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Cell Carriers Engage in High-Speed Data Race
Cingular, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless all promise faster mobile networks
News Story by Bob Brewin
JUNE 28, 2004 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Widespread national coverage for high-speed cellular data services edged closer to reality last week, as Cingular Wireless and Sprint PCS Group separately announced plans to deploy new broadband networks over the next two years.
Cingular and Sprint PCS joined Verizon Wireless in aiming high-speed data offerings at IT managers who need to support increasingly mobile workforces. Verizon Wireless last week reaffirmed that it will offer high-speed capabilities in a third of its national network by year's end, keeping to a plan announced in January [QuickLink 47388].
Sprint PCS said it plans to roll out a data service with average speeds of 300K to 500Kbit/sec. and a peak rate of 2.4Mbit/sec. The service will be based on the cellular standard Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), which is the same technology Verizon Wireless is using.
Coverage vs. Speed
For George Bishop, IT director at Xcel Pharmaceuticals Inc. in San Diego, wide geographic coverage is more important than superfast data rates. Xcel has equipped about 20 staffers with EV-DO data cards, but Bishop said Xcel chose Bedminster, N.J.-based Verizon Wireless as its cellular data carrier because it provides better coverage nationwide than its rivals.
He added, though, that he looks forward to Verizon Wireless extending the reach of its EV-DO service beyond test markets in San Diego and Washington. That will let Xcel's users in other parts of the country take advantage of the high-speed throughput to access e-mail and do research on the Internet, Bishop said.
Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass., said Sprint PCS announced its EV-DO plans in response to competitive pressure from Verizon Wireless. He added that the move marks an acceleration of the high-speed data plan that Sprint PCS had announced previously, plus a shift in technology.
Last July, Sprint PCS signed a $1 billion deal with Lucent Technologies Inc. for network hardware designed to support CDMA Evolution-Data Voice (EV-DV) technology. Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint PCS last week said future upgrades of its network will include EV-DV after equipment supporting the technology becomes available, likely in 2006.
Atlanta-based Cingular Wireless said it has issued a request for proposals to networking equipment vendors looking to support its advanced data services, which will be based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System standard. Hamish Caldwell, an executive at Cingular, said the company plans to test a UMTS network this summer in Atlanta.
UMTS has an average throughput of 384Kbit/sec. But Cingular also plans to deploy an enhanced version called High Speed Downlink Packet Access, with data rates of up to 14.4Mbit/sec.
After Cingular completes its acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. later this year, it could also take advantage of UMTS installations planned by that company, Caldwell said.
http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,94130,00.html
Qualcomm multimedia chip in 30 handset designs
June 28, 2004 12:24 PM EST
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. said it is seeing strong customer demand for its single-chip multimedia solutions, which have been chosen for more than 30 different handset designs from seven wireless device manufacturers across Europe, Japan, South Korea and North America.
The mobile video software includes Qtv, Qcamcorder and Qvideophone, all of which are part of Qualcomm’s Launchpad suite of technologies. So far, LG Electronics’ LP300 in South Korea and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications’ A1402S for “au” by KDDI in Japan are the only commercially available handsets including the software. Kyocera Corp., Motorola Inc., Pantech & Curitel, Samsung and Sanyo are also developing devices integrated with the solutions.
“Qualcomm’s integrated video solution enables lower power and lower cost video-enabled devices—creating revenue-generating opportunities for operators and in-demand devices for OEMs that take advantage of existing and future video content,” said Luis Pineda, vice president of marketing and product management of Qualcomm CDMA technologies.
http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18642
Motorola makes nice with Nextel
Zander aims to save a $2-billion relationship
By Julie Johnsson
Edward Zander
The first customer call Edward Zander made in January as the new CEO of Motorola Corp. was to the Schaumburg company's largest, and perhaps angriest, client: Timothy Donahue, CEO of Nextel Communications Inc.
"It was a defining moment for me in the company, just spending an hour with him," Mr. Zander told an investor group earlier this month. "Because he was nice, but after the niceness wore off — it was a hard trip back, a hard trip back."
continued below
Mr. Zander, known for charming key customers as president of Sun Microsystems Inc. in the 1990s, inherited a company renowned for treating clients cavalierly — none more so than Virginia-based Nextel, the nation's sixth-largest cellular phone operator.
With Nextel poised to end its dependence on Motorola as the sole supplier of its handsets and infrastructure gear, Mr. Zander is pulling out the stops to salvage a relationship that generates more than $2 billion in annual sales for Motorola.
In a shake-up, he has given Chief Information Officer Samir Desai overall responsibility for managing the Nextel account.
It's rare for a CIO at a Fortune 500 company to be given such an assignment; that's usually work for lower-ranking executives. It signals that Mr. Zander is serious about repairing frayed ties with a customer that has spent $15 billion on Motorola products over the past decade.
"That's not uncharacteristic for Zander, who's known for doing whatever it takes (to win customers)," says Christopher Foster, senior analyst with Network Business Quarterly, a New Hampshire-based market research firm.
Nextel's future spending at Motorola is almost certain to fall as the carrier adopts technology that would enable it to use competing vendors.
Mr. Desai's task is to position Motorola to supply some of the next-generation network that eventually will replace iDEN, the walkie-talkie technology that Motorola created for Nextel.
"We're working very closely with Nextel," Mr. Zander said at the investor meeting, a June 17 conference sponsored by San Francisco merchant bank Thomas Weisel Partners LLC. "Round one was iDEN. Tim and his team — hopefully we're working with them to build round two."
Loose ties
That's by no means assured. The two companies still don't have a long-term contract (Crain's, April 12). After a five-year agreement expired in December, they operated without a contract for three months before agreeing to terms that last only through the end of this year.
Nextel, meanwhile, is testing next-generation wireless data networks that eventually could replace iDEN with three vendors: New Jersey's Flarion Technologies Inc. and California-based IP Wireless Inc. and QUALCOMM Inc.
Flarion and IP Wireless are upstarts with ties to Motorola, and, if selected by Nextel, could turn to the Schaumburg company to manufacture their network equipment, analysts say. Motorola expects to create new handsets that will work on whichever network Nextel selects, a spokeswoman says.
But migrating from Motorola's proprietary iDEN network to technology with a broader user base will fundamentally alter the dynamics of this relationship. Nextel will be free to pursue deals for cell phones with whomever it chooses, forcing Motorola to compete for a customer that accounted for $1.46 billion, or 18%, of the company's handset sales in 2003.
A historical perspective
That's where the low-key Mr. Desai comes in. He was selected to be the electronic giant's ambassador to Nextel because he has ties with the carrier that date back to the 1990s, when he was a founding member of the Motorola team that created the carrier's signature walkie-talkie, a Motorola spokeswoman says. (Messrs. Desai and Zander weren't available for interviews.)
A person close to Nextel's senior management says that Mr. Desai is keeping channels of communication open and positive. That's a change from just a few months ago, he adds, when Nextel executives swore "they would do anything but purchase next-generation product from Motorola."
A Nextel spokeswoman declined to discuss Mr. Desai's influence on the companies' ties, adding: "There is strong momentum in this strategic relationship, as Motorola is our largest supplier and we are their largest global customer."
©2004 by Crain Communications Inc.
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=12978
Orders for 1xEV-DO PC Cards:
Sierra Wireless and Audiovox Expand Relationship with New Orders for 1xEV-DO PC Cards
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2004--
In response to growing demand for Sierra Wireless' PC5220 Card, Audiovox places new orders totaling $29 million
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR)(TSX:SW) announced today the receipt of new orders from Audiovox Communications Corporation (ACC), a subsidiary of Audiovox Corporation (Nasdaq:VOXX), for an additional supply of PC5220 Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) 1xEV-DO PC Cards. The new orders total approximately $29 million with deliveries to begin in the third quarter of 2004.
The PC5220 PC Card, manufactured by Sierra Wireless, works with laptops and provides mobile professionals with wireless data access to e-mail, the Internet and corporate applications via a third generation (3G) wide-area CDMA2000(R) 1xEV-DO network.
"We are excited about the growing demand for our PC5220 and pleased about our expanding relationship with Audiovox," said Jason Cohenour, Senior Vice President Global Sales for Sierra Wireless. "Using the PC5220 on a CDMA 1xEV-DO network, mobile professionals enjoy a true high-speed wireless experience, accessing the Internet and corporate enterprise applications anywhere, anytime."
Providing one of the fastest wireless data connections available, with peak data speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps and typical speeds of 300-600 kilobits per second (kbps) on an EV-DO wireless network, the PC5220 was developed for mobile users that require access to mission-critical enterprise applications such as sales force automation and customer relationship management tools, as well as streaming audio, video and the Internet. The product offers 'always on' wireless access in a Type II PC Card format, improving productivity and giving enterprise users a vital competitive advantage. The dual band design of the PC5220 also offers maximum coverage and access to existing CDMA 1X networks, ensuring a fast, reliable wireless connection to information while on the road or away from the office.
For more information about Sierra Wireless products please visit, www.sierrawireless.com. Or contact the Sierra Wireless Sales Desk by calling 604-232-1488 or e-mailing sales@sierrawireless.com.
Note to editors:
To view and download images of Sierra Wireless products, please visit http://www.sierrawireless.com/news/photos.asp.
About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is a leader in delivering highly differentiated wireless solutions that enable our customers to improve their productivity and lifestyle. Sierra Wireless develops and markets the AirCard, the industry-leading wireless PC card line for portable computers; embedded modules for OEM wireless applications; the MP line of rugged vehicle-mounted connectivity solutions; and Voq, a line of mobile phones with easy-to-use, secure software solutions for mobile professionals. For more information about Sierra Wireless please visit www.sierrawireless.com.
"AirCard" is a registered trademark of Sierra Wireless, Inc. "Voq" is a trademark of Sierra Wireless, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply conditions, channel and end customer demand conditions, revenues, gross margins, operating expenses, profits, and other expectations, intentions, and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact. Our expectations regarding future revenues and earnings depend in part upon our ability to successfully develop, manufacture, and supply products that we do not produce today and that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "expect", "believe", and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in the wireless data communications market. In light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding the wireless data communications market, you should understand that we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will be realized.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040628005...
China Reaches 50 Million PAS Subscribers
ALAMEDA, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UTStarcom, Inc. , a global leader in IP access networking and services, today announced that more than 50 million people currently subscribe for PAS(TM) (Personal Access System) service in China, 58 percent of which are on networks powered by UTStarcom technology. As of the end of May, UTStarcom had more than 29 million PAS subscribers in China.
"PAS continues to be a key revenue driver for both China Telecom and China Netcom in provinces throughout Mainland China," said Ying Wu, chief executive officer and chairman of UTStarcom China. "Despite its tremendous subscriber growth rate to date, UTStarcom believes that the market demand for PAS is still very strong, as only four percent of the population currently subscribe for PAS service."
Since its introduction in China in 1997, PAS has experienced tremendous subscriber growth as users discover the high-quality voice and data capabilities of this affordable wireless technology. At the end of 2002, total PAS users in China exceeded 12 million people and doubled to more than 32 million by December 2003. In Q1 2004, nearly 10 million subscribers signed up for PAS, compared with three million new users during the same period of last year. Currently, PAS has been developed in all 31 provinces of Mainland China. Current subscriber growth forecasts that total PAS users will top 70 million by the end of 2004 and 100 million by December 2006.
The PAS Advantage
UTStarcom's PAS and iPAS(TM) (IP-Based Personal Access System) services offer service providers and subscribers unique and attractive advantages over competing wireless services. For operators, PAS provides a two to three year return on investment (ROI), increased average revenue per user (ARPU), and the ability to support new applications and diversified value-added services seamlessly. More than 55 percent of new fixed-line new users in China are PAS subscribers, making PAS a major revenue force and business focus of China's two fixed-line operators, China Telecom and China Netcom. PAS offers operators an easy and affordable means of replacing existing copper infrastructure with superior wireless telecommunications.
For subscribers, PAS provides affordable mobile telecommunications service with an array of diversified features. Besides high-quality voice service, UTStarcom PAS users enjoy applications including short messaging service (SMS), C-MODE based web browsing, 64Kbps wireless Internet access, and location-based services. Currently 99 percent of all PAS subscribers are SMS-enabled in China and the service will soon be interconnected with GSM and CDMA systems, which will further enhance the growth of PAS. In Q1 2004, PAS subscribers sent more than 372 million SMS messages, an increase of more than 120 times that in the first quarter of last year.
UTStarcom believes its expertise in IP technology with its mSwitch(TM) IP-core platform gives it a distinct advantage over other vendors in the China market. Operators who already deploy PAS can also offer subscribers 3G CDMA services without any additional expenditure on infrastructure once licensing is approved in China.
PAS Wireless Access Solutions
UTStarcom's wireless network solutions enable a rapid network expansion and an easy migration from fixed to wireless networks, enabling service providers to offer wireless voice and data services within a city or community. Marketed as a low-cost investment option for wireless local telephone service providers, the PAS system features advanced voice and data services within a flexible network architecture that are designed to be seamlessly integrated with future 3G and broadband technologies. With deployments throughout Mainland China and Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Africa, and Latin America, UTStarcom is the leader in the worldwide PAS market.
About UTStarcom, Inc.
UTStarcom is a global leader in IP access networking solutions and international service and support. The company sells its wireline, wireless, optical and switching solutions to operators in both fast growth and established telecommunications markets around the world. UTStarcom enables its customers to rapidly deploy revenue-generating access services using their existing infrastructure, while providing a migration path to cost-efficient end-to-end IP networks. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, California, the company has research and design operations in New Jersey, China, and India.
