world's second biggest handset maker, said in August it had sold its first handset to DoCoMo and the phone will use a Texas Instruments applications processor, the chip used to run software programs on handsets.
Texas Instruments was expected to report third-quarter profit of 27 cents, the average estimate of 33 analysts in a Thomson Financial survey, and sales of $3.17 billion.
Sales in the third quarter last year were $2.53 billion. Third quarter sales were $3.43 billion in 1995.
Last Updated: October 18, 2004 17:13 EDT
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a9U1aZvmVuMQ&refer=home
Recently, 3 important news that make Q more and more formidable, JMHO:
1)NTT DoCoMo To Use Qualcomm Chips
News by Michael Oryl (editor) on Friday October 08, 2004.
http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=898&source=ARCHIVE
2)QUALCOMM Announces Two Multicast Innovations to Increase Capacity and Reduce Cost for Content Delivery to Mobile Handsets
Tuesday October 12, 7:31 am ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041012/latu091_1.html
3)Nokia upgraded on coming quarter
Analyst: company's more 'open-minded'
By Brendan January, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:10 PM ET Oct. 15, 2004
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BEB30BE52-1140-4939-87DA-966401DE584F%7D&siteid...
"We view all of these moves as positives indicating that Nokia is beginning to be more flexible with its processes," said Bechter.
The company is also entertaining the idea of buying chips from Qualcomm, said Bechter.
"All of which would have likely caused an uproar only one year ago," he said.
Breaking News
http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=23538453&brk=1
Nokia upgraded ahead of 'seasonally strong quarter'
By Brendan January
Last Updated: 10/15/2004 1:03:00 PM
Excerpt from above link:
<<Bechter said Nokia is making progress with carrier relationships, holding in-depth talks with Verizon (VZ), a company which it "historically has not had the best relationship (with)." The analyst added that Nokia may also be in discussion with several Chinese original design manufacturers (ODM).
These ODMs include BenQ, Lite-On and HTC, according to Bechter.
"We view all of these moves as positives indicating that Nokia is beginning to be more flexible with its processes," said Bechter.
The company is also entertaining the idea of buying chips from Qualcomm, said Bechter.>>
Qualcomm & TV Anywhere
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04101509.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisi t=y&npu=y
TV Anywhere
By Rich Duprey
October 15, 2004
Your cell phone is set to become a glorified TV "clicker." Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) is developing two technologies that will allow subscribers to channel surf on their cell phones, enabling them to watch real-time, high-quality multimedia content -- though presumably not while driving.
Last month, I noted that mobile TV was coming soon as a consortium of cell-phone manufacturers, including Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), and Sony Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY), were collaborating on mobile-broadcast specifications. On that same wavelength, Qualcomm announced two CDMA technologies designed to deliver video and audio to a large number of users simultaneously.
Streaming content is possible over cell phones now, and a few companies have already rolled out some services, such as Sony's (NYSE: SNE) user-defined and predefined StreamMan service. The problem with such services is two-fold. First, it's expensive to deliver multimedia content to individual subscribers, particularly in a large subscriber base. Second, cellular subscribers prefer to access multimedia content the same way they access it on their personal computer: download it now and watch it later.
Qualcomm's innovations make it more cost-effective for network operators to broadcast multimedia content to large numbers of subscribers. I'll admit to not understanding what an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) waveform is, but I kind of get that it permits distribution of multimedia broadcasts that don't chew up battery power, an important criteria for cell phone users. The technologies reserve time slots at all cells in a region and then broadcast one packet of data to multiple users simultaneously. This is an improvement on packets being sent to a single user at a time. Still, network operators with capacity issues might not want to congest cells with streaming content.
An In-Stat/MDR study says that while streaming content is of high interest to cell phone users, downloading remains the primary goal. Yet that could be because the industry is still nascent and streaming content has not been widely available. As services become more prevalent, more people may want to access it. But it seems that people may be more likely to be interested in services such as TiVo's (Nasdaq: TIVO) ToGo that allows subscribers to move television programming to other devices, including cell phones.
Mobile "infotainment" may indeed be growing into a $7 billion industry, as Alexander Resources suggests, but it's not certain that channel surfing between MTV and reruns of "I Love Lucy" will be part of it.
Uzbek CDMA contract win
China's ZTE has won a CDMA infrastructure order from the Uzbek operator Perfectum Mobile. Under the terms of the new order ZTE will supply CDMA2000 1X equipment to build a? network that will cover the country's capital Tashkent and the country's major economic zones.
ZTE first partnered with Perfectum in 2003 to create an initial CDMA2000 1X network to provide voice, data and value added services in Tashkent. This was intended as the first phase of a nation-wide network. The performance of ZTE's technology, the company's extensive expertise in planning and deploying wireless networks, and the high levels of customer service delivered in this first phase were instrumental in the award of the follow-on contract.
Perfectum Mobile is currently the largest CDMA mobile operator in Uzbekistan.
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/12093.shtml
Nokia Sales Significantly Affected By Component Shortages
STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- Nokia Corp's. (NOK) sales of mobile phones were significantly held back by component shortages in the third quarter, Chief Executive Jorma Ollila said on a conference call following the release of third-quarter results Thursday.
