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Nextel expands '4G' trials
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 13/12/2003 at 02:44 GMT
US carrier Nextel is expanding its trials of Flarion's '4G' technology, based on its flash-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) techniques.
Details are scant: Nextel would only say that the trial covered 150 base stations in 'a major Southern city', and Flarion itself declined to elaborate, Unstrung reports.
We hesitate to adopt the 4G designation until it has been formally blessed by the ITU. And we even hesitate after technologies have been given the nod. However, there's no mistaking that Flarion's technology has impressed carriers in the labs, with download speeds between one and two mbits/s and real efficiencies to boast about. Most impressively of all, Flarion survived starring on the cover of the now defunct Red Herring magazine - which has often proved to be the kiss of death.
While OFDM faces a hard sell from incumbent GSM and CDMA carriers, who have natural upgrade paths to EDGE or W-CDMA, or CDMA-2000 respecitively, it looks more attractive to Greenfield operators and specialists. As the largest operator using Motorola's iDEN technology, Nextel has little to lose. Flarion has persuaded Korean operator KT to give OFDM a field test, too. ®
linedrivehitter: The link you posted has an automatic direct e-mail link to comment on the story. This would be another avenue for our letter writers to put copies of their letters in the comment space provided.
witchhollow: I haven't seen any posts on this yet. It looks like Bill N. of Heartland is busy on other things right now.
To our share h o l d e rs , clients and fri e n d s :
You may have read or heard news reports about a complaint filed against us by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The allegations made against Heartland and me personally are serious, so I want to respond promptly and publicly.You should know:
1. The complaint pertains to events that occurred more than three years ago. It does not pertain to any of the funds we currently manage. It is not related to the current controversy
regarding improprieties at some mutual funds. Rather, it restates allegations that first arose in the fall of 2000 regarding the ‘markdown’ of two high-yield municipal bond funds and resulting shareholder losses.
2. We no longer manage these or any other bond funds. The people who managed these funds are no longer with our organization. We have settled all claims from shareholders regarding the bond funds.
3. The complaint also alleges that I engaged in insider trading by providing confidential information to a friend, who sold his shares in one of the bond funds prior to the markdown. This is entirely untrue. I personally had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the funds at the time of the markdown. My mother, my mother-in-law, my fellow employees and many other good friends and clients held shares in the funds when they were marked down. We all suffered the same losses experienced by other shareholders. In no way did I,
nor would I ever, engage in any form of insider trading.
We intend to challenge these allegations and look forward to having our day in court. That said, be assured that we remain focused on our goal of earning superior returns for our investors. I promise you that Heartland Advisors will always put the interests of our shareholders and
clients first.
Sincerely,
William J. Nasgovitz
President
Heartland Advisors, Inc, • 789 North Water Street • Milwaukee, WI 53202
Web: www.heartlandfunds.com • 414-347-7777 • 800-432-7856 • Fax: 414-347-1339
December 14, 2003
Dishfan: If they follow normal journalistic practices, any apology or retraction would be in very small print, in some part of the magazine that no one looks at.
Apparently other analysts at First Albany, besides Frank, are being pretty cautious. Out of 12 stocks on which coverage was recently initiated only three were rated "Buy", seven were rated "Neutral", and two were rated "Underperform".
First Albany initiates coverage of IT hardware & storage infrastructure sectors. The firm believes IT spending will continue to improve, although near-term growth rates may be lower than expected, due to secular dynamics and fundamental structural changes within these industries. Growth in networked storage will likely continue to outpace that of other sectors, while the migration from hardware to software and services should continue for the foreseeable future... The firm starts coverage on 12 stocks: Apple Computer (Neutral), Brocade (Neutral), Dell ( Buy, $40 tgt), EMC (Neutral), Gateway (Underperform), Hewlett-Packard (Neutral), IBM (Buy, $102 tgt), Ingram Micro (Neutral), McDATA (Buy, $10 tgt), Network Appliance (Neutral), Sun Micro ( Underperform), and Tech Data (Neutral).
Mschere: today you posted several news articles about telephone smart cards, and a list of IDCC patents related to telephone cards. Do you have any idea as to whether the IDCC patents are related to the systems that were referred to in the articles?