For more information about UTStarcom, visit the company's Web site at http://www.utstar.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
The foregoing statements regarding, without limitation, forecasted growth in the total number of PAS users, strong market demand for PAS, the interconnection of PAS service with GSM and CDMA, licenses from the Chinese government allowing UTStarcom to provide 3G CDMA services, integration of the PAS system with future 3G and broadband technologies. migration from fixed to wireless networks, PAS' ability to provide service providers a two to three year return on investment and increased average revenue per user and its ability to support new applications and diversified, value-added services, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These factors include rapidly changing technology, the rapidly changing nature of Chinese and global telecommunications markets, possible delays in system deployments or product introductions, possible downturns in the telecommunications markets of China generally and worldwide, the termination of new contracts, partnerships or alliances, and other uncertainties, such as changes in government regulation and licensing requirements and economic and political stability in China generally and worldwide. UTStarcom also refers readers to the risk factors identified in its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jun/1052220.htm
China Unicom claims fruits in wireless data application
, 06.28.04, 9:55 AM ET
BEIJING, Jun 28, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- China Unicom and its US partner Qualcomm have announced achievements in wireless data application, as there have been more than 1.5 million downloads on China Unicom's BREW (binary runtime environment for wireless) platform since its debut last July.
To date, more than 1 million mobile phones supporting the BREW technology have been sold in the Chinese mainland market, and there are more than 400 BREW applications offered by 200 developers in China.
The BREW platform is part of a complete, end-to-end solution for wireless applications development, device configuration, application distribution, and billing and payment. BREW- based services will enable consumers to customize their handsets by downloading applications.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/wireless/2004/06/28/wirelesscomtex_2004_06_27_xe_0000-1957-KE...
NTT DoCoMo to Release Mini i-mode Handset
Tokyo, Japan, Jun 24, 2004 (JCNN via COMTEX) -- NTT DoCoMo (TSE: 9437) has announced today the July 1 nationwide release of the premini, the smallest i-mode handset ever released, weighing just 69g and measuring only 90mm (height), 40mm (width) and 19.8mm (thickness).
The 1.3-inch screen (65,536-color TFT LCD) displays up to 160 dots x 128 dots. The premini offers four font sizes (10 dots to 16 dots) and five background color templates. Japanese text input is made easy with PoBox text prediction.
Prior to the launch, premini handsets will be displayed at a total of four shops in Tokyo and Osaka from June 26 to 30. All DoCoMo sales channels will sell the premini from July 1. The price of the handset will be open (unfixed). The battery pack will cost 2,100 yen and AC adaptor will be 945 yen.
http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=21812832&brk=1
Pantech & Curitel Selling 5 million Handsets in 1H
Friday, 25 June 2004
Pantech & Curitel, one of fastest emerging handset makers of Korea, is projected to grow 120% year-on-year, selling 4.89 million units of handsets in the first half of this year.
Korea’s No.3 handset maker said that its revenues for the first half of 2004 stood at 1.7 trillion won, up 19% from the previous quarter. Pantech & Curitel said that the brilliant performance is attributable to the launch of advanced cell phones such as megapixel and camera phones and exports to the US market.
The handset maker said that over 6 million units of cell phones are expected to be shipped within this year to the 4 major CDMA service providers such as Verizon, Sprint, Telus and Bell Mobility, doubling the sales in the North American market from 3.7 million last year.
Pantech & Curitel stressed that its products will be exported as scheduled through Audiovox, a parent company of ACC that Pantech & Curitel tried to acquire, but failed.
An official of Pantech said, ”Our products are already on the purchasing lists of Verizon and Sprint. However, it will take some time for UTStarcom, the acquirer of Audiovox, to deliver their handset products to the US mobile carriers as it should go through a variety tests before delivery.”
Pantech & Curitel is expected to establish sales and aftercare networks in 6 major cities in the US and Canada within the yearend and employ the locals to build-up its own supply chain.
By Seong-ju Lee
http://www.telecomskorea.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=226&Itemid=2
In Palo Alto, Voices Raised Against Options Expensing
By Ronna Abramson
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
6/25/2004 9:17 AM EDT
Click here for more stories by Ronna Abramson
Long lunches are usually not the norm for Silicon Valley's denizens, but many made an exception Thursday to join the battle over stock options.
Wearing yellow t-shirts with "www.savestockoptions.org" splashed across their backs, hundreds of high tech and biotech employees chanted against expensing stock options at a lunchtime rally in front of City Hall in Palo Alto, Calif.
"You are the face of employee stock options!" Jim Cunneen, president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, shouted over and over again throughout the one-hour rally. "Yes we are!" replied the crowd, echoing the slogan on the fronts of their shirts.
The rally was organized by TechNet, a network of 200 CEOs and senior executives in the high-tech and biotech industries. Employees from start-ups such as Viosionael as well as more established tech companies such as Sun Microsystems (SUNW:Nasdaq - news - research) and biotech giant Genetech (DNA:NYSE - news - research) talked up options as an important engine for innovation, hard work and entrepreneurialism. And they described dire consequences for the high-tech sector and entire U.S. economy if companies are forced to expense options.
"Innovation is built on stock options," declared Andy Bechtolsheim, the cofounder of Sun Microsystems. Expensing stock options would move Silicon Valley backward to its history of orchards, if not the Stone Age, according to Bechtolsheim, who recently returned to the company as senior vice president and chief architect for volume systems.
The rally coincided with a roundtable meeting held a mile away and called by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to discuss its contentious proposal to require companies to expense stock options.
FASB, a quasi-public group that regulates the accounting industry, has proposed that companies begin expensing stock options next year. The organization is expected to adopt a final rule requiring options expensing in the fourth quarter; FASB members were very tight-lipped Thursday about their timeline.
For the high-tech employees holding signs that, for example, read "Silicon Valley: The house that options built," options represent a down payment on their first house, college tuition for their children and a reward for late nights working at a start-up.
"Without it I wouldn't be able to do a lot of things for my family that with stock options I'm able to do," said Suzane Gemme, 34, who has three kids and is one half of a dual-income family.
Like others, Gemme, an executive assistant to the CFO at Ditech Communications (DITC:Nasdaq - news - research), said her main complaint against expensing options centers on the difficulty of valuing them. It's unfair for companies to take a charge on options when some of them are worthless because they're under water, meaning its exercise price is higher than the stock price, she said.
It was this very point, among other technical accounting issues, that was debated among 32 participants at the FASB roundtable discussion nearby at the Palo Alto Sheraton, where the number of people in the audience was roughly the same size as the number of participants in the discussion.
Current accounting rules allow public companies to choose whether to expense options. But the leniency of that rule has come under fire following accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom, among others.
There was strong agreement among the group that employee stock options are a form of compensation. But the usual suspects -- including Intel (INTC:Nasdaq - news - research) CFO Andy Grove, Cisco (CSCO:Nasdaq - news - research) CFO Dennis Powell, Siebel Systems (SEBL:Nasdaq - news - research) CFO Ken Goldman and Qualcomm (QCOM:Nasdaq - news - research) CFO Richard Grannis -- argued otherwise.
Shareholders incur the cost of that compensation in the form of dilution as the options are exercised, the executives argued. Thus, options should not be included as an expense on the company's income statement.
Grannis noted that Qualcomm, widely viewed as a success story, discovered it would have reduced retained earnings by several billion dollars had it expensed options since its founding. Qualcomm would have been viewed as a "miserable failure," the company probably would have had trouble raising money, and stockholders and employees would not have made money, he said.
When asked about that scenario later in a press conference, FASB member Mike Crooch appeared unimpressed. "OK, that's nice. That would have been a true reflection," he said.
Meanwhile, Intel's Grove noted that he sits on the board of a start-up that pays its lawyer with options. Paying that employee with stock options instead of cash extends the life of the company an extra two weeks, he noted, echoing comments at the rally earlier.
Grove and others also stressed the complexity of estimating the cost, noting the difficulty of forecasting future stock volatility -- one factor in calculating option costs -- and tracking exercise behavior of thousands of employees around the world.
Grove also raised what he called his "civil case issue" of having to sign off every quarter on estimates on stock option costs that he believes are not reliable.
Securities and Exchange Commission chief accountant Don Nicolaisen assured him the agency would establish implementation guidelines and safe harbors.
One proponent for expensing was Jane Adams, a managing director at Maverick Capital, who said dilution alone is an inadequate way to account for stock options. "Get on with it," said Adams, who called for a final standard on expensing by September. Stock option compensation "is an expense," she said. "Put it on the income statement."
Crooch also said an effort in Congress to derail FASB's proposed rule would "set a very bad precedent" that trades good accounting for other public policy goals. "Good accounting is a public policy goal," he said.
Such arguments seemed unlikely to win over the crowd, yellow t-shirts and all.
http://www.thestreet.com/tech/ronnaabramson/10167919.html
Mobile coverage upgraded again
June 25 2004
Shepparton News
Those reaching for their Telstra mobile phones near Avenel, Euroa and Longwood can now do so without worry of poor coverage.
Telstra this week turned on a new tower south of Longwood, giving residents and passers-by far greater coverage on their CDMA phone in those areas and on the Hume Fwy, with digital users soon able to take advantage as well.
Telstra Country Wide general manager Robert Bell said the tower would be updated in the future to take in the GSM network. "We are obviously looking to expand things beyond just the CDMA," Mr Bell said.
As promised, coverage will also continue to grow in other areas, with towers being constructed and activated on a regular basis.
"The tower at Strathmerton will be switched on any day now," Mr Bell said.
"The official launch of the tower is July 7, but we will switch it on before that and do all the testing."
Coverage in and around Shepparton has also increased in the past month.
"We turned on the towers at Kialla and Moorilim not that long ago and we are in the planning process for a couple of others around Shepparton," Mr Bell said.
Telstra is currently in negotiations with landowners to build towers at Shepparton East and to Shepparton's north, while following a Victorian Civil and Appeals Tribunal judgement, a tower at Baddaginnie is set to be turned on in November.
http://news.mcmedia.com.au/story.asp?TakeNo=200406253745007
Qualcomm Partners For Streaming Audio
By Susan Rush
June 24, 2004
news@2 direct
Qualcomm is arming itself to deliver 3D audio quality to multimedia wireless devices, thanks to a new licensing deal it has forced with QSound. Qualcomm plans to integrate QSound's technology into select Mobile Station Modem chipsets.
Specifically, Qualcomm has licensed QSound's Q3D and QXpander audio enhancers, which are designed to create a 3D audio effect with just a headset or two speakers. The Q3D technology will be used to control the position of the virtual sound sources in the space around the listener's head, while the QXpander technology will be used to simulate a wider sound-scape to make the speakers seem larger and farther apart than they actually are, Qualcomm said.
The partnership will enable the delivery of 3D sound effects to be delivered to cell phones. "Qualcomm's collaboration with Qsound will enhance the quality of streaming audio, music playback, ringtones and online gaming services for a superior listening and enhanced multimedia experience," Luis Pineda, vice president of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, said in a statement.
Qualcomm is looking to debut the integrated chipsets in the fourth quarter of this year. The first chipset on the market will be the MSM6550, according to Qualcomm.
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=document&doc_id=134184&verticalID=34&vertic...
Telecom gear suppliers bank on spending boom
Last modified: June 24, 2004, 11:22 AM PDT
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Spending on next-generation telecommunications gear is expected to rise over the next year, as carriers announce big projects to increase speed on landline and wireless networks.
On Tuesday, SBC Communications announced plans to spend between $4 billion and $6 billion over the next five years on a fiber-optic network that will provide video, Internet and telephony over an Internet Protocol network. It could begin trials this summer.
The carrier plans to work with Microsoft to develop IP digital television services. But one of the biggest beneficiaries of this build-out will likely be the French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel. SBC selected the company as a primary supplier of fiber-optic infrastructure gear back in February. But analysts say that other companies, such as Advanced Fibre Communications, also may get a cut of the spending.
On Wednesday, Alcatel shares jumped 83 cents, or 6 percent, to close at $14.88. On Thursday, the stock was still climbing. It was up 31 cents, or roughly 2 percent, to $15.91 at midday.
Previously, Verizon Communications announced similar plans for a new fiber network to provide higher-speed services to customers. Increased attention on these network build-outs has spread optimism throughout the networking market. Stocks from several other companies, including Ciena, Cisco Systems, Sycamore Networks and Juniper Networks, posted gains on Wednesday.
Wireless equipment vendors also have gotten a boost from good news from Sprint. The carrier said this week that it will accelerate spending on a planned upgrade of its wireless network to increase data speeds. The company is upgrading its network to a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) based technology called Evolution-Data Optimized.
Although this news was not a surprise, Sprint's previously discussed plans called for a more eventual migration that would evenly spread the $1 billion committed to the project between 2005 and 2006. The revised plan calls for the bulk of the money to be spent in 2005.
The upgrade requires adding software and circuit packs to existing base stations. Because the upgrade makes use of existing equipment, vendors already selling gear to the company should benefit. Lucent Technologies is the largest wireless vendor to Sprint, followed by Nortel Networks, Motorola and then Samsung. Analysts are optimistic that other carriers will follow suit with aggressive spending on higher-speed wireless networks.
"Now that Sprint has followed Verizon with high-speed wireless data, we would watch Cingular and AT&T Wireless for a more aggressive migration to an upgraded wireless network," Simon Leopold, an equities analyst for Morgan Keegan, wrote in a research note published this week.
The announcement is also good news for wireless component suppliers including Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless.
But Sprint's plans could be viewed as a setback for companies focusing on a competing technology, EV-DV, which supports both voice calls and wireless data applications. Steven Levy, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, said in a research note that Nokia, Texas Instruments and Samsung could take a hit.
http://news.com.com/Telecom+gear+suppliers+bank+on+spending+boom/2100-1037_3-5246652.html
Option expensing proposal meets with disapproval
It's not every day that company executives demonstrate against something. But Thursday was one of those days in Palo Alto where hundreds of executives crammed into a meeting room for a hearing by the Financial Accounting Standards Board on a proposal to expense employee stock options.
"I am the face of employee stock options," read one bright yellow T-shirt worn by an executive of Elance, Inc., of Sunnyvale, during a noontime demonstration in front of Palo Alto City Hall. "Protect Jobs. Keep Stock Options," read a hand-lettered sign carried by another demonstrator.
On a more formal note the Semiconductor Industry Association, the San Jose-based lobbying group for the chipmaking industry, told the hearing that proposed rule changes in the accounting for stock options will not bring greater clarity to financial statements.
The FASB should conduct field tests before enacting the proposed rule, the SIA urged.