Ollila said the effect had been in the millions of units, but didn't specify further.
Nokia is prepared to step up its marketing spending in the fourth quarter to support new product launches, according to Ollila.
He dismissed speculation that a rise of EUR400 million in marketing spending was implied in the company's guidance, saying the figure would be lower than that.
He added there wouldn't be any major change in spending for research and development.
Company Web site: http://www.nokia.com
-By Magnus Hansson, Dow Jones Newswires; 46 8 545 130 91; magnus.hansson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/12108.shtml
Motorola deploying CDMA2000 1x on a 2GHz network in Japan
Motorola has begun deployment of its CDMA2000 1X solution on a 2GHz network for Japan's KDDI. KDDI is expected to commercially roll out services based on its new 3G network in late October 2004.
The new packet-based 2GHz network will allow KDDI to leverage additional bandwidth while offering the opportunity to provide more advanced IP-based feature enhancements to deliver new services to its customers.
"We will reach yet another milestone with Motorola with our launch of this new 3G service," said Tadashi Onodera, president of KDDI Corporation. "Time and again, Motorola has proven to be a reliable supplier working with us to consistently provide us with innovative solutions to meet our business needs. With Motorola's strong support, I am optimistic that we can gain a stronger foothold in the CDMA2000 1X market and continue to expand our current subscriber base."
"This commercial deployment in Japan of CDMA2000 1X in the 2GHz band underlines our commitment and leadership in developing CDMA2000 1X technology," said Simon Leung, senior vice president, Motorola, and general manager for its infrastructure business in the Asia Pacific region. "We look forward to deepening our 15-year relationship with KDDI through well- designed wireless solutions that will help KDDI capture additional revenue and meet emerging customer needs."
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/12097.shtml
Nokia's Ollila to address 'challenges' of US mkt over next 6-9 mths
, 10.14.04, 10:30 AM ET
AFX News Limited
HELSINKI (AFX) - Nokia Corp will tackle the "challenges" it faces on the US market, where it has been losing market share, over the coming quarters, said CEO Jorma Ollila.
"We feel we have some work to do (there) and that is something we will be addressing in the next six to nine months," Ollila said in an interview with CNBC.
The company will seek to improve its product development strategy for the US for 2005 and 2006, he said, noting that it is "a very price-driven market".
newsdesk@afxnews.com
Copyright 2004 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/wireless/2004/10/14/wirelessafx_2004_10_14_AEF_4786-3476-ERN....
CDMA Wireless Community Calls For Harmonized Spectrum Allocation
14th October , 2004
US : The CDMA Development Group (CDG) reported that the issue of international roaming for both voice and 3G data services emerged as a prevailing theme at its 2004 CDMA Americas Congress, held in Miami last week. One of the key issues raised was the harmonization of spectrum allocation for CDMA to ensure global roaming for CDMA users worldwide. In this regard, a special reference was made to the experience in India where CDMA operators are facing the problem of spectrum allocation in the 1900 MHz band which is being used by CDMA operators in many regions such as Asia, North and Latin America. This allocation is being opposed by the GSM operators, more on the commercial grounds of preventing the growth of CDMA services in that part of the world rather than for any technical reasons.
"It is of the utmost importance that the 1900 MHz spectrum be allocated to CDMA operators in India to ensure that the region remains part of the international community of roaming wireless subscribers worldwide," said B.B. Anand, President for Regulatory Affairs at Reliance Infocomm. "International roaming is a feature desired by all, but to do so will require allocating the same type of spectrum as is utilized elsewhere. The world over, GSM systems operate in the 900/1800 MHz bands while CDMA systems operate in the 800/1900MHz bandwidths and India should be no different."
"Following the introduction of Unified Licenses in 2003, the number of CDMA users in India has grown exponentially to surpass 10 million and accounts for 25 percent of total users," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group. "India is one of the key roaming markets and unless the 1900 MHz band is allocated to CDMA operators, CDMA subscribers in India and CDMA users traveling to India will be deprived of international roaming."
CDMA operators in India have paid the same entry and license fees as GSM operators in the region, but have been denied equal spectrum allocation and appropriate spectrum as per international standards. Those opposing fair allocation of spectrum are spreading misinformation and inaccuracies, claiming that allocating the 1900 MHz band to CDMA operators will destroy the 3G "core band" and will block GSM operators from migrating to 3G. The fact is, there is no "core band" that is allocated to IMT-2000 (3G); the ITU has identified a number of bands for IMT-2000 services and allows administrations the flexibility to use different frequency bands in line with national requirements. CDMA operators in India have already deployed CDMA2000(r), which is an IMT-2000 technology, in the 800 MHz band, one of the bands identified for IMT-2000 services, and Reliance Infocomm has introduced hundreds of advanced applications such as video streaming, mobile banking and e-mail access. Furthermore, UMTS is not the only band available to GSM operators. 3GPP has already standardized the 1800 MHz band and has been requested to standardize the 900 MHz band for WCDMA. It is also important to note that it is possible for CDMA2000 and WCDMA to co-exist in different parts of the ITU recognized IMT-2000 bands, including the UMTS band.