Could be, the comment was licenses.
Reuters
RPT-Low-end wireless phone users in China reach 32 mln
Thursday December 11, 11:27 pm ET
(Repeating to fix typo in headline)
HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The number of users of a popular low-end wireless phone service in China has reached 32 million, or nearly triple the number from a year ago, according to a top supplier of equipment for the service.
The latest national figure for the wildly popular service, known as xiaolingtong or "little smart," has surpassed a previous forecast issued in September for 30 million subscribers by year end, UTStarcom Inc (NasdaqNM:UTSI - News) said late Thursday.
The company estimated that among the current 32 million users, 20 million have subscribed to xiaolingtong services on networks supplied by UTStarcom.
The service's rapid growth has come as China's top two fixed-line phone companies, China Telecom Corp (HKSE:0728.HK - News) and China Netcom, have spent billions of dollars over the last two years to expand their networks.
Unlike true mobile services offered by China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd (HKSE:0941.HK - News) and China Unicom Ltd (HKSE:0762.HK - News), the xiaolingtong service has limited roaming capability and uses existing fixed-line infrastructure.
Despite its rapid growth, xiaolingtong's 32 million subscriber figure is still well behind China's estimated 250 million subscribers for true mobile services.
But xiaolingtong's rapid growth from just 12 million subscribers a year ago compares with a growth rate of about 32 percent for true mobile services over the last 12 months.
Xiaolingtong traditionally targeted the low end of China's wireless phone market, but has recently gone after higher-end users as well with the introduction of models equipped with cameras, Internet and other data capabilities.
lastchoice: Thanks. Mystery of 9:04 posting solved. Does FRA identify the issuer of the report? If so, do you know the name?
mschere; Here is another breakdown of next year's estimates. Someone threw in an awfully high estimate to get the mean up to $3.41
Next Fiscal
# of Estimates 4.00
Mean Estimate 3.41
High Estimates 5.58
Low Estimates 1.28
Coefficient Variance 54.07
IBES data provided by Thomson Financial Solutions
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/estimates.asp?siteid=bigcharts&symb=idcc&sid=2615
What seems to have been forgotten in our discussion of the arbitration is that it follows set procecures with time limits for each step. Since some time has passed since the announcement that they were in the process of selecting the third arbitrator, I would assume that he/she has been selected and they are now in the next phase, which is preparation of the Terms of Reference. I don’t believe that many of Nokia’s allegations or claims will survive the next step, which seems to require a more pinpointed focus on issues, rather than general statements
According to ICC’s rules of arbitration, the Secretariat shall transmit the file to the Arbitral Tribunal as soon as it has been constituted. As soon as it has received the file from the Secretariat, the Arbitral Tribunal shall draw up, on the basis of documents or in the presence of the parties and in the light of their most recent submissions, a document defining its Terms of Reference. This document shall include the following particulars:
a) the full names and descriptions of the parties;
b) the addresses of the parties to which notifications and communications arising in the course of the arbitration may be made;
c) a summary of the parties' respective claims and of the relief sought by each party, with an indication to the extent possible of the amounts claimed or counterclaimed;
d) unless the Arbitral Tribunal considers it inappropriate, a list of issues to be determined;
e) the full names, descriptions and addresses of the arbitrators;
f) the place of the arbitration; and
g) particulars of the applicable procedural rules and, if such is the case, reference to the power conferred upon the Arbitral Tribunal to act as amiable compositeur or to decide ex aequo et bono.
The Terms of Reference shall be signed by the parties and the Arbitral Tribunal. Within two months of the date on which the file has been transmitted to it, the Arbitral Tribunal shall transmit to the Court the Terms of Reference signed by it and by the parties.
After the Terms of Reference have been signed or approved by the Court, no party shall make new claims or counterclaim which fall outside the limits of the Terms of Reference unless it has been authorized to do so by the Arbitral Tribunal, which shall consider the nature of such new claims or counterclaims, the stage of the arbitration and other relevant circumstances.
http://www.iccwbo.org/court/english/arbitration/