In a statement submitted to FASB, SIA President George Scalise said the standard proposed by FASB would not only not result in more accurate or more transparent financial statements, but would hurt the competitiveness of American companies by putting employee stock option and stock purchase plans in jeopardy.
"Stock options are a key means by which we attract and retain our best employees," Mr. Scalise said in the statement. "In the semiconductor industry, stock options are routinely given not only to executives, but also to employees well below the executive level. In fact, 80 to 95 percent of options granted by SIA member companies are awarded to employees below the senior executive level."
The SIA and other opponents of the changes contend the changes could result in curtailment not only of employee stock option plans but also of employee stock purchase plans that are open to all employees.
TechNet, the network of 200 CEOs and senior executives in the high tech and biotech communities, helped organize the rally with hundreds of Silicon Valley high tech workers opposed to the stock options accounting changes.
"Employee stock options are one of the key ingredients for innovation and economic growth in this country," says Rick White, president and CEO of TechNet and chairman of a group called the International Employee Stock Options Coalition. "Many members of Congress understand this fact, and we need them to support America's workers and American innovation by telling FASB to do the right thing. Mandating that options be expensed will mean the end for many broad-based employee stock option plans. That's not what hard-working Americans want or what the U.S. economy needs to compete in the world."
FASB held morning and afternoon discussion sessions in Palo Alto to consider their proposal to mandate expensing of employee stock option plans. Among those speaking to the group were employees and executives from Cisco Systems, Genentech, Intel, Qualcomm and Sun, as well as entrepreneurs from ME Fox and Visonael.
Under the board's proposal, first issued in March and on which public comment is scheduled to close June 30, all forms of share-based payments to employees, including employee stock options, would be treated the same as other forms of compensation by recognizing the related cost in the income statement. The expense of the award would generally be measured at fair value at the grant date. Current accounting guidance requires that the expense relating to so-called fixed plan employee stock options only be disclosed in the footnotes to the financial statements.
While several hundred Silicon Valley employees and executives took part in the demonstration, it remained orderly and pizza was served.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2004/06/21/daily43.html
Employees & Companies Make Their Voices Heard on the Value of Employee Stock Options to the U.S. Economy
PALO ALTO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- June 24, 2004 -- "Reality In The Valley: Keep The Promise of Innovation" Rally Brings Workers Together to Tout American Innovation, Ingenuity
Some of the 14 million American workers with employee stock option plans made their voices heard today at a rally in front of the Palo Alto City Hall and at roundtable discussion sessions with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The employees and small business owners highlighted how employee stock options fuel innovation, small businesses and economic growth and how FASB's misguided proposal to require companies to expense their options will hurt U.S. competitiveness.
"These workers are here today to let accounting regulators know that employee ownership is an American value that should be preserved, not destroyed," said Rick White, chairman of the International Employee Stock Options Coalition (IESOC), the rally's sponsor. "We want to help preserve the broad-based employee stock option plans that are so important to rank-and-file workers. Nearly 90 percent of workers who receive stock options are not managers. Those are the people we're speaking for today, and FASB needs to hear them loud and clear."
FASB held morning and afternoon discussion sessions in Palo Alto to consider their proposal to mandate expensing of employee stock option plans. Among those speaking to the group were employees and executives from companies such as Cisco Systems, Intel, Sun and Qualcomm. Recent studies show that throughout the United States, 14 million American workers currently hold employee stock options. Many companies will be forced to curtail or eliminate their broad-based stock option plans if they are required to expense the options.
In addition to company employees from some of the world's leading innovative companies such as Sun, Cisco and Genentech, speakers at Reality In The Valley: Keep The Promise of Innovation included former U.S. Representative Tom Campbell, Dean of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley; Peter B. Giles, President and CEO of The Tech Museum of Innovation; Jim Cunneen, President and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce; and Marc Jones, President and CEO of Visionael Corporation, a small business that provides network management and security solutions designed for large and complex corporate, government and service provider networks.
The IESOC has also helped lead an electronic petition drive to secure the signatures of thousands of company employees across the United States who oppose FASB's misguided efforts. More than 4,000 employees have signed the petition so far.
"Employee stock options are a big part of innovation and economic growth in this country," the IESOC's White added. "Many members of Congress understand this fact, and they need to support America's workers and American innovation by telling FASB to do the right thing. Mandating that options be expensed is a death sentence for many broad-based employee stock option plans. That's not what hard-working American workers want or what the U.S. economy needs to compete in the world."
Along with the petition, more than 3,500 company employees have sent comment letters to FASB expressing their concern with the FASB proposal. These workers represent scores of companies across the country and come from more than 30 states. FASB's public comment period ends June 30; another FASB Roundtable discussion is scheduled for June 29 in Norwalk, CT.
The International Employee Stock Options Coalition (IESOC) supports broad-based employee stock option plans. The Coalition comprises trade associations and companies representing a diverse range of industries, including high-tech, manufacturing and service companies, in the United States and abroad. -0- *T International Employee Stock Options Coalition Members Trade associations ------------------ AEA (American Electronics Association) American Business Conference Business Roundtable Business Software Alliance California Healthcare Institute Information Technology Industry Council Massachusetts High Tech Council Massachusetts Software and Internet Council NASDAQ National Association of Manufacturers National Venture Capital Association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International Semiconductor Industry Association Software Finance and Tax Executives Council Software and Information Industry Association The Technology Network Companies --------- Agilent Technologies Altera Applied Materials, Inc. Autodesk Cisco Systems, Inc. Conexant Systems, Inc Coors Brewing Dell Computer Emulex Flextronics Genentech Intel Corporation KLA-Tencor Micron Technology, Inc. Microsemi Qualcomm Sun Microsystems Symantec Synopsys, Inc. Valero Energy Verisign, Inc. Xilinx MEDIA CONTACTS International Employee Stock Options Coalition (IESOC) John Schachter 202-419-3254 john.schachter@porternovelli.com COMPANIES --------- Cisco Systems Kim Gibbons 408-525-4909 (office) 408-398-5223 (cell) Sun Microsystems May Petry 650-786-0034 (office) 415-519-4271 (cell) National Semiconductor Corp. LuAnn Jenkins 408-721-2440 (office) 408-981-2147 (cell) Intel Corp. Bill Calder 408-765-1669 (office) ASSOCIATIONS ------------ AeA (American Electronics Association) Judy Kleinberg 408-987-4265 (office) 650-575-8550 (cell) John Palafoutas 202-682-4451 (office) Rob Haralson (for Bill Archey, President & CEO) 202-682-4443 (office) National Venture Capital Association Emily Mendell 610-359-9609 (office) SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) John Greenagel 408-573-6612 (office) 408-712-4438 (cell) TechNet Jim Hock 202-973 6616 (office) 202-494 8132 (cell) *T
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jun/1051961.htm
Cingular Completes GSM Overlay, Accelerates WCDMA Plans
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=895&printable=
Sci-fi may become real life in South Africa
Andrew October
June 24 2004 at 10:40AM
Sci-fi fantasy aside, this one's for real. A video call from one cellphone to another was made in South Africa, using only a local network's infrastructure, with just a few borrowed extra bits.
MTN and Vodacom are in a media-generated race to become Africa's first fully operational Third Generation, or 3G, cellphone network. This will allow cellphone users to see the person they are talking to.
MTN chief technical officer Karel Pienaar said on Wednesday that MTN was rolling out 3G in South Africa.
"Ten years ago people said cellphones were toys for yuppies and no one could afford them," said Pienaar. "Now we are rolling out 3G in South Africa."
'I think people will be pleasantly surprised'
Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig announced a few weeks ago that his network had plans to deploy 3G here.
As with GSM, there was criticism that Africa could ill afford the expensive technology, yet a decade on 18 million South Africans now use the technology that in 2001 in number alone surpassed that for fixed-line telephone connections. In Nigeria it took less than a year to achieve the same.
Commenting on the Internet working problems networks experienced when they first introduced multimedia messaging, MTN's Santie Botha said: "It's a difficult position for us because we need usage to drive the agreements and usage demands networking agreements.
"We're working on it and with 3G I think we're going to be better prepared. I can't disclose much but I think people will be pleasantly surprised."
3G will offer an array of services from downloadable video clips and music to live broadcasting of soccer matches, just in time for the 2010 World Cup.
'People said cellphones were toys for yuppies'
But the biggest benefit lies not in the delivery of expensive multimedia content but rather in the wide availability of wireless broadband, resulting in widespread access to high-speed Internet.
3G will deliver as much as 3.7 megabytes a second and will be commercially operational by mid-2005.
This article was originally published on page 15 of Cape Argus on June 24, 2004
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=115&art_id=vn20040624104011501C681497
3'S NETWORK READY AND FIRING, OPERATOR CLAIMS
We're ahead of the competition
3 UK’s network has seen a 250% increase in voice traffic in the past five months, and data traffic up from between 180-300%, depending traffic spikes. MMS traffic has risen 300% in the same period, David Cooper, chief technical officer for the network told journalists at a briefing yesterday.
Although data traffic overall, including SMS, only accounts for 15% of the traffic on 3’s network, Cooper said that data traffic has at times surged ahead, as the operator has launched new content.
Cooper also defended the 15% number, relatively low for a mobile operator, especially a 3G operator, saying that 3 were ahead of other operators in terms of the amount of content-driven usage they are generating.
"The increase [in data traffic] depends entirely on content," he said. "The amount of pages we serve is dramatically higher than anything you will see from other operators."
He also said it paid to bear in mind 3’s high ARPU’s (up around £44 per month as opposed to the industry average of £24) meant that any increase in data take-up meant a proportionate rise in margin to the operator.
Nokia’s Esa Harju, director of marketing for Nokia Networks, an infrastructure supplier to 3, said that by 2008 he expects to see about 10-20% of operators’ revenues coming from content related services. Around 10% would be accounted for by person to person messaging, Harju said, giving an overall data percentage of around 30%
Harju claimed that the radio network side of 3G had now been largely solved. The real issues were going to be around terminals ("Any new technology needs a good portfolio of attractive devices to drive uptake") and "creating new value systems."
"We have learnt how to truly commercialise WCDMA networks," he said. "It’s been a learning exercise for both of us, and we have had to be realistic and pragmatic about our service update. But we remain convinced this market will be as good as we thought it would be." Harju said.
Cooper said that 3 is now over its initial problems at both network and terminal level. The operator now has all the back end systems in place to introduce new services, running across either its packet switched or circuit switched core, relatively smoothly, he said.
"We have enhancements in our messaging platform [provided by Logica CMG, Mobile Europe learnt] which will drive increased revenues. For streaming services we have all the encoding sorted out depending on which terminal we are serving," he said. "It’s all about getting the download time down."
Cooper said that from tenders in the market, he thinks Vodafone, Orange and O2 are having the same network optimisation problems that 3 has had. The difference is that 3 has in place its IT architecture to take advantage of the radio and core network infrastructure, he said. It made service creation "fairly easy", he added.
HSDPA
In terms of future development, both Harju (as you’d expect) and Cooper (as you’d expect with his main supplier in the room) doubted that the upgrade to HSDPA (a technology that raises the downlink speed of a 3G network) would present an opportunity for rival vendors to win back contracts from operators with an incumbent supplier.
"HSPDA is a software upgrade, and we may have to load the odd extra card," Cooper said, "so the cost is relatively minimal. The base infrastructure stays the same — so you can work it out for yourself," he hinted.
Harju added that as the upgrade was really a radio interface issue, it was "a bit strong" to say that introducing the technology was an entry point for rival vendors.
http://www.mobileeurope.co.uk/news/news_story.ehtml?o=589
HK Hutchison Seeks Five-Year Extension Of CDMA 2G License
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Ports-to-telecommunications conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013.HK) has written to Hong Kong's telecom regulator seeking a five-year extension to its second-generation CDMA mobile license, which is due to expire next year.
"Hutchison proposes that...the Telecommunications Authority grants a five-year moratorium on use of the 800 MHz spectrum for a new 3G license," it said in its submission to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority recently.
"(And that) Hutchison's CDMA license be renewed during this five-year period, with Hutchison having a right of first refusal with respect to any replacement license even if, following consultation, there is a proposed change in the use of that spectrum."
OFTA completed its consultation on what to do with two licenses set to expire from existing 2G mobile phone operators and 3G licensees Hutchison and CSL on June 19.
In April, OFTA said it would auction a new mobile phone license next year, and proposed that that the new licensee operate in the CDMA 2000 standard of 3G popular in Japan and Korea, rather than the W-CDMA standard Hutchison has been pushing worldwide. The spectrum that the new CDMA 2000 license to be auctioned will take up will come from a CDMA license Hutchison holds, as well as a TDMA license held by CSL.
Hutchison also reiterated its argument that handing back the CDMA spectrum would mean writing off most of its investment in the network. The conglomerate has never said how much it has spent on the network, other than to note it has a capacity for half a million subscribers.
But it is the slump in subscribers at the network that prompted OFTA to call for the withdrawal of the Hutchison and CSL licenses. Calling the spectrum taken up by those two licenses "underutilized" a few months ago, the regulator pointed to the fact that Hutchison's CDMA network had just 40,000 subscribers last year, down from 280,000 in 2000, while CSL's TDMA network had only 30,000, down from 140,000.
Hong Kong now has four 3G licensees, who forked out HK$100 million in a 2001 bidding for the privilege of providing the high-speed network. They are Hutchison, the only 3G operator in Hong Kong so far, CSL, owned by Australia's Telstra Corp. (TLS), SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings (0315.HK) and Sunday Communications Ltd. (SDAY).
SmarTone, Sunday and CSL have all said they will roll out their networks before the year end. On Wednesday, SmarTone issued a statement saying it backed OFTA's proposal to take back the CDMA and TDMA spectrum held by Hutchison and CSL, adding it was "neutral as to whether the Government should issue a new license" as long as the bidding process for the new license was "fair and transparent."
"SmarTone strongly supports the notion of 'efficient use of spectrum' and that spectrum, as a scarce public resource, should be efficiently utilized," it said in a statement.
Officials from CSL, Sunday and Hutchison have, in the past, said a fifth 3G license in an overcrowded telecom market like Hong Kong would hurt the long-term growth of the overall industry.