About CDMA
There are 231 CDMA networks serving more than 212 million users worldwide. The vast majority of CDMA networks operate in 800 MHz and 1900 MHz. Close to 100 of these operators have launched CDMA2000 (IMT-2000) technologies and are now providing advanced voice and data services to more than 124 million users in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin and North Americas.
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/October2004/8463.htm
Qualcomm announces 3G multicast solutions
October 13, 2004
Qualcomm announced two innovations - 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast, an evolution of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO; and FLO (Forward Link Only) technology, which is complementary to CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks. EV-DO Platinum Multicast and FLO technology are both multicast innovations designed to increase the capacity and reduce the cost of delivering video, audio and other content to large numbers of users simultaneously.
EV-DO Platinum Multicast is a backwards-compatible evolution of 1xEV-DO. The existing EV-DO forward link design uses CDMA to transmit data packets to a single user (unicast), or simultaneously to multiple users (multicast), during different time slots (called time division multiplexing, or TDM).
Each packet is provided the full forward link power from one cell sector during its time slot. EV-DO Platinum Multicast further improves performance by reserving the same TDM time slot at all cells in a region and then transmitting one or more common packets within the reserved slot to all users in the region. Mobile devices receive the same packet from multiple cells and then soft combine the energy to improve reception. To simplify the soft combination of the common packets transmitted simultaneously from all cell sectors in multicast mode, an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) waveform is used for transmission during the common TDM time slot.
The FLO multicast technology under development at Qualcomm is designed for markets where dedicated spectrum is available and where regulations permit high-power transmission from one or a small number of towers. As in Platinum Multicast, FLO transmits packets using OFDM. It is complementary to existing cellular networks because interactive services are supported within the mobile device using the CDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO or WCDMA cellular link. FLO is intended as an alternative to other multimedia multicasting technologies, such as DVB-H. Compared to other multicast technologies, FLO technology is designed specifically for use in mobile devices where low battery power consumption is critical.
In addition, Qualcomm's MediaFLO Content Distribution System is designed to make intelligent decisions about when to send content over a network made up of any number of different wireless technologies, including FLO and EV-DO Platinum Multicast. In particular, the MediaFLO system allows operators to transmit unicast or multicast content over their cellular networks and seamlessly combine it with multicast content transmitted using the FLO technology. The MediaFLO system assures appropriate alignment between the network utilization profile and subscriber requirements and usage patterns.
"EV-DO Platinum and the FLO technology innovations will augment existing unicast networks to much more cost effectively enable the most desirable multimedia applications - including real-time, high-quality video. The MediaFLO system wraps these new technologies into a complete end-to-end system that allows consumers to interact with wireless multimedia in a way they're accustomed to - enabling 'channel surfing' on their mobile handsets," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, executive vice president and president of Qualcomm Wireless and Internet Group.
In June, the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast proposal was submitted to 3GPP2 (Third Generation Partnership Project 2) for consideration as an upgrade to the multicast specification for 1xEV-DO. If standards progress permits, Qualcomm will support Platinum Multicast with the CSM6800 Cell Site Modem (CSM) and the MSM6800 Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipset and system software solutions in addition to the many improvements of 1xEV-DO Rev. A, while supporting full backwards compatibility to all earlier CDMA-based phones. Networks and devices based on the CSM6800 and MSM6800 solutions will support:
-- high forward and reverse peak and average data rates with high spectral efficiency;
-- dual diversity antennas in the handset;
-- quad diversity at the base station with optimal combining and interference cancellation capabilities;
-- forward link adaptive space-time equalization;
-- Quality of Service; and
-- very low latency for the highest performance available of any technology for push-to-chat, instant multimedia and interactive gaming - all setting the stage for efficient and high quality wireless Voice over Internet Protocol.
Qualcomm anticipates that the FLO technology and EV-DO Platinum Multicast enhancements will be in network trials in 2005.
http://www.3gnewsroom.com/3g_news/oct_04/news_5044.shtml
Qualcomm Gets Serious About Multimedia Distribution
By Sue Marek
October 12, 2004
news@2 direct
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=document&doc_id=136201&verticalID=34&vertic...
The push to efficiently deliver quality video and audio to handsets is triggering some high-powered innovation at Qualcomm. Building on its March debut of the company's content distribution system called MediaFlo, Qualcomm today announced two more products -- 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast and FLO -- intended to help carriers efficiently deliver content to their customers.
Typically cellular systems are designed to unicast data, meaning that each cell site sends packets of data to one handset at a time. But with multicasting, which Qualcomm first introduced last spring with its EV-DO Gold Multicast system, cell operators are able to broadcast one packet of data to multiple users simultaneously by using time division multiplexing technology.
The EV-DO Platinum Multicast system announced today turns this system up a notch by allowing the network to reserve the same time division multiplexing time slot for all cells in a region and then transmitting one or more common packets within the reserved slot to all users in the region. Mobile devices receive the same packet from multiple cells using orthogonal frequency division multiplex waveform technology to improve reception.