The progression from CDMA, or Code-Division Multiple Access, to a CDMA 2000 license doesn't require a change of networks; going from Global System For Mobile Communications, or GSM, to W-CDMA does.
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/040624/15/3l9nj.html
LG Electronics Secures Order From Cingular Wireless for Camera Phones
LG Electronics has secured an additional order from Cingular Wireless, the largest global system mobile communications (GSM) carrier in the U.S., to supply its two new high-end GSM camera phones, the company said Thursday.
The models that are to be provided to the U.S. operator is the L1200 tri-band phone with integrated camera, which also enables a roaming service in the U.S. and European region, and the C1300 duel band clamshell phone. LG said the two models are expected to play a big role in expanding the GSM market in the U.S.
In particular, the L1200 model is the first camera phone that LG presents to the North American GSM market. Besides the usual phone functions, the L1200 supports multimedia-messaging capabilities, a one-touch Internet access button and offers tri-band connectivity at 850/1800/1900 MHz for coverage in North America or Europe.
The C1300 model is one of the smallest and lightest handsets, weighing only 80 g and supports high-speed data communication and java capability for downloading applications. It features state of the art user interface (UI) functions to enjoy games and ring tones.
LG said, ¡°With an additional supply of GSM handsets to Cingular, LG plans to step up efforts in the GSM handset sector to lead the U.S. mobile phone market, in addition to its already consolidated leading position in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) sector.¡±
The nation¡¯s largest home appliance maker already secured the largest market share in the U.S. CDMA market last year. Last February, LG inked a supply agreement with AT&T Wireless, and currently provides handsets to four major CDMA /GSM carriers in the U.S.
(englishnews@chosun.com
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406240034.html
South Korea: High-tech hothouse (II)
"Korea is only 4 percent the size of China, but it has a leading IT infrastructure," said M.C. Kim, general manager for Intel Korea. "It is a good place for a test bed. Once it is developed, it can go easily outside."
The idea of selling more upscale consumer electronics also took root during this time, with a particular focus on the export market.
The South Korean government plays a fairly active role in shaping the direction of industry, though it has begun to resemble Washington in its approach toward business since recovering from its economic crisis. The country invested directly in companies in the 80s but today mostly encourages development by funding research and creating incentives.
At the same time, South Korean officials often appear more technologically savvy than their Western counterparts. For example, the Seoul government has begun a $7m (£3.85m) pilot for open-source software Linux in its offices -- a decision that came directly from the top.
"The president made orders on this himself," said Daeje Chin, the chief minister of the Ministry of Information and Communication and the former president of Samsung Electronics.
The public beta nature of South Korea's technology consumption can be seen most vividly in cellphones. The replacement rate on phones runs an estimated six to 18 months. Competition among manufacturers to bring a new model to market is intense, companies say.
As with all beta testing, some ideas flop. One service that failed was video over cellular networks that cost $260 to watch a 90-minute programme. The cell phone as TV remote control and handheld videoconferencing have not fared well either.
The phone itself, however, has become a powerful e-commerce tool for South Korean services that are only in the test stages in Europe and North America. Many people get on the subway or settle bills in restaurants by swiping their phones through payment machines. This summer, a bank will start to let customers transfer money between accounts using their phones.
"In 1995, (Microsoft chairman) Bill Gates was talking about wearable computers, but I don't think that people realised then that it would be the telephone that would do these functions," Qualcomm's Park said.
The mobile revolution is a step ahead in South Korea, where cellphones are ubiquitous and sport many applications
The increasing popularity and performance of handheld devices may soon transform the digital camera industry as well. Two-megapixel camera phones will come out this year, followed by 6-megapixel cameras in 2006. But several South Korean and US executives have said the true killer app for cellphones could be video on demand.
"The cellphone market (in South Korea) is quite advanced. It is six months or a year ahead of the rest of the world, so when you go out to the rest of the world, you have the most advanced products," said Sauk-Hun Song, a principal analyst at research company Gartner. "Koreans, especially young people, adopt services very quickly."
The lifestyle changes that have accompanied South Korea's technology revolution also have helped make the nation a lab for examining the societal impact of the Internet. Historically, South Korean media outlets have skewed the news to fit the views of the government or their owners, a situation that the digitally connected populace is changing.
Earlier this year, the National Election Commission offered bounties to individuals who could provide evidence of campaign bribery, a chronic problem in a country where politicians have been known to pay for support and receive crates full of money from large organisations. (The average apple box can hold 100 million won, or about $85,000, and is reputedly the preferred container for delivering payments.)
Working with cellular carrier KTF and Web portal Naver, the commission began a mobile tipster programme that encouraged people to send in photos for immediate publication. Several citizens received $5,000 bounties for pictures of money changing hands in suspicious circumstances.
The reforms appear to be working: In the April 15 election, 2,084 people were criminally booked and 508 were prosecuted.
Reports of improprieties have not been confined to politics. One cellphone photographer caught a teacher hitting a student at a time when corporal punishment was embroiled in national controversy.
The country's dominant conglomerates, called chaebols, also are feeling the pressure to change. Politicians are calling for reforms of the chaebol systems, under which subsidiaries have traditionally offered discounts and other advantages to sister companies. While chaebols such as Samsung and Hyundai helped build the country, critics say their pervasive influence discourages start-ups and fair competition.
"We're trying to promote clean accounts and stop internal trades," said Sang-kyoo Choi, director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Communication. "The chaebols can't enjoy the same benefits they did a few years back."
The reform-minded attitudes taking hold in the country are not likely to wane anytime soon among younger generations, because technology also is being used to improve South Korea's education system. In April, the country's public TV network began to Webcast free tutorials to help students prepare for the national aptitude test, Korea's version of the SAT.
High school students attend classes and often study past midnight to prepare for the testing season in November, which is a time of national anxiety. In the first Internet trial, 100,000 simultaneous streams were Webcast.
"We opened up a new use for the Internet," the Information Ministry's Chin said. In Korea, private tutoring is a huge financial burden on parents, Chin said.
Younger South Koreans have contributed significantly to the development of commercial broadband services as well, teaching communications companies that network speeds are not the only feature that subscribers look for. Cyworld, for instance, has become popular by offering personal blogs with "avatars," or icons that represent the user.
The site, which is part of the SK Telecom empire, had about 3 million visits a day in the third week of May alone, according to Rankey.com, a local tracking service. As of February, it had 6 million registrants, up from 3 million in May 2003.
Basic services are free, but consumers can enhance their avatars with virtual shoes or designer clothes and cars for fees ranging from 50 cents to $5. And nearly everyone does.
"In North America, most of the carriers' attitude is to consider their service as a utility," said Eric Kim, executive vice president in charge of global marketing at Samsung. "They talk about price per minute. They aren't talking about lifestyle."
Mike Siu of ZDNet Korea contributed to this report from Seoul.
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/emergingtech/0,39020439,39158502-3,00.htm
South Korea: High-tech hothouse (I)
Michael Kanellos
CNET News.com
June 24, 2004, 10:05 BST
The mobile revolution is a step ahead in South Korea, where cellphones are ubiquitous and sport many applications
South Korea has a singular asset when it comes to creating consumer products. It's called snooping.
With 13 million of the country's 48 million citizens living in the high-rise forests of this dense metropolis, people are constantly spying on what their neighbours or fellow subway commuters are buying. As a result, South Korea has become something of an open-air focus group for technology manufacturers, accelerating replacement cycles and a plethora of new product uses.
"If you leave home without your phone, you feel like you left an organ or a limb," said Moon Suh Park, vice president of Qualcomm Internet Services Korea. "I think the only untapped market is the kindergarten or first-grade segment."
The local embrace of technology along with an active national government, export-driven local industries, and extensive use of broadband are the key factors permitting the country to wedge its way toward the forefront of the digital revolution. While other national economies rose and fell with the personal computer industry, South Korea is shaping up as a technology powerhouse through consumer electronics.
Samsung has transformed itself from being a component supplier and contract manufacturer to a name-brand company in home electronics. Rivals LG Electronics and Pantech, which was formed from elements of Hyundai's electronics divisions, are expected to follow.
Beyond commerce, South Korea's techno-revolution has had profound social consequences on issues ranging from political and corporate corruption to school punishment. As evidenced by the popularity of the leading Web log service, Cyworld -- which counts about an eighth of the country's population as registered users -- online communication and free speech are growing despite a long history of controlled media throughout much of Asia.
The adoption of new technologies has been pushed further by a national broadband infrastructure that provided about 71 percent of the country with high-speed Internet access. That, in turn, has helped the expansion of such diverse digital phenomena as online gaming and futuristic networked homes that connect refrigerators, ovens and other household appliances to the Internet.
KT Telecom already has the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with 13,000 public access points, or "hot spots." Won-Sic Hahn, assistant vice president at KT, said the company plans to double that number by the end of the year.
"Wireless for (South Korea) is the same as the space mission to the moon was for the US," independent analyst John Yunker said. "Everyone is behind it -- government, industry."
South Korea's surge in cutting-edge technology and branded products can be credited, ironically, to one of the worst domestic disasters in recent memory: the Asian financial meltdown. The 1997 crisis hurled the country into economic chaos, devaluing the stock market by 75 percent and raising unemployment to 6.8 percent.
What's more, computer and electronics manufacturers were faced with the emergence of China as a manufacturing powerhouse, where factory workers could be hired for $1 an hour. Russia and Japan have since become more competitive as well.
The situation was so serious that, even today, many South Koreans stiffen and speak in dire tones when the subject comes up in conversation. But the daunting odds served as a source of inspiration for the country, which has a long history of overcoming political and economic adversity.
It is not uncommon for ordinary citizens to save gold in South Korea, and many pulled the precious metal from underneath their mattresses to donate it to the government. Many in this fervently patriotic country cited the Netherlands, a European dynamo that has thrived despite its small size, as a role model to maintain some semblance of optimism.
South Korea then embarked on a brazenly ambitious project to create a massive broadband system. It would provide high-speed Internet connections throughout the country, creating new domestic markets for technology while creating a national testing ground for exports. The national network accounted for 13.5 percent of the country's economy during construction.
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/emergingtech/0,39020439,39158502-3,00.htm
Writedown fears weigh on China Telecom
Georgina Lee
A possible writedown by China Telecom on the 10 provincial networks it recently acquired and the per-share earnings dilution after it placed new shares to fund the purchase are weighing on the company's rating and stock target price, analysts say.
China Telecom shareholders recently approved a proposal to buy 10 provincial networks from its parent for US$3.36 billion (HK$26.2 billion) cash and US$4.84 billion debt.
In the wake of the deal, Standard & Poor's Equity Research rated the company a ``hold'' while HSBC Securities downgraded it to ``add'' from ``buy''.
Steven Koh, research director at S&P Equity Research, said one reason why he did not give a higher rating to the stock is because China Telecom may repeat its previous practice of writing down the acquired group assets. China Telecom wrote down 14.69 billion yuan (HK$13.84 billion) of assets in 2003 after the group recorded a deficit on revaluing acquisitions in six provinces - Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan.
``A write-down [on the 10 provinces] could happen if the group has failed to provide for some [assets] during its due diligence; or that certain assets have [dropped in value],'' Koh said. He estimated a HK$2.82 12-month target price for the stock.
Shares of China Telecom have shed 20.31 per cent so far this year, compared with the 5.77 per cent drop of the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The stock gained 2 per cent yesterday, closing at HK$2.55.
Likewise, because of slower earnings per share growth expected for 2005 due to dilutive effect from a recent new share issue, HSBC Securities expected a lower 7.3 per cent year-on-year growth in earnings per share at 36 HK cents, one reason behind its recent downgrade.
In April, the southern fixed-line giant successfully raised US$1.725 billion (HK$13.45 billion) by placing 5.85 billion new shares to fund the acquisition of 10 networks from its parent, China Telecom Group.
Both S&P Equity Research and HSBC Securities see China Telecom's capital expenditure (capex) increasing this year. HSBC is expecting 57 billion yuan capex from 56.5 billion yuan in 2003, as it rolls out networks in the newly acquired provinces.
On a positive note, Goldman Sachs said in a recent report that China Telecom will have the most to gain from the issue of 3G licences among the four Chinese telcos.
This is because a 3G licence will allow the bigger of the two fixed-line players in China to catch up with the trend of voice traffic migrating to cellular networks, and such a licence is thus critical to China Telecom.
Goldman expects that if China Telecom begins 3G services in 2007 it will add 13.5 million new subscribers in the first year, rising to 16 per cent of the nation's total subscribers by 2014. Also, it will be better off leasing the network from its parent than building it directly itself, Goldman said. That was because the impact of 3G on its estimated net profit would be a smaller 4.2 per cent in 2007 at 29.05 billion yuan, compared with an 11.8 per cent hit to 26.74 billion yuan if the network is built with its own capital.
Yesterday, Ministry of Information Industry Vice-Minister Lou Qinjian said Beijing is yet to set a schedule for issuing 3G licences.
Equipment for its home-grown 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, will be ready for use by mid-next year. Listed China Telecom now operates in 20 provinces.
24 June 2004 / 02:27 AM
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/news_detail_frame.cfm?articleid=48736&intcatid=2
LG Mobile Phones Grabs Top Spot in the U.S. CDMA Handset Market in the First Quarter of 2004
SAN DIEGO, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recently released mobile phone market share study from research and analyst firm IDC, LG Mobile Phones won the largest share of the U.S. CDMA handset market in the first quarter of 2004, selling more than three million units to corner 26.8 percent of the market. The nearest competitor emerged with 20.6 percent of the market share, giving LG a significant victory in the first months of 2004.
"Following our CDMA market share victory in 2003, in which LG leapt from third place to first in one short year, we are pleased to hear that our continued hard work is rewarded with another impressive showing in the mobile handset marketplace," said Juno Cho, president, LG Mobile Phones. "However, we are even more gratified that our products continue to appeal to a wide-range of consumers, providing them with the high level of quality they require, along with the advanced features that keep them coming back for upgrades and new developments."
One of the major factors contributing to LG's continued victory in the CDMA space is its successful relationship with leading national carrier Verizon Wireless. According to IDC, the popular LG VX6000 camera phone continued to sell well in Q1 2004, and the newly introduced VX4500 handset proved immediately popular. In addition to its first-place finish among CDMA handset sales, LG was ranked third in overall market share for Q1 of 2004, ahead of competitors Samsung and Kyocera, according to results from IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Qview program.
In addition to its significant successes in the CDMA marketplace and overall handset sales figures, LG's focused initiative to gain GSM market share came to fruition as the company rose in IDC's rankings and entered the list of the top six leading GSM manufacturers in the U.S. LG's GSM global market share has steadily increased since 2001, and the Q1 2004 visible growth in the GSM market has the company poised to continue its major expansion into the U.S. GSM space.
"Establishing a presence in the GSM market was one LG's top-line priorities for 2003, and continues to be a major priority into 2004," said Jonathan Maron, director of marketing for LG Mobile Phones. "The successful debuts of the G4010 and G4050 for Cingular Wireless and the G4011 for AT&T Wireless have built momentum for LG in the GSM market, and have laid the foundation for winning a significantly larger portion of the GSM market share over the course of 2004."
About LG Electronics
LG Electronics, Inc. (066570KS) was established in 1958 as the pioneer in the Korean consumer electronics market. The company is a major global force in electronics and information and communications products with more than 64,000 employees working in 76 overseas subsidiaries and marketing units around the world. With annual total revenues of more than US $16.9 billion (non-consolidated), LG Electronics comprises three main business companies: Digital Display & Media, Digital Appliance, and Telecommunication Equipment & Handset.
The LG Telecommunication Equipment & Handset Company provides total solutions ranging from wired and wireless handsets to telecommunication equipment. The company is a leader in the innovation and development of cutting-edge technologies in next-generation wireless telecommunications and is steadily expanding its global market share in 3G (WCDMA / cdma2000) wireless systems.
LG Electronics' goal is to enable the intelligent networking of digital products that will make consumers' lives better than ever. For more information, please visit http://www.lgusa.com/
LG Electronics, Inc.
CONTACT: Melissa Elkins, Public Relations Manager of LG Electronics,Inc., +1-858-635-5329, melkins@lge.com; or Johanna Brown of Ogilvy PR,+1-310-248-6192, Johanna.brown@ogilvypr.com, for LG Electronics, Inc.
Web site: http://www.lgusa.com/
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jun/1051402.htm
Microsoft, SK Telecom Forge Alliance to Provide Smartphone
Wednesday, 23 June 2004
SK Telecom, Korea’s top mobile operator, and Microsoft, US software giant, work together to put smartphone on the world as well as the Korean market.
Accordingly all major Korean handset makers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Pantech&Curitel are going to produce MS smartphones.
SK Telecom will be the first Asian CDMA operator to launch MS smartphones this year, industry sources said Wednesday.
An MS official said, “Unlike smartphone business in other regions where OEM’s control the overall process, SK Telecom is able to run the business according to its needs.”
He also added the smartphone that will be introduced in Korea would adopt SK Telecom’s wireless Internet platform, NATE so that the mobile operator’s know-how and MS smartphone operating system create synergy as an advanced wireless application.
Furthermore, the two companies are discussing cooperation to penetrate the world market including China by taking advantage of this synergy effect.
Although SK Telecom has not yet revealed a detailed schedule, Samsung, LG, Pantech&Curitel are preparing handsets for SK Telecom’s smartphone service.
An official at Samsung Electronics said, “SK Telecom is planning to launch MS smartphone service this year. It is not easy to meet SK Telecom’s complicated demands within the schedule.”
by Seong-ju Lee
http://www.telecomskorea.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=216&Itemid=2
Nation: Techno-revolution in the making
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 23, 2004 4:00AM PT
SEOUL, South Korea--This country has a singular asset when it comes to creating consumer products. It's called snooping.
With 13 million of the country's 48 million citizens living in the high-rise forests of this dense metropolis, people are constantly spying on what their neighbors or fellow subway commuters are buying. As a result, South Korea has become something of an open-air focus group for technology manufacturers, accelerating replacement cycles and a plethora of new product uses.
"If you leave home without your phone, you feel like you left an organ or a limb," said Moon Suh Park, vice president of Qualcomm Internet Services Korea. "I think the only untapped market is the kindergarten or first-grade segment."
The local embrace of technology along with an active national government, export-driven local industries, and extensive use of broadband are the key factors permitting the country to wedge its way toward the forefront of the digital revolution. While other national economies rose and fell with the personal computer industry, South Korea is shaping up as a technology powerhouse through consumer electronics.
“If you leave home without your phone, you feel like you left an organ or a limb.”
Moon Suh Park, vice president, Qualcomm
Samsung has transformed itself from being a component supplier and contract manufacturer to a name-brand company in home electronics. Rivals LG Electronics and Pantech, which was formed from elements of Hyundai's electronics divisions, are expected to follow.
Beyond commerce, South Korea's techno-revolution has had profound social consequences on issues ranging from political and corporate corruption to school punishment. As evidenced by the popularity of the leading Web log service, Cyworld--which counts about an eighth of the country's population as registered users--online communication and free speech are growing despite a long history of controlled media throughout much of Asia.
The adoption of new technologies has been pushed further by a national broadband infrastructure that provided about 71 percent of the country with high-speed Internet access. That, in turn, has helped the expansion of such diverse digital phenomena as online gaming and futuristic networked homes that connect refrigerators, ovens and other household appliances to the Internet.
KT Telecom already has the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, with 13,000 public access points, or "hot spots." Won-Sic Hahn, assistant vice president at KT, said the company plans to double that number by the end of the year.
Old meets new at the Changgyeonggung Palace, where skyscrapers loom in the background.
Photo: Michael Kanellos
"Wireless for (South Korea) is the same as the space mission to the moon was for the U.S.," independent analyst John Yunker said. "Everyone is behind it--government, industry."
South Korea's surge in cutting-edge technology and branded products can be credited, ironically, to one of the worst domestic disasters in recent memory: the Asian financial meltdown. The 1997 crisis hurled the country into economic chaos, devaluing the stock market by 75 percent and raising unemployment to 6.8 percent.
What's more, computer and electronics manufacturers were faced with the emergence of China as a manufacturing powerhouse, where factory workers could be hired for $1 an hour. Russia and Japan have since become more competitive as well.
Smog permeates another Saturday morning in downtown Seoul.
Photo: Michael Kanellos
The situation was so serious that, even today, many South Koreans stiffen and speak in dire tones when the subject comes up in conversation. But the daunting odds served as a source of inspiration for the country, which has a long history of overcoming political and economic adversity.
It is not uncommon for ordinary citizens to save gold in South Korea, and many pulled the precious metal from underneath their mattresses to donate it to the government. Many in this fervently patriotic country cited the Netherlands, a European dynamo that has thrived despite its small size, as a role model to maintain some semblance of optimism.
The South Korean government has outlined ambitious goals for eight services, three infrastructure technologies and nine product categories.
Under this so-called 8-3-9 initiative, the country's Ministry of Information and Communication has identified specific technologies that it will encourage by funding research or providing other incentives.
Ultimately, the goal is to raise the sagging per capita gross domestic product from around $11,000 (11,595,042 won) to $20,000 by 2010.
One 8-3-9 focus is digital multimedia broadcasting, which allows people to get broadband Internet and entertainment channels remotely. It is still primarily in development in the United States, but it powers flat-screen televisions in upscale Hyundais and Acuras stuck in Seoul's relentless traffic jams.
Some other goals are:
Services:
Digital homes: 500,000 networked households by 2004; 10 million by 2007
RFID: tiniest and cheapest radio frequency technology by 2007
W-CDMA: countrywide network based on the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access standard by 2006
Digital TV: national network set up by 2005
VoIP: 4 million users of voice over Internet Protocol by 2006
Infrastructure:
Broadband convergence network: 20 million users by 2010 Sensor networks: commonplace by 2010 IPv6: convert to Internet Protocol version 6 by 2010
Products:
System on a chip: become one of top three countries in this market by 2007
Next-generation PC: introduce wearable PC by 2007
Embedded software: become second-largest producer of embedded software by 2007
Robots: global presence by 2007
Source: Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication
--Compiled by Mike Siu, ZDNet Korea South Korea then embarked on a brazenly ambitious project to create a massive broadband system. It would provide high-speed Internet connections throughout the country, creating new domestic markets for technology while creating a national testing ground for exports. The national network accounted for 13.5 percent of the country's economy during construction.
"Korea is only 4 percent the size of China, but it has a leading IT infrastructure," said M.C. Kim, general manager for Intel Korea. "It is a good place for a test bed. Once it is developed, it can go easily outside."
The idea of selling more upscale consumer electronics also took root during this time, with a particular focus on the export market.
The South Korean government plays a fairly active role in shaping the direction of industry, though it has begun to resemble Washington in its approach toward business since recovering from its economic crisis. The country invested directly in companies in the 1980s but today mostly encourages development by funding research and creating incentives.
At the same time, South Korean officials often appear more technologically savvy than their Western counterparts. For example, the Seoul government has begun a $7 million pilot for open-source software Linux in its offices--a decision that came directly from the top.
"The president made orders on this himself," said Daeje Chin, the chief minister of the Ministry of Information and Communication and the former president of Samsung Electronics.
The public beta nature of South Korea's technology consumption can be seen most vividly in cell phones. The replacement rate on phones runs an estimated six to 18 months. Competition among manufacturers to bring a new model to market is intense, companies say.
As with all beta testing, some ideas flop. One service that failed was video over cellular networks that cost $260 to watch a 90-minute program. The cell phone as TV remote control and handheld videoconferencing have not fared well either.
The phone itself, however, has become a powerful e-commerce tool for South Korean services that are only in the test stages in Europe and North America. Many people get on the subway or settle bills in restaurants by swiping their phones through payment machines. This summer, a bank will start to let customers transfer money between accounts using their phones.
"In 1995, (Microsoft Chairman) Bill Gates was talking about wearable computers, but I don't think that people realized then that it would be the telephone that would do these functions," Qualcomm's Park said.
The increasing popularity and performance of handheld devices may soon transform the digital camera industry as well. Two-megapixel camera phones will come out this year, followed by 6-megapixel cameras in 2006. But several South Korean and U.S. executives have said the true killer app for cell phones could be video on demand.
Yongsan Electronics Market is where many Seoul citizens buy their PCs, cell phones and gadgets.
Photo: Michael Kanellos
"The cell phone market (in South Korea) is quite advanced. It is six months or a year ahead of the rest of the world, so when you go out to the rest of the world, you have the most advanced products," said Sauk-Hun Song, a principal analyst at research company Gartner. "Koreans, especially young people, adopt services very quickly."
The lifestyle changes that have accompanied South Korea's technology revolution also have helped make the nation a lab for examining the societal impact of the Internet. Historically, South Korean media outlets have skewed the news to fit the views of the government or their owners, a situation that the digitally connected populace is changing.
Earlier this year, the National Election Commission offered bounties to individuals who could provide evidence of campaign bribery, a chronic problem in a country where politicians have been known to pay for support and receive crates full of money from large organizations. (The average apple box can hold 100 million won, or about $85,000, and is reputedly the preferred container for delivering payments.)
Working with cellular carrier KTF and Web portal Naver, the commission began a mobile tipster program that encouraged people to send in photos for immediate publication. Several citizens received $5,000 bounties for pictures of money changing hands in suspicious circumstances.
“Wireless for (South Korea) is the same as the space mission to the moon was for the U.S.”
John Yunker, independent analyst
The reforms appear to be working: In the April 15 election, 2,084 people were criminally booked and 508 were prosecuted.
Reports of improprieties have not been confined to politics. One cell phone photographer caught a teacher hitting a student at a time when corporal punishment was embroiled in national controversy.
The country's dominant conglomerates, called chaebols, also are feeling the pressure to change. Politicians are calling for reforms of the chaebol systems, under which subsidiaries have traditionally offered discounts and other advantages to sister companies. While chaebols like Samsung and Hyundai helped build the country, critics say their pervasive influence discourages start-ups and fair competition.
"We're trying to promote clean accounts and stop internal trades," said Sang-kyoo Choi, director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Communication. "The chaebols can't enjoy the same benefits they did a few years back."
Samsung's Internet refrigerator comes with a detachable screen and a host of electronic features. It's part of the company's networked home push.
Photo: Michael Kanellos
The reform-minded attitudes taking hold in the country are not likely to wane anytime soon among younger generations, because technology also is being used to improve South Korea's education system. In April, the country's public TV network began to Webcast free tutorials to help students prepare for the national aptitude test, Korea's version of the SAT.
High school students attend classes and often study past midnight to prepare for the testing season in November, which is a time of national anxiety. In the first Internet trial, 100,000 simultaneous streams were Webcast.
"We opened up a new use for the Internet," the Information Ministry's Chin said. In Korea, private tutoring is a huge financial burden on parents, Chin said.
Younger South Koreans have contributed significantly to the development of commercial broadband services as well, teaching communications companies that network speeds are not the only feature that subscribers look for. Cyworld, for instance, has become popular by offering personal blogs with "avatars," or icons that represent the user.
“Korea is only 4 percent the size of China, but it has a leading IT infrastructure.”
M.C. Kim, general manager, Intel Korea
The site, which is part of the SK Telecom empire, had about 3 million visits a day in the third week of May alone, according to Rankey.com, a local tracking service. As of February, it had 6 million registrants, up from 3 million in May 2003.
Basic services are free, but consumers can enhance their avatars with virtual shoes or designer clothes and cars for fees ranging from 50 cents to $5. And nearly everyone does.
"In North America, most of the carriers' attitude is to consider their service as a utility," said Eric Kim, executive vice president in charge of global marketing at Samsung. "They talk about price per minute. They aren't talking about lifestyle."
Mike Siu of ZDNet Korea contributed to this report from Seoul.
http://news.com.com/Nation:+Techno-revolution+in+the+making+-+Part+1+of+South+Korea's+Digital+Dynast...
Techies plug in to Capitol Hill power
By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Ms. Whitman went to Washington.