"Multicasting is important when you have a lot of users that want the same data, like video. You can now send the data to everyone simultaneously," says Jeffrey Belk, senior vice president of marketing at Qualcomm.
The EV-DO Platinum Multicast system will be supported by handsets with the MSM 6800 series chipsets and cell sites with the CSM 6800 series chipsets and will be backward compatible with EV-DO Gold Multicast system and the regular EV-DO networks.
The second multicast technology, called FLO, is intended for operators with a big commitment to content because it requires dedicated spectrum and additional towers. Like Platinum Multicast, FLO transmits packets using OFDM but, while complementary to existing cellular networks such as 1XRTT, EV-DO or W-CDMA, it requires a different network. Belk says the benefit of FLO is it would lower the cost for the operator to deliver high-quality video and ultimately means that operators could deliver more channels of content and better quality content. Although the quality of the video will depend on the carrier's implementation of FLO, the system will allow for real-time video distribution.
Qualcomm anticipates that these two new technologies, FLO and EV-DO Platinum Multicast, will be in network trials in 2005.
Qualcomm Buys Trigenix for $36 Million
http://www.itnews.it/risorse/EuroNews,Zj0xMTI2MjIz
QUALCOMM ACQUIRES UK-BASED, MOBILE USER INTERFACE LEADER TRIGENIX, EXTENDING ITS COMMITMENT TO THE EUROPEAN WIRELESS MARKET
12-10-2004 17:26
SAN DIEGO, California., October 12 /PRNewswire/ --
- Deal Further Establishes BREW(R) Solution as the Industry Leading Choice for Operators and Handset Manufacturers Worldwide Looking to Offer Customizable User Interfaces -
QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced it has acquired Trigenix, a mobile user interface company, based in the United Kingdom. The acquisition provides QUALCOMM with Trigenix's User Interface (UI) development technologies, products and tools, and extends QUALCOMM's commitment to the European wireless community. When combined with the BREW client software, Trigenix's suite of technologies provides additional substantial advantages to QUALCOMM's existing UI offerings that enable flexible and customizable wireless device UIs for operators and device manufacturers. QUALCOMM paid approximately US $36 million in cash for Trigenix.
The BREW 3.1 client software and BREW 1.0 UI Toolkit provide operators and device manufacturers the resources they need to develop an entire phone UI, branded to suit individual operator's and manufacturer's requirements for all handset tiers and models offered to subscribers. Adding the capabilities of Trigenix technologies, including the Trigenix Trigplayer(TM), provides an expanded UI development tool set that allows BREW operators and device manufacturers to custom build core phone functions like address books, messaging menus, navigation methods, color schemes and icon styles. This secure, modular approach to UI development offers the ability to maintain integrated and consistent user experiences across devices. The BREW solution also permits secure, periodic over-the-air (OTA) updates, allowing an operator to "push" new content to the UI, such as branding refreshes and marketing promotions, as well as periodic software updates or feature upgrades to the handset.
"QUALCOMM's acquisition of Trigenix marks a significant next step in the Company's efforts to bring enhanced 3G wireless data services to Europe and illustrates our resolve to support wireless operators, device manufactures and developers on the continent," said Peggy Johnson, president of QUALCOMM Internet Services. "Trigenix is an acknowledged leader in mobile UI technology and we're pleased to embark on this next stage of our BREW business with them. This acquisition greatly improves the ability for customers offering BREW-based services as well as operators and handset manufacturers to reduce time-to-market and grow their wireless data business."
"Joining a wireless leader such as QUALCOMM, and strengthening our relationship with the worldwide community of BREW publishers, developers, operators and handset manufacturers, provides an excellent chance to advance Trigenix technology and better meet the need for customizable UI products and services," said Steve Ives, CEO, Trigenix. "The combined strengths of the BREW solution and Trigenix's technology and product portfolio will enable us to play on a much bigger stage, demonstrate greater flexibility and reach into worldwide markets."
Trigenix was founded in 2000 with venture funding from 3i, a leading European venture capital company. "It has been an honor to work with Steve and the Trigenix team since its foundation and to help make it a success," said Laurence Garrett, director of technology for 3i. "QUALCOMM and Trigenix have built a strong relationship in the past year and this acquisition takes the evolution of UI technology to the next level."
QUALCOMM's BREW solution 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, Iusacell in Mexico, VIBO in Taiwan, Tata in India, Telstra in Australia, VIVO in Brazil, 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, 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(R) company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) 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 28, 2003, and most recent Form 10-Q.
QUALCOMM and BREW are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Trigenix is a registered trademark of Trigenix Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For further information, please contact: Michele Bakic, QUALCOMM Internet Services, +1-858-651-4017, mbakic@qualcomm.com, or Emily Gin, Corporate Public Relations, +1-858-651-4084, publicrelations@qualcomm.com, or Bill Davidson, Investor Relations, +1-858-658-4813, ir@qualcomm.com, all of QUALCOMM.
Web site: http://www.qualcomm.com
Michele Bakic, QUALCOMM Internet Services, +1-858-651-4017, mbakic@qualcomm.com, or Emily Gin, Corporate Public Relations, +1-858-651-4084, publicrelations@qualcomm.com, or Bill Davidson, Investor Relations, +1-858-658-4813, ir@qualcomm.com, all of QUALCOMM
Qualcomm Rolls Technology For Cell Phone 'Channel Surfing'
http://www.techweb.com/wire/hardware/49900986
By TechWeb.com
Qualcomm reported that it has developed two multicast technologies for delivery over its CDMA networks to mobile handsets. Announced Tuesday, the wireless-technology firm said the multicast innovations will be in network trials next year.
The 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast is backwards compatible with Qualcomm's high-speed EV-DO technology and is planned to operate with Qualcomm's CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks.
The other multicast technology--called FLO (forward link only)--is also complementary with CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks. In addition, it will operate with mobile devices in which low battery-power consumption is called for. The two new multicast features are planned to spur the use of multimedia in cell phones and other mobile devices.
"Wireless multimedia services are gaining traction in leading markets, but, as consumer demand increases, the cost becomes prohibitive to deliver the same multimedia content individually to each user in a large subscriber base," said Dr. Paul Jacobs, executive vice president and president of Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group, in a statement.
"EV-DO Platinum and the FLO technology innovations will augment existing unicast networks to much more cost effectively enable the most desirable multimedia applications--including real-time, high-quality video. The Media FLO systems wraps these new technologies into a complete end-to-end system that allows customers to interact with wireless multimedia in a way they're accustomed to--enabling 'channel surfing' on their mobile handsets."
Qualcomm to buy Trigenix as it aims for Europe
Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:19 AM ET
(Adds confirmation from both companies, updates takeover price, details on competition)
By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent
AMSTERDAM, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. mobile phone technology company Qualcomm (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it will buy Britain's mobile software firm Trigenix for $36 million in a move to get more business from wireless operators in Europe. Confirming a Reuters story, Qualcomm's Internet Services President Peggy Johnson said in a telephone interview Qualcomm had planned to break the news late on Tuesday or Wednesday.
"Qualcomm will pay $36 million in cash," she said.
British venture capital company 3i (III.L: Quote, Profile, Research) invested a total 5 million pounds ($8.93 million) in 2000 and 2001 for an undisclosed stake in Trigenix and Stephen Ives, chief executive of Trigenix, said it would make a very good return.
Qualcomm sells chips, technology and software for the CDMA cellular phone technology it has invented. It has tried to move into the much bigger market for GSM cell phones which is used by operators around the world, but so far without much success.
It hopes to benefit from a combination with Trigenix, which already supplies its software to 14 operators such as Germany's T-Mobile [TMOG.UL](DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Britain's 3 (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) .
Four-year old Trigenix sells software which lets mobile operators adjust menus on standard handsets, making them stand out from the same brand handsets that are sold by competitors.
"Trigenix was one of the first companies that recognised how important the user interface on the mobile phone was going to become," said Copenhagen-based telecoms consultant John Strand.
Trigenix competes with SurfKitchen and Action Engine.
GETTING MORE SERIOUS
The two companies have been working together since June, when Trigenix said it would write a software version to work with Qualcomm's BREW software package.
"We can achieve closer (software) integration through this takeover," Ives said.
Johnson said operators have indicated they want software from both companies. "We're much more powerful together than if we go separately," she said.
Trigenix and Qualcomm have been negotiating the takeover for months, according to people familiar with the deal.
So far BREW is only in trials with some European operators.
Qualcomm hopes to get a foot in the door at GSM operators as they move to fast, third generation (3G) Wideband-CDMA networks (W-CDMA) for video calls and other data services. Because of its CDMA background, Qualcomm has an opportunity to sell chips for W-CDMA handsets. These chips have BREW software built in, which can be turned on or not, depending on operators' wishes.
Qualcomm's BREW will compete with mobile software from British Symbian, backed by the major handset makers, U.S.-based Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and several others which all hope that the move to 3G will create a need for smarter software on handsets.
BREW and Trigenix software runs on handsets with modest amounts of computing power as well as expensive mobile phones.
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
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Qualcomm Touts Multicast Innovations
http://www.wirelessiq.info/content/newsfeed/1921.html
October 12, 2004 / 9:23 AM email / print / link / feedback
SAN DIEGO— QUALCOMM Incorporated, pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced two innovations — 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast, an evolution of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO; and FLO (Forward Link Only) technology, which is complementary to CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks. EV-DO Platinum Multicast and FLO technology are both multicast innovations designed to increase the capacity and reduce the cost of delivering video, audio and other content to large numbers of users simultaneously.
EV-DO Platinum Multicast is a backwards-compatible evolution of 1xEV-DO. The existing EV-DO forward link design uses CDMA to transmit data packets to a single user (unicast), or simultaneously to multiple users (multicast), during different time slots (called time division multiplexing, or TDM).
Each packet is provided the full forward link power from one cell sector during its time slot. EV-DO Platinum Multicast further improves performance by reserving the same TDM time slot at all cells in a region and then transmitting one or more common packets within the reserved slot to all users in the region. Mobile devices receive the same packet from multiple cells and then soft combine the energy to improve reception. To simplify the soft combination of the common packets transmitted simultaneously from all cell sectors in multicast mode, an orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) waveform is used for transmission during the common TDM time slot.