That's eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman, who last month made eBay's first big political statement. Whitman and 51 eBay customers held 36 meetings with politicians in a single day. They had breakfast with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., lunch with Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., and dinner with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Their goal: keeping Internet sales tax-free.
"We need to make sure the government understands and supports what we're doing," says eBay government relations head Tod Cohen. The Washington trip was so successful, Cohen says, that he's already planning a second one.
EBay's not the only technology company suddenly playing politics. After decades of largely ignoring Washington, the tech industry now wants a stake. (Graphics and photos: A look at tech lobbying.)
While still modest, eBay's spending on lobbying has doubled since 2000 and is rising fast. Last year it spent $560,000, including salaries and overhead. In 2003, Fortune 500 tech companies spent nearly double the amount on lobbying as they did in 1998, according to public records. Cell phone giant Qualcomm, storage maker EMC, online retailer Amazon and semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials all launched their first lobbying efforts during that time.
Tech has been the 14th-largest industry donor during the 2003-04 election campaign, says the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research firm. That's up from No. 53 in 1990.
No. 1 software maker Microsoft (MSFT) hired its first lobbyist in 1995. No. 1 network gear maker Cisco (CSCO) Systems (SUNW) didn't have a lobbyist until 1998. Now both are among tech's big political players. Microsoft has a D.C. staff of 19. Cisco this week is co-sponsoring a political rally, along with Sun Microsystems and other tech companies and groups.
AT A GLANCE
Tech's percentage of total lobbying dollars in 1999: 2.9% (out of 100%)
In 2003: 3.9%
Source: PoliticalMoneyLine.com and USA TODAY research
Still, that political activism is dwarfed by longtime political players in health care, insurance and telecommunications. Tech's lobbying dollars made up only 3.9% of lobbying money spent in 2003, says research from PoliticalMoneyLine.com and USA TODAY. But that's risen from 2.9% in 1999.
And it's expected to keep growing. Companies such as InterActive, owner of the Expedia and Hotels.com Web sites, are expanding their political outreach. Search engine giant Google made its foray into lobbying last year.
The new interest in Washington is already forcing Congress to pay closer attention to issues important to the industry, such as accounting, trade and the hiring of foreign workers, political experts say. It's bringing the interests of a relatively young and largely West Coast industry to the attention of lawmakers.
AT A GLANCE
Tech's contributions by political party, 2003/2004 election cycle:
Democrats: 47%
Republicans: 52%
Source: Center for Responsive Politics
Tech could also tip the political scales, but it is unclear in which direction. In the 2003-04 election cycle, 52% of the industry's campaign contributions have been for Republicans, the Center for Responsive Politics says. But technology centers have traditionally been liberal strongholds. In California's Silicon Valley, for example, every federal and state elected official is a Democrat. "Tech has friends on both sides," says Laura Ipsen, Cisco's vice president of government affairs. "We worked hard to do that."
The industry's ability to be a swing vote has forced both parties to pay attention, says Center for Responsive Politics Executive Director Larry Noble. "(Tech) has become a formidable power in Washington," he says.
From apathy to action
With the exception of IBM (IBM), Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and a few others, tech companies largely ignored politics before the mid-1990s. "They didn't really see a role for government (in their businesses)," says Jack Krumholtz, director of government affairs for Microsoft. "The high-tech industry was focused on creating great technology and jobs ... and really just wanted to be left alone."
Tech companies were often oblivious to legislation that could hurt them, says Silicon Valley Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. A great example, she says, was a mid-'90s bill that would have severely restricted Web surfing. Lofgren, alarmed, called search giant Yahoo to alert it. Since Yahoo had no lobbyists, she had to call its legal department. No one called her back until she left three messages. (The bill was eventually rewritten, and Yahoo has since hired a lobbyist.)
The industry's political apathy started to change around 1996, when Congress was debating a major telecommunications bill that would, in part, boost the availability of Internet service. Microsoft and a handful of other companies hired their first lobbyists to speak in favor of the bill. It passed.
Then, in 1997, the Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation of Microsoft. "Tech companies suddenly realized, 'Gosh, the federal government can hurt me,' " says Ralph Hellmann, senior vice president of government relations at the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group.
Since then, tech has steadily ramped up its political activism. "As you grow, you have the luxury of doing things a start-up couldn't do," says Brent Thompson, director of government affairs for InterActive.
But that doesn't mean the industry always gets its way. It is fighting several tough battles over:
•Stock options. Many legislators want companies to expense employee stock options, which are used by tech more than any other industry. Options allow employees to buy shares of their company at a set price sometime in the future. Public companies now must tell investors about the options they give, but don't have to deduct their cost or expense them when calculating earnings.
Critics want to change that. They say that expensing options creates a clearer picture of a company's financial health. The accounting board that advises the Securities and Exchange Commission has already recommended in favor of expensing options. The rule could go into effect by the end of the year.
That would be a disaster, Cisco, Sun, and other companies say. They hope to change regulators' minds this week with their rally in Palo Alto, Calif., timed to coincide with a nearby accounting board hearing. Since expensing options is only a bookkeeping change, these companies wouldn't have any more or less money if the rule went into effect. But if reported earnings are lower because of option costs, their stock prices could drop. Tech companies say that could force them to stop giving options to employees.
Cisco says the event is one of the largest political actions the company has ever taken. Sun Microsystems employees have already sent officials 7,000 faxes on the subject, and are expected to make a big showing, says Piper Cole, Sun's vice president of government public policy. "It's an innovation issue, an ownership issue," she says.
•Foreign workers. Tech relies on engineers and programmers from other countries to fill jobs. Companies often recruit skilled workers for their U.S. offices from India and elsewhere. At the same time, they move other work to India, China, Canada and other countries where labor is cheaper than in the USA.
The sluggish U.S. job market has critics saying those jobs should go to American workers. In March, legislators introduced a bill that would cut federal funding for some companies that hire workers in other countries while cutting jobs in the USA. Several other bills would make it harder for companies that do work overseas to land government contracts. There's also a push to limit the number of visas available to foreign workers coming to the USA.
Tech companies say all of these proposals would keep them from hiring the workers they need, thus slowing innovation. They're also fighting trade restrictions that could prevent goods from flowing freely from country to country. And their battles aren't just with the U.S. government: Tech groups are fighting legislation in China and elsewhere that would make it harder to sell tech products there.
•Taxes. EBay, Dell and other Internet companies are trying to stop proposed new taxes on online sales.
Today, consumer purchases at Web sites often are sales tax-free. The exception: Online retailers with brick-and-mortar stores must charge sales tax in states where they also have a physical presence.
Cash-strapped state governments are eager to levy sales taxes on Web sites across the board, and are pushing the federal government to allow them to do so.
Tech companies are also fighting for several tax credits. They want an extension on a credit that funds research and development which, they say, stimulates innovation and growth.
And they're fighting for a proposed, temporary tax credit that would allow them to move money from foreign offices with fewer taxes than usual.
•Patent reform. The patent office doesn't have enough skilled examiners to keep up. IBM alone had 3,415 patents in 2003. The office makes a profit, but budgets remain tight because the federal government skims off the top to fund other programs. In 2003, $17 million in patent-office money went to other agencies. Many tech companies want the government to leave that money for the patent office. If that happens, they say they'll support a fee increase so that the patent office can hire more examiners. But many say it's unlikely Congress will give up this reliable source of revenue.
•Digital copyrights and restrictions. The movie and music industries want government regulations that could force tech companies to bear some responsibility for preventing piracy. Tech companies say they don't want to be forced into a regulatory role, and are concerned that some restrictions could block legitimate uses for technology.
They're also resisting some proposals to block spam, spyware and other online nuisances. While well-intended, the proposals could also hamper legitimate products, they say.
A need to mature
Veteran tech lobbyists say the industry's newfound interest in politics makes their jobs a lot easier. "It's not us out there by ourselves. We're part of a chorus," says William Sweeney, vice president of government affairs for EDS.
But the industry must mature more before it becomes a political powerhouse. Tech is still "famous for flying in, having a few meetings and flying away," Rep. Lofgren says.
The industry has more than 10 lobbying or interest groups, often leaving it without a unified voice. The Information Technology Association of America is different from the Information Technology Industry Council, for example. And the Consumer Electronics Association is separate from the American Electronics Association.
Most political experts expect the industry to work out the kinks, and they say it is important that it does so.
"It's critical that industry officials keep policymakers abreast of what's happening in the field," says Silicon Valley Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif.
"Unless (tech companies) get involved in the (political) process, the process will involve them against their will," Sun's Cole says.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-06-22-tech-policy_x.htm
Sprint Has 3G 1xEV-DO in Sights
23rd June , 2004
US : Sprint unveiled plans to meet customers’ demands for faster wireless data speeds and expand the possibilities of anywhere, anytime wireless access to information and entertainment by deploying EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) technology across its PCS network.
With average user speeds of 300-500 kilobits per second and peak rates of up to 2.4 Megabits per second for downloads, EV-DO will accelerate mobile-device data speeds up to 10 times faster than on today’s network. In addition to improved speeds, customers will experience superior application and service performance on EV-DO-capable handsets and laptops equipped with EV-DO-enabled Sprint PCS Connection Cards™.
Business customers seeking integrated voice and data solutions will reap the benefits of more powerful applications across Sprint’s integrated wireless and wireline networks – a distinctive Sprint advantage. The opportunity for higher-speed data connectivity improves enterprise communications, particularly for a company's mobile workers who require phone or laptop access to corporate applications such as email and intranets.
Sprint expects to design and deploy EV-DO with initial service available in select markets in the second half of 2004 and launch in the majority of top metropolitan markets in the United States in 2005.
Markets included in the initial launch, pricing plans and upcoming high-speed applications for consumers and businesses will be announced in the months to come.
“EV-DO will help Sprint widen its industry lead in wireless data by leveraging an impressive array of data capabilities the company already offers in the marketplace,” said Len Lauer, Sprint president and chief operating officer.
“Over the past few years, Sprint has separated from the competition in delivering superior wireless data solutions with more than 6.2 million wireless data customers generating over $700 million in annualized wireless data sales as reported at the end of the first quarter this year,” Lauer said. “We’ve led in data by being focused and differentiated. As evidence, just look at the industry-first devices we’ve launched including the integrated camera phone; the unique applications we’ve introduced in Sprint PCS® Video Mail and Picture Mail(SM) services; the simple, unlimited price plans we’ve established; our integrated approach that combines wireless data with landline services; and the considerable knowledge of Sprint business sales makers, retail representatives and third-party distributors, who have revolutionized the way that wireless data is sold nationwide.”
Lauer added, “Customers are telling Sprint they want applications that take advantage of the higher wireless speeds, and we intend to deliver. Imagine downloading music, videos and games to your wireless handset or laptop in a fraction of the time it takes today. Or download your company’s product inventory or a spreadsheet of a couple hundred kilobytes in a matter of seconds. EV-DO makes it possible.”
Sprint’s migration to EV-DO will be relatively simple, requiring no “forklift upgrades” to the company’s nationwide wireless network. Because of Sprint’s network design, Sprint can upgrade cell sites – simply adding a new channel card and an additional RF carrier – without the need to replace the existing infrastructure. The inherent high-level security of CDMA will continue with the advancement to EV-DO.
Existing Sprint PCS Connection Cards and handsets will continue to work at current speeds within EV-DO service areas. To take advantage of the higher speeds that EV-DO offers, customers will be able to purchase EV-DO-enabled handsets and Sprint PCS Connection Cards. This will allow customers using the dual-mode EV-DO device to gain higher speeds in EV-DO-capable areas and seamlessly transition onto Sprint’s PCS network, based on 3G 1xRTT technology, when outside an EV-DO area.
“Sprint built its network from the ground up with advanced wireless services in mind,” Lauer added. “Because of this foresight, Sprint’s network was ready as the wireless data market emerged and customers demanded phones capable of much more than making a call. Sprint intends to remain the industry leader in wireless data by deploying a technology in EV-DO that is widely available today. We will continue to develop new applications and devices that will provide the best experience for our customers.”
Consistent with prior guidance, Sprint plans to invest approximately $1 billion to complete its wireless data upgrades. This will include the deployment of EV-DO as well as the option for a subsequent, more advanced release of CDMA technology that is expected to be available from equipment vendors beginning in 2006. The capital investment is expected to be concentrated in 2005 which represents an acceleration from Sprint’s earlier plan to balance spending evenly between 2005 and 2006.
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/June2004/7944.htm
2nd UPDATE: Telecom NZ To Introduce 3G Before Christmas
(Adds comment from brokers, share price; recasts lead)
WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Telecom Corp. (TEL.NZ), New Zealand's biggest fixed line telephone company, said it expects to offer "super-fast" third generation mobile telephone services before Christmas through a NZ$40 million network upgrade that aims to recapture market share lost to Vodafone PLC (VOD).
The company said in a statement Wednesday that the Evolution Data Optimised technology will provide mobile telephone customers with data transmission speeds up to 15 times faster than the existing 027 mobile telephone network.
The upgraded network, dubbed T3G by Telecom, will be rolled out in major cities Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch between now and Christmas and also in key tourist centers.
The expense should be accommodated within Telecom's existing budget of NZ$650 million for capital expenditure in the fiscal year ending June 2005, the company said.
The 3G technology will allow Telecom to introduce new services for mobile telephones such as video messaging, live television, video clip downloads, and "push to talk" - a function which allows voice communication with several people at once.
"We'll be launching a broad frontier of new business and entertainment services," said Kevin Kenrick, Telecom's Mobile General Manager.
At 2240 GMT Telecom was up 4 cents or 0.7% at NZ$5.78 amid a stronger wider market.
ABN AMRO Craigs broker Byron Burke said the upgrade to 3G speeds "could be quite positive" for Telecom as it will allow the company to introduce new services and sources of revenue.
But according to Forsyth Barr institutional broker David Price, the upgrade "was a matter of when, not if" necessitated by stiff competition from Vodafone and its plan to build a 3G network from scratch in New Zealand in 2005.
U.K.-based mobile giant Vodafone is the biggest mobile telephone company in New Zealand with 1.607 million customers at Mar. 31, or 54.6% of the market. It overtook Telecom as the dominant mobile company last year.