The FLO multicast technology under development at QUALCOMM is designed for markets where dedicated spectrum is available and where regulations permit high-power transmission from one or a small number of towers. As in Platinum Multicast, FLO transmits packets using OFDM. It is complementary to existing cellular networks because interactive services are supported within the mobile device using the CDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO or WCDMA cellular link. FLO is intended as an alternative to other multimedia multicasting technologies, such as DVB-H. Compared to other multicast technologies, FLO technology is designed specifically for use in mobile devices where low battery power consumption is critical, enabling it to offer superior mobility, power efficiency and coverage characteristics — considerations that are fundamental to the mobile handheld consumer usage environment.
In addition, QUALCOMM's MediaFLO Content Distribution System, announced in March 2004, is designed to make intelligent decisions about when to send content over a network made up of any number of different wireless technologies, including FLO and EV-DO Platinum Multicast. In particular, the MediaFLO system allows operators to transmit unicast or multicast content over their cellular networks and seamlessly combine it with multicast content transmitted using the FLO technology. The MediaFLO system assures appropriate alignment between the network utilization profile and subscriber requirements and usage patterns. For subscribers, multicast services based on advances like the FLO technology and EV-DO Platinum Multicast will easily deliver high- quality video services at appropriate consumer price points, so consumers can have a positive experience with full motion video at much higher frame rates.
"Wireless multimedia services are gaining traction in leading markets but, as consumer demand increases, the cost becomes prohibitive to deliver the same multimedia content individually to each user in a large subscriber base," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, executive vice president and president of QUALCOMM Wireless and Internet Group. "EV-DO Platinum and the FLO technology innovations will augment existing unicast networks to much more cost effectively enable the most desirable multimedia applications — including real-time, high-quality video. The MediaFLO system wraps these new technologies into a complete end-to-end system that allows consumers to interact with wireless multimedia in a way they're accustomed to — enabling 'channel surfing' on their mobile handsets."
"QUALCOMM has been working on multimedia enhancements for more than eight years," said Steven R. Altman, president, QUALCOMM Technology Licensing. "The Company has approximately 200 issued or pending patents relating to these enhancements and to applications of OFDM, OFDMA and MIMO (multi in, multi out), making QUALCOMM one of the most active companies in this space."
In June, the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Platinum Multicast proposal was submitted to 3GPP2 (Third Generation Partnership Project 2) for consideration as an upgrade to the multicast specification for 1xEV-DO. If standards progress permits, QUALCOMM will support Platinum Multicast with the CSM6800 Cell Site Modem CSM and the MSM6800 Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipset and system software solutions in addition to the many improvements of 1xEV-DO Rev. A, while supporting full backwards compatibility to all earlier CDMA-based phones. Networks and devices based on the CSM6800 and MSM6800 solutions will support:
* high forward and reverse peak and average data rates with high
spectral efficiency;
* dual diversity antennas in the handset;
* quad diversity at the base station with optimal combining and
interference cancellation capabilities;
* forward link adaptive space-time equalization;
* Quality of Service; and
* very low latency for the highest performance available of any
technology for push-to-chat, instant multimedia and interactive
gaming — all setting the stage for efficient and high quality
wireless Voice over Internet Protocol.
QUALCOMM anticipates that the FLO technology and EV-DO Platinum Multicast enhancements will be in network trials in 2005.
Three Picks In The Handset Sector
10.12.04, 8:52 AM ET
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/10/12/1012automarketscan01.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=
Piper Jaffray said September handset sales are generally tracking in-line with expectations but that fewer channels were beating their internal plans, "leading us to believe there is limited upside to third-quarter North American handset sales." The research firm said sales of GSM camera phones from Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) appeared strong, while sales of Motorola's V.710 at Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people ) stores were also strong. "While Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) appeared to slightly improve its share at Cingular during September, these were for lower-end products, and we believe Nokia continues to struggle overall for North American market share," Piper Jaffray said. "We believe Qualcomm (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ) is well positioned to post solid growth due to continued strong demand for chipsets, healthy channel inventory, and growing 3G visibility in Europe and Asia." Piper Jaffray currently holds "outperform" ratings on Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm. In addition, the research firm reiterated an "outperform" rating on Skyworks Solutions (nasdaq: SWKS - news - people ), saying near-term trends for the wireless chipmaker remain solid.
5 years ago: Globalstar unveils satellite phones And it has survived (just)...
October 12 2004
by silicon.com
http://networks.silicon.com/telecoms/0,39024659,39124923,00.htm
12.10.99: Globalstar launches its mobile satellite phone service at the Telecom 99 show in Geneva.
The company promises widespread coverage across the globe - everywhere but the polar ice caps.
Globalstar chairman and CEO Bernard Schwartz maintained an upbeat tone about his firm's prospects: "There's never been a telco that's gone broke." He then called the amount of people around the world without telecoms services "a tremendous opportunity".
The company says service will be available to subscribers from a network of over 200 service providers including Vodafone AirTouch and China Telecom.
Commenting on switching between cell phone operators and his service, Schwartz said: "Cell systems are not our enemies. They're our allies."
12.10.04: The satellite phone market got off to a rough start. Even as Schwartz unveiled Globalstar's offerings five years ago, fellow satellite service and phone provider Iridium had had a poor launch and subsequently filed for bankruptcy while ICO Global Communications suffered similar woes.
Globalstar went on to file for bankruptcy itself in 2001 after failing to make a profit.
Investments from the likes of Qualcomm have helped keep the company afloat. It's still in business today selling mobile and satellite phones and service for both voice and data. It boasts 123,000 subscribers in over 120 countries.
As Schwartz declared, Globalstar has worked with mobile phone operators. It now offers phones that allow users to switch between mobile and satellite networks so they can place calls from nearly anywhere.
The ninth annual 3G World Congress & Exhibition.
Monday, 11th October, 2004
The ninth annual 3G World Congress & Exhibition, Asia's longest-established and largest mobility event, has further strengthened the event's China focus with speakers and exhibition participation from key PRC telecommunications industry companies China Unicom, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, as well as the TD-SCDMA Forum as an endorsing industry association.
The ninth annual 3G World Congress & Exhibition, Asia's longest-established and largest mobility event, has further strengthened the event's China focus with speakers and exhibition participation from key PRC telecommunications industry companies China Unicom, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, as well as the TD-SCDMA Forum as an endorsing industry association.
These additions underline the established position of 3G World Congress & Exhibition as the region's most important meeting point for the mobile industry, and its overwhelming popularity is reflected in the participation of over 120 industry speakers and 30 operators from around the world.
Keynote speakers at the event now include: Wang Jianzhou, chairman and president of China Unicom; Yafang Sun, Chairwoman of the Board for Huawei; and Dr James Jiang Jianping, Chief Executive Officer, USA & Chief Technology Officer, Wireless for ZTE.
With the signing of China's TD-SCDMA Forum, the 3G World Congress & Exhibition is now supported by three of the leading 3G industry associations: the CDMA Development Group, the TD-SCDMA Forum and the UMTS Forum. In addition, the 3G World Congress & Exhibition enjoys the backing of ten other international industry associations and fifteen regional telecom associations.
"China is undoubtedly the most exciting telecoms market worldwide and a major focus of attention, so we are excited to be able to confirm the presence at the 3G World Congress & Exhibition of China Unicom, the second largest mobile operator globally, along with companies with a global reputation like Huawei Technologies and ZTE," commented Daniel Kirwin, Managing Director, Asia, of the Institute for International Research (IIR). Kirwin added, "Chairman Wang's keynote address will be one of the highlights of the conference and will no doubt touch upon China Unicom's plans for growth in the future.
"It is equally important that November's event will feature support from the leading mobile technology standards ?including CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and W-CDMA ?which cements the role of the 3G World Congress & Exhibition as a forum for establishing new industry initiatives, confirming emerging business opportunities and resolving various differences of opinion that are inevitable in a highly competitive industry."
http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?cid=2&id=18896
Brazil: CDMA reaches 20.5mil users, foresees Qualcomm
MONDAY , OCTOBER 11, 2004 10:05 AM
Brazil, Oct 8, 2004 (Jornal do Commercio/SABI via COMTEX) -- Qualcomm,
developer of the CDMA standard, forecasts an increase from 14.4mil to 20.5mil
users in Brazil, even with the expansion of GSM technology. In order to
conciliate the use of both technologies and avoid losses, the company has
developed multimode chipset mobile phones, which also allow international
roaming. Qualcomm does not intend to manufacture those products in domestic
market, although the government of Brazil has been stimulating the local
production of chipsets. Qualcomm has been operating in the country since 1995,
supplying mobile phones and developing the CDMA network of Vesper. Meanwhile the
fixed phone operator Telemar is planning to launch phones that can operate as
fixed and mobile phone modes. The company is betting on convergent services
along with its division, the mobile phone operator Oi.
Copyright (c) 2004, South American Business Information, All rights reserved.
http://cobrand.knobias.com/templates/aware/story1.3.htm?eid=3.1.323788bbaf6416ed270de4ca7dabd90771a0...
Korea hoping to hang onto CDMA secrets
October 11, 2004
The sale of CDMA source codes by South Korea's Hyundai Syscomm to US based UT Starcom could be heading towards a legal battle as Korea seek to keep its competitive advantage in the CDMA sector.
The Korea Times reported that Hyundai Syscomm does not exclusively own the rights to the CDMA technologies and therefore doesn't have the right to sell CDMA secrets without agreement with co-developers, which includes Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. The four companies jointly hold the rights to the expertise and means none are able to sell their own partial rights without consent from the other three. But Hyundai Syscomm's former management did not seek approval from the others.
Government regulations also require outbound sale of CDMA expertise, designated as strategic export items, to gain state approval in advance.
Korea adopted CDMA as the national standard in 1995 and deployed the world's first commercial CDMA services a year later. It laid the foundation for the country to roll out the first 3G network using CDMA2000 1x technology in 2000. In 2002 it became the country to launch CDMA EV-DO services, offering faster data speeds than CDMA2000.