The T3G network will be capable of providing a "peak data rate" six times faster than the alternative technology Telecom's competitors have said they will begin to build in New Zealand next year, Kendrick said in reference to Vodafone.
Telecom said its 027 network has data transmission speeds of up to 153 kilobytes a second with speeds typically averaging 40 to 80 kilobytes a second.
The Evolution Data Optimised network will deliver speeds of up to 2.4 megabytes a second with speeds generally averaging 500 kilobytes a second.
Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) will carry out the upgrade and manage the network.
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/040622/15/3l85f.html
Telecom New Zealand to Spend NZ$40 Mln to Upgrade to EV-DO
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Telecom Corp. of New Zealand, the nation's largest phone company, will spend about NZ$40 million ($25 million) to upgrade its CDMA mobile phone network to EV-DO, allowing it to transmit high-speed data.
The upgrade will be within the company's NZ$650 million capital spending forecast for the year to June 30, 2005, the Wellington-based company said in a statement.
Lucent Technologies Inc., which built and manages Telecom's CDMA1X mobile network, will also manage the upgrade to the so- called evolution data optimized technology, the company said.
The high-speed data service will start by December, in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and some tourist centers, the company said.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aSU1Q2X_l5Ow&refer=australia
Over 2 Billion Mobile Subscribers by July '06, Predicts EMC
June 22, 2004
Summary
With subscriber numbers having passed the 1.5 billion mark in the first week of June 2004, EMC forecasts that global net additions of more than 240 million in both 2004 and 2005 will set up the mobile industry to break through the 2 billion subscriber mark as soon as July 2006," comments Kester Mann, senior research analyst at EMC.
"With subscriber numbers having passed the 1.5 billion mark in the first week of June 2004, EMC forecasts that global net additions of more than 240 million in both 2004 and 2005 will set up the mobile industry to break through the 2 billion subscriber mark as soon as July 2006," comments Kester Mann, senior research analyst at EMC, sourcing EMC's latest Insight: Understanding Subscriber Growth in Key Global Markets.
Driven by strong growth in emerging markets, EMC forecasts that the 2 billion milestone will be surpassed ahead of recent industry predictions. EMC expects 2.45 billion mobile subscriptions by the end of 2009. Click here to view the chart World Subscriber Numbers 1998 - 2009.
Despite long since reaching saturation point in Western Europe, the mobile industry is still poised for sustained growth thanks to the enormous potential of emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil. By 2009 there are forecast to be almost 550 million subscribers in China alone, more than twice as many as in the second largest market, the USA. India, currently the world's 13th largest market, is forecast to quadruple in size, to take third place with 117 million subscribers. Boosted by the TDMA to GSM migration, Brazil is on track to hit 100 million subscribers in late 2008, up from just over 50 million currently.
"With a global penetration rate of just 23%, there are still almost five billion potential new mobile users worldwide and this represents a tremendous opportunity for the industry," commented Mann. Continued subscriber growth can be achieved by further widening the addressable market for mobile services to include segments of the population that have previously been unable to afford a mobile phone service or have lived outside areas of mobile phone coverage, or both.
http://www.sys-con.com/story/?storyid=45351&DE=1
Gilder Says 3G Trumps Wi-Fi
If being wrong about the value of fiber-optic cable wasn’t bad enough, Gilder predicts Wi-Fi will be killed by 3G: Gilder’s latest predictions have proven right in the short term, it turns out, according to Forbes, which notes that a service tracking his model portfolio has had high returns. (Let’s remember that great phrase, though, which is that historical returns don’t predict future performance.) Watch the sketchy video linked from the article—shot outdoors with little editing, so it doesn’t do him justice, honestly. I’ve never agreed with parts of what he’s said more.
Gilder specifically says that 1xEvDO will kill Wi-Fi, which can’t be the case because 1xEvDO is too asymmetrical: it has a typical upload speed of 50 kilobits per second (Kbps) and download speeds of 200 to 400 Kbps on average. Compare this with the service being rolled out across the downtown in Salem, Massachusettes, which is deploying three 6 Mbps downstream, 1 Mbps upstream ADSL connections as part of SalemOpen.net for a cost of about $180 per month total. There’s a lot more bandwidth potential in the conventional wireline side using plain copper.
Gilder has a lot to say that’s correct, which is that other countries—he especially notes Korea—have massively more bandwidth available to homes and businesses in the wireline and wireless markets. This is due to something he doesn’t mention: cost. South Korean and Japanese firms particularly have managed to roll out extremely high-speed DSL and cell services often at the same price we pay for tiny pipes in the U.S. I’m still not entirely sure how they pull this off.
Regulation, as he points out, might be one issue, but it’s also the market climate: a lot of money was spent by U.S. companies pursuing Gilder’s last vision, and thus the resources that could have been devoted to pursuing inexpensive DSL were spent in overbuilding competing fiber-optic networks and in messy acquisitions at fraudulent valuations.
Gilder’s observations on the Wi-Fi side show that as a holder of Qualcomm’s stock, he’s not looking closely at the current generation of Wi-Fi and related wireless deployments. He notes in the video for this story, that there is “small coverage and not all that much bandwidth [in] the average Wi-Fi hotspot.” As noted above, DSL service has become cheap enough to offer enormous increases in speed, and a number of cities are deploying partial or complete Wi-Fi service using mesh-based or smart antenna technology. This trend seems to have legs rather than slowing down, implying that the deployments actually work in cities that try it.
Because Wi-Fi service can have many high-speed links and has such an overall local area network capacity, it’s possible to have an enormous number of users of a larger network with injections of bandwidth all over the place rather than relying on the limited spectrum—there’s that regulation again—that cellular operators have to dole out for 2.5G and 3G networks.
Verizon Wireless told me in an interview recently that their rollout isn’t quite an experiment, but they’re chary about offering any exotic services, like a network sharing offering such as the Junxion Box (which I wrote about yesterday). They and other carriers are investing a lot in networks that they’re not entirely sure what the capacity is once users start to sign up in droves. They want a clean network to see what sticks, and it’s clear with so much near-term competition prices will drop.
The capacity is surely quite high, but we get back to the issue of how much bandwidth is needed in different scenarios. 3G will be ubiquitous, which is useful for all kinds of purposes, but most people work only in certain kinds of spaces in which Wi-Fi will be available with higher upload and download speeds than can be relied on in the cellular network over the next two to three years domestically.
Just remember that 50 to maybe 100 Kbps upload limit on an unloaded network on the fastest cell data trunks that will roll out in the next 12 months, and a 512K symmetrical DSL line or, better, a 6 Mbps down/1 Mbps up line doesn’t seem quite so slow. Gilder says that 1xEV-DO offers “up to 3.1 Mbps connection.” Sure, if there’s no one else in your cell and you’re on top of the tower.
Cell operators may be paying Qualcomm large patent royalties, but they’re also building Wi-Fi networks and reselling existing networks. It’s not an either/or: it’s a both. [link via TechDirt]
Posted by Glenn Fleishman at June 22, 2004 01:40 PM
http://wifinetnews.com/archives/003921.html
Sprint Plans 1XEV-DO By Year's End
By Brad Smith
June 22, 2004
news@2 direct
Rumors had been running rampant for weeks that Sprint had decided to announce this week it would launch 1XEV-DO data services, choosing that technology over 1XEV-DV. Those rumors rang true today, although the carrier left the possibility open it might use 1XEV-DV in the future.
The big winners in Sprint’s major suppliers Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, Motorola and Samsung. Sprint plans on spending $1 billion this year and next to upgrade its network.
The big loser is Flarion Technologies, whose Flash-OFDM technology Sprint had considered but rejected. Flarion still has ongoing trials with several carriers, including Nextel Communications. But Oliver Valente, Sprint's vice president of technology development, said the carrier had concerns about scalability and availability of Flarion's technology at this time.
Verizon Wireless already offers 1XEV-DO commercially in two cities and has announced plans to launch the service nationwide this year and next. 1XEV-DO provides typical data rates of 300 to 500 kilobits per second, comparable to DSL speeds, with theoretical top speeds of 2.4 megabits per second.
Valente said he could see "several permutations" where Sprint might work out roaming agreements with Verizon Wireless in some locations.
In a bit of competitive jousting, Valente also took a shot at plans announced by Cingular Wireless to push up its timetable for high-speed data. Valente said he doubts Cingular's plans are realistic to use a W-CDMA upgrade called High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSPDA) in 2005.
"Sprint's view," Valente told a news conference at the SuperComm show in Chicago, "is that they [Cingular's plans] are aspirational rather than realistic."
Sprint wouldn't go into detail about its launch plans for 1XEV-DO, saying it will have commercial availability in "select" markets by the end of the year and in a majority of top metropolitan markets in 2005. No pricing was announced. The service initially will use laptop PC cards, with handsets coming out in 2005. A decision also hasn't been made yet on whether the new service will have the same Sprint Vision name as the current CDMA2000 1X data service.
Valente wouldn't reveal details about specific contracts Sprint has with its vendors, but said they essentially are agreed upon and will be with its existing vendors, Lucent, Nortel, Motorola and Samsung.
Sprint could decide to implement 1XEV-DV even as it is building out its 1XEV-DO network, he said, although 1XEV-DV equipment is not expected to be available until 2006. 1XEV-DV has an advantage over 1XEV-DO in that the former allows voice and data on the same channel, while 1XEV-DO requires a dedicated data channel.
Equipment availability and marketing timing were the two reasons cited by Valente for going ahead with 1XEV-DO now.
Valente also said Sprint sees 1XEV-DO as complementary to its Wi-Fi hot spot strategy. The carrier has about 2,200 hot spots, mostly through roaming agreements, and plans 10,000 by the end of the year.
He also said Sprint's MMDS spectrum, which is in limited use now, might be used in the future for wireless broadband access using a number of different technologies, including CDMA and WiMAX.
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=document&doc_id=134117&verticalID=34&vertic...
Cingular Solidifies Broadband Agenda
By Sue Marek
June 22, 2004
news@2 direct
NEW YORK -- On the heels of last month's revelations that it is testing UMTS/HSDPA technology in its Atlanta market, Cingular Wireless this morning announced that it will deploy UMTS/HSDPA throughout its entire network. The company just last week issued a request for proposal to the vendor community for UMTS/HSDPA infrastructure equipment.
Speaking at the Yankee Group Wireless Leadership Conference in New York this morning, Cingular Wireless COO Ralph de la Vega said the company plans to deploy UMTS/HSDPA at 850 MHz. The reason for selecting 850 MHz vs. 1900 MHz, de la Vega said, is to keep costs down, particularly in less-populated areas. In addition, the company hopes that by forcing vendors to build UMTS/HSDPA equipment for the 850 MHz band, it will help bring affordable solutions to rural carriers, many of which are key Cingular roaming partners. "We think that the 850 MHz is a critical component for expanding into rural communities. Deploying UMTS in 1900 MHz is too capital intensive."
In an interesting twist, Cingular also is using its large operator pull to force vendors to have a significant U.S. presence. de la Vega said that many wireless infrastructure suppliers are not American companies; in fact, only 20 percent are located in the United States. As part of Cingular's American jobs initiative, the operator is requiring all infrastructure companies it works with on its UMTS/HSDPA deployment to have operations in the United States. "American job creation is part of it," de la Vega said.
The company hasn't specified how large of a presence is required; however, Ericsson already has committed to creating 1,500 U.S. jobs. de la Vega said he is very pleased with Ericsson's commitment and he is hoping that other manufacturers, including Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, Nokia, Siemens and Alcatel will follow suit. de la Vega said that the intent of this job initiative isn't just to propel the U.S. economy, but also because Cingular believes vendors with an American presence will be more likely to respond to the challenges of the U.S. market. "Unless they are here, they don't understand this market. CDMA is not in Europe, so they don't understand 1XEV-DO," de la Vega said. "U.S. vendors understand clearly."
The company also is pushing vendors for a selection of mid-tier UMTS handsets and de la Vega believes that lower priced UMTS handsets will be possible with the type of scale that Cingular is offering, particularly once the company completes its anticipated merger with AT&T Wireless, which is expected to happen later this year.
Although de la Vega initially said that it would likely be 2006 before Cingular's network would be fully upgraded, he added that the company is working with vendors to see if it is possible to speed up that time frame. He added that it is likely that the U.S. market may see some stages of the upgrade in 2005. But at the same time, the company just last weekend completed the GSM overlay over its entire network.
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=document&doc_id=134116&verticalID=34&vertic...
3G standard ready in a year: official
Georgina Lee
China will be ready for a full commercial launch of its homegrown TD-SCDMA mobile phone standard by next June, a senior official at the Ministry of Information Industry said yesterday.
``Right now, everything from the chips to the handset to the base stations has been tested successfully,'' the official, Zhang Qi, said in Beijing, according to a Reuters report. ``I'm very confident that by June 2005, we will successfully launch a completely domestically made [TD-SCDMA] handset. The launch won't cause mobile operators to have to delay construction of their 3G networks.'' Chips developed for the TD-SCDMA phone were ready in April, Zhang said, while the mobile phones would all be dual-mode, so they could run on TD-SCDMA and either the CDMA2000 or WCDMA standards.
``In May or June of 2005, China will launch at least five to six cellphone models based on TD-SCDMA with homegrown chips,'' she said.
Zhang's comments are at odds with a recent forecast by investment bank Goldman Sachs that a commercial roll-out of third generation (3G) mobile service in China may not begin until as late as 2007. Goldman based its forecast on recent meetings with operators, vendors, government representative and academics. It said the central government will only start licensing around mid-2005 at the earliest.
``Timing for 3G in China remains elusive, and the list of issues [to be addressed] is getting longer,'' said Goldman analyst Tim Storey in a report issued this week. The 2007 commercial roll-out time-line assumes a 12-18 months network construction lead time.
If Goldman's estimation is in line, it would mean that China will lag behind Japan by at least six years in the roll out of the service. Mobile giant NTT DoCoMo commercialised its full 3G mobile services, FOMA, in October 2001, a service that was initially full of glitches but which has recently taken off to register more than three million users since March.