Korean mobile handset manufacturers, such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, have also enjoyed success in the worldwide CDMA phone market. But the emergence of Chinese players has threaten mid-tier CDMA handset makers.
The sale of CDMA expertise to UT Starcomm is especially sensitive because UT Starcomm has strong relations with China. It could dent Korea's competitive edge over China, which has been narrowing the technology gap.
Some experts claim the leaked CDMA secrets are mostly 2G technologies and does not threaten Korea's advantage because China have more advanced technologies like EV-DO.
Other critics have said Chinese firms can use the 2G technologies to find a shortcut in narrowing the technological gap.
http://www.3gnewsroom.com/3g_news/oct_04/news_5033.shtml
China's TCL targeting 20 mln mobile handset sales in 2004 - report
, 10.11.04, 11:10 AM ET
AFX News Limited
BEIJING (AFX) - TCL Communication Technology Holdings (HK 2618) hopes to more than double its 2004 handset sales to 20 mln units through its new joint venture with French telecommunications giant Alcatel, the Beijing Business Times reported.
"With Alcatel's sound and strong sales network as well as advanced technologies, the new joint venture will reach further into the overseas markets," Wan Mingjian, chief executive of TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones Limited (TAMP), was quoted saying at the launch of the new joint venture over the weekend.
TAMP, which has an initial net asset value of around 100 mln euros, will be based in Hong Kong.
TCL has a controlling 55 pct stake in the joint venture, while Alcatel owns the remaining 45 pct, which includes its mobile phone assets.
The joint venture company will own Alcatel's patented 3G technologies, its research centers and 600 employees in both France and China.
TCL is hoping to speed up the development of its 3G technology through its joint venture with Alcatel before the government issues licences to operators next year, state media reported earlier.
Field trials of the competing 3G standards -- TD-SCDMA, co-developed by Datang Mobile and Germany's Siemens AG, WCDMA backed by European telecom equipment firms, and CDMA2000 backed by US technology group Qualcomm Inc -- were expected to be completed in September and the results of the trials to be released in early November, the Beijing-based Business Watch Magazine reported last month, citing sources from the Ministry of Information Industry.
TCL sold 9.82 mln handsets in 2003 making it the second largest Chinese manufacturer after Ningbo Bird Co Ltd (SHA 600130), which sold 11.76 mln last year.
(1 usd = 8.3 yuan)
tom.wang@xinhuafinance.com
Copyright 2004 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/wireless/2004/10/11/wirelessafx_2004_10_11_AEF_3281-2221-PRD....
SK TELECOM TARGETS 500,000 USERS IN VIETNAM BY 2005
HANOI - SK Telecom Co. (KSE:17670), South Korea's biggest mobile phone operator, aims to sign up 500,000 subscribers to its cellular phone service based on code division multiple access (CDMA) technology in Vietnam by the end of next year, its top executive said today. Speaking after passing the 100,000 subscriber milestone in Vietnam, SK Telecom Vice Chairman Cho Chung-nam said the firm will increase investment and introduce new technologies to help it achieve its target. SK Telecom and its partners launched commercial operation of its CDMA mobile phone network under the brand of "S-Fone" in Vietnam last year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041011/hsasp2_1.html
DoCoMo handsets to use Qualcomm's WCDMA chip sets
By W. David Gardner, TechWeb
Monday, October 11, 2004
In a major victory for Qualcomm's WCDMA technology, the US firm announced that it will work with Japan's NTT DoCoMo wireless service provider to promote the WCDMA digital wireless technology.
Whilst the two firms didn't say so, the decision is likely to negatively impact DoCoMo's JWCDMA proprietary technology, which wasn't widely accepted in global markets.
The WCDMA standard is established in several international markets. The move isn't likely to have an immediate impact on wireless markets in the US, where DoCoMo had been partnering with AT&T Wireless.
Amongst other things, the announcement means that wireless subscribers using handsets with Qualcomm chips will be able to roam onto DoCoMo's FOMA network in Japan.
Whilst DoCoMo's i-Mode FOMA handsets have enjoyed considerable success in Japan, those technologies didn't catch on in a big way in foreign markets.
Qualcomm said the firms have conducted successful interoperability tests utilising Qualcomm's MSM6250 chip set, with field tests scheduled to begin immediately on FOMA networks.
"Several handset manufacturers are currently in discussion with Qualcomm to develop FOMA i-mode handsets using the Company's MSM6250 single-chip solution and the BREW client software," Qualcomm stated last week. "Such handsets are targeted to launch in the second half of 2005."
Qualcomm is already a supplier to DoCoMo's Japanese rival, KDDI, which uses a competing brand of CDMA. In recent months, KDDI has been gaining market share on DoCoMo, which controls 56 percent of the Japanese market, according to recent market figures.
"This is a very good move by Qualcomm and DoCoMo," said Joe Nordgaard, managing director of wireless consultancy Spectral Advantage. "It helps align mobile service to international standards."
Qualcomm previously hadn't supplied any chip sets to manufacturers of handsets built for DoCoMo usage.
Copyright © 2004 CMP Media LLC
http://www.itnews.com.au/ibmstorycontent.asp?ID=7&Art_ID=21981