Elsewhere, leading the commercialisation of WCDMA 3G service is Hutchison Whampoa, which has already started operations in seven markets worldwide to offer the service which allows for video streaming, Web-browsing and telephone conferencing.
Goldman said that the delay in China is caused by several issues that Beijing still has to consider before awarding licences to operators. For now, the government is still sizing up market demand for 3G services and assessing the maturity of 3G technologies.
Much has been reported that China will likely issue licences allowing all three different technologies: its home-grown TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000 (code division multiple access) and WCDMA (wideband CDMA).
Meanwhile, Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday that China Telecom Corp, parent of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom, is talking with up to seven mobile phone makers about buying one billion yuan (HK$942.6 million) worth of WCDMA handsets as early as August.
23 June 2004 / 02:02 AM
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/news_detail_frame.cfm?articleid=48714&intcatid=2
Lucent, Nortel To Benefit From Sprint Upgrade
06.22.04, 1:40 PM ET
Tear Sheet / Chart / News
Prudential Equity Group said it was not surprised by Sprint's (nyse: FON - news - people ) announcement that it will invest $1 billion to roll out EV-DO, (which stands for Evolution-Data Optimized) technology on its nationwide PCS network. The research firm said the network upgrade was predictable, given an announcement of a similar EV-DO rollout plan on the part of Verizon Wireless earlier this year, but said it was uncertain whether Sprint would use EV-DO or wait for the next wave of technology, known as "EV-DV." Verizon Wireless is a co-venture of Verizon Communications (nyse:VZ) and Vodafone Group (nyse:VOD). Prudential predicted that deployments will begin immediately as initial service availability is planned for the second half of 2004. However, Prudential also said the bulk of the upgrades are slated for 2005, implying acceleration in Sprint's capital spending plans. The research firm noted that vendors have not yet been announced, but said it expects Lucent Technlogies (nyse: LU - news - people ) and Nortel Networks (nyse: NT - news - people ) "to play a significant role in these deployments." Other possible vendors for the upgrade include Samsung and Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ), in Prudential's view. The research firm also said it expects Qualcomm (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ) "to benefit from chipset sales and royalties associated with carrier and consumer equipment upgrades."
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/06/22/0622automarketscan06.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=
Samsung world phone includes VoiceSignal voice recognition
June 22, 2004 12:49 PM EST
WOBURN, Mass.—Voice recognition application provider VoiceSignal’s new speech application is providing support for English and Spanish speakers on Verizon Wireless’ Samsung SCH-A790 wireless enterprise phone.
The phone, which works on both GSM and CDMA networks, is targeted at business users traveling throughout the world. “The opportunities for voice-activated solutions on mobile devices are endless, and VoiceSignal is pleased to continue teaming with industry leaders such as Verizon and Samsung to introduce new solutions that empower global business users to work as efficiently as possible,” said Rich Geruson, chief executive officer of VoiceSignal.
In addition to English and Spanish speaker-independent voice recognition, the phone also includes: an improved speech user interface, an embedded VoiceSignal user guide, personalization options for the voice interface, digit dialing, a voice-activated phonebook, text-to-speech output and command-and-control capabilities.
http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18575
U.S. Cellular Launches Nationwide easyedge(SM) Picture Messaging Using Motorola Multi-Media Messaging Solution
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/06-22-2004/00...
DEMOmobile 2004: An Unrivaled Look at the New Wireless World
SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The DEMOmobile 2004 conference will dazzle its attending audience of investors, business executives, and international media with 45 new technologies intended to astound, simplify computing, entertain, and turn their inventors into overnight successes.
DEMOmobile, fashioned by award-winning producer Chris Shipley, is the result of intensive searching, interviewing, culling, writing, consulting, and preparing. Shipley travels the world meeting with technologists to pick only the most compelling, dynamic, and likely-to-succeed to unveil their products at DEMOmobile. The conference takes place September 8-10, 2004 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, and represents innovative thinking from the four corners of the globe.
"DEMOmobile is about real products and services that you can invest in today," said Shipley. "We are clearly at the earliest stage of the next wave of computing: a shift from desktop and laptop computing that is enterprise-centric, to highly mobile, wireless 'device computing' centered on the information and communication needs of individuals. Because we are early in this next wave, the marketplace is ripe with experimentation and new ideas. And unlike dynamics in the last-wave markets, individual users will have the greatest influence over what standards and practices will gain wide-spread adoption in the market."
DEMOmobile 2004 will feature:
-- Products that tighten integration of mobile and enterprise-based
communications and data management. The distinction between mobile and
office-based workers is gone. Workers are workers and enterprise
processes need to suit the business need, not the whereabouts, of an
employee. Communications and applications providers are re-thinking
what it means to build software to accommodate a dynamic workforce, and
are creating new applications that work seamlessly across devices.
-- Mobile data services that go far beyond news, sports, weather, and
traffic. Mobile data services have to become much more interesting and
useful if society is ever going to use those high-value "data minutes"
that carriers are trying to sell. The most intriguing applications may
be those that circumvent cellular carriers by tapping directly into
wireless IP networks.
-- New interfaces that usher in new devices. Component technologies, from
long-lasting batteries to intuitive input mechanisms, are changing the
face of mobile devices and moving the market closer to consensus on
what an integrated data and communications device will offer. Component
technology has evolved such that compromise is no longer necessary. The
bar has been raised on the "converged" communicator/data platform and
differentiation will come in styling and special functions layered on
top of that base.
-- New approaches to mobile entertainment and gaming. In most countries,
mobile gaming drives innovation and leads to business tools that
revolutionize communications and enhance the worker experience.
DEMOmobile will host technologists from around the world who are the
instigators of change within the entertainment and gaming arena.
"Innovation within the mobile and wireless sector moves at light speed -- so the content of DEMOmobile is changing everyday," continued Shipley. "Technologies coming out of Japan, Finland, and Asia have blown my mind for their simplicity, money-making potential, and beauty of design. Don't miss DEMOmobile -- your opportunity to catch up on the trends in this most exciting technology subset."
DEMOmobile 2004 Sponsors and Partners
DEMOmobile 2004 sponsors are Aruba Wireless Networks, Blackberry, Porter Novelli, and Qualcomm. Partner companies include The Association for Women in Technology, Backbone Magazine, The Catchpole Corporation, The Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Mobile Enterprise Magazine, PR Newswire, The San Diego Telecom Council, and Wireless Week.
About the DEMO Conferences
The annual DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected from across the spectrum of the personal technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow's cutting-edge technologies. DEMO and DEMOmobile have served as launch pad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. DEMO is held in February each year and features approximately 60 new companies, products and technologies. DEMOmobile, named "2002 Best Conference" by Conferenza, is held each fall and features approximately 40 new mobile technologies. For more information on the DEMO conferences, visit http://www.demo.com/ .
The DEMO community also benefits from the award winning DEMOletter. A weekly e-newsletter designed to reach the people who are creating companies, building products and launching new ideas, DEMOletter provides smart insight and analysis of entrepreneurial business issues.
About Network World
Network World, Inc., the Leader in Network Knowledge, empowers Network IT Executives through education, information and community. Network World, an IDG company, is the leading provider of news, analysis, reviews, events and education on information technology. Network World publishes the leading newsweekly, Network World, hosts the most active online community, Network World Fusion ( http://www.nwfusion.com/ ), and produces educational seminars and events worldwide. Network World's portfolio of strategic marketing programs provides marketing and agency professionals with the tools to generate high-quality leads, optimize marketing campaigns, and create new revenue opportunities.
About IDG
International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, MacWorld Conference & Expo, DEMO, and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com/ .
International Data Group
CONTACT: Becky Sniffen, +1-510-682-6613, orbecky@mc2pr.net, or CarlaThompson, +1-972-562-0740, carla@mc2pr.net, both of MC2 Communications forDEMOmobile
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jun/1051170.htm
Mobile Phone OS Battle Heats Up
By Paul Korzeniowski
TechNewsWorld
06/22/04 6:00 AM PT
Symbian has come closest to delivering a standard mobile phone operating system. Available since 1998, the Symbian OS has garnered significant support. Approximately 18 phones -- from companies such as Ericsson, Matsushita Electronics, Nokia, Psion, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Eriksson -- now rely on the OS. More than two dozen additional systems are under development.
Cell phones are no longer used simply for voice communications; increasingly, they support text messaging, e-mail, Web surfingand even video transmissions. With this transformation has come the need for a more sophisticated mobile operating system. Half a dozen vendors, including Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Symbian , are trying to deliver it, but a few years will pass before a clear-cut winner emerges.
Cellular communications is changing. Mobile phones have become smaller, lighter and more powerful, and cellular networks have evolved from a voice-only technology to networks that support transmission rates of hundreds of megabits per second. Third-party developers and carriers want to deliver new multimedia applications that can take advantage of powerful new phones -- called smartphones -- that marry traditional telephone capabilities with PC functions.
Ideally, developers would write an application that would run on a variety of smartphones, but that is possible only if one operating system ran on a variety of cell phones. Currently, that is not the case, so developers must work with more than two dozen proprietary systems. Consequently, vendors spend a lot of time and money porting applications to different systems.
Symbian has come closest to delivering a standard cell phone operating system. Available since 1998, the Symbian OS has garnered significant support. Approximately 18 phones -- from companies such as Ericsson, Matsushita Electronics, Nokia, Psion, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Eriksson -- now rely on the OS. More than two dozen additional systems are under development.
"Since the Symbian OS was designed specifically for cell phones, it does a good job of delivering needed functionality for mobile users," Neil Strother, an industry analyst with In-Stat/MDR, told TechNewsWorld.
But not all mobile phone vendors feel comfortable with that OS. "A number of competitors do not like the tight relationship between Nokia (a cell phone maker that owns about one third of the OS supplier) and Symbian, and would rather rely on an operating system that comes from an unbiased source," said Ira Brodsky, president of Datacomm Research , a market research firm that focuses on wireless transmissions.
Symbian's market position is tenuous because few cell phones now take advantage of smartphone capabilities. In-Stat/MDR found that out of the 560 million phones shipped, only 16 million (representing about 3 percent of the overall market) were smartphones. Analysts expect that percentage to grow as more data-intensive applications become available.
Aware of the potential market shift, Microsoft has tried to push its Windows operating system down into cell phones with the Microsoft Smartphone OS. "Microsoft's big advantage is its product's compatibility with its large base of desktop applications," Seamus McAteer, an industry analyst with Zelos Group, told TechNewsWorld. In fact, the petite operating system was designed to be compatible with its Outlook e-mail system, Internet Explorer Web browser, instant message capabilities with MSN Messenger, and multimedia features via the Microsoft Windows Media Player.
Because of the compatibility, the software giant has garnered new allies. Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) first Microsoft-based smartphone was the MPx200, and it was followed by the MPx and MPx 100 handsets. Two Taiwan companies -- HTC and Mitac International -- also are producing smartphones that run the Microsoft software. Nextel (Nasdaq: NXTL) worked with Motorola to deliver a smartphone for its services, and Samsung has begun ramping up to deliver a Microsoft-powered phone later this year.
Fear of the Goliath
But there has been some reluctance among carriers and handset vendors to embrace Microsoft's product. "Handset suppliers fear that Microsoft will eventually dominate the cell phone OS market as it does the PC OS, and that would eliminate differentiation from handset hardware, which is where they envision their profits coming from," said McAteer.
These vendors do have another choice, because wherever one finds Windows, Linux is right behind, and that operating system is emerging as another viable smartphone development platform. Linux is attractive to manufacturers because of its open-source base, which minimizes manufacturers' development costs and maintenance requirements.
The Embedded Linux Consortium, whose 125 company membership includes IBM (NYSE: IBM) , Red Hat and Samsung, has been trying to entice developers to use the operating system for applications running on car control panels, smartphones, PDAs and TV set-top boxes. The group has had some success, particularly in Asia, with smartphones. NTTDoCoMo decreed that Linux is its preferred 3G phone development environment, Samsung released a Linux-based smartphone in China, and NEC plans to take a similar path later this year.
A Palm Rebirth
The Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) OS also has gained a fair amount of acceptance in the cell-phone space. "Palm was slipping a bit but seems to have regained momentum with delivery of its Trio system, which is really quite slick," said In-Stat/MDR's Strother. That new device's success seems to ensure that the operating system will remain a viable smartphone OS option, at least in the United States, for a few more years.
Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) Blackberry system was built to help users access data services over wireless networks. Yet the Blackberry is viewed more as a niche offering than one capable of dominating the market. Consumer acceptance of smartphones will determine the eventual market leaders. "We are seeing movement among consumers toward more sophisticated devices," said In-Stat/MDR's Strother. "The rapid uptick in camera phone sales was something that caught me a bit by surprise."
The key to acceptance was driving down pricing, and smartphones have been slow to take hold because they are expensive, with prices ranging from $300 to $450. The sweet spot in the consumer market is the $50 to $100 range, so vendors need to increase their shipments significantly to meet those marks.
"We are still in an early stage of market development, so the various operating systems are safe at the moment, but eventually only two, or maybe three, will gain enough acceptance to remain viable long term," concluded Zelos Group's McAteer.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/34648.html
Sprint Plans $1 Billion Data Upgrade
06.22.2004, 09:52 AM
Sprint Corp. today said it plans to spend about $1 billion upgrading wireless data capabilities on its celluar network, boasting technology that Sprint says will increase data speeds by as much as 10 times.
The company is looking to launch its evolution data optimized technology in several markets in the second half of 2004, with nationwide deployment in 2005.
"Customers are telling Sprint they want applications that take advantage of the higher wireless speeds, and we intend to deliver," Len Lauer, president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "Imagine downloading music, videos and games to your wireless handset or laptop in a fraction of the time it takes today."
Wireless data services allow laptop and handheld computer and data-enabled phone users to connect to the Internet and perform Web-based functions. Evolution data optimized, or EV-DO, will let customers surf the Internet on their phones at speeds comparable to wired broadband connections.
Sprint says it currently has 6.2 million wireless data customers generating about $700 million in revenue annually.
Shares of Sprint fell 0.8 percent to $17.33 during early-morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2004/06/22/ap1426107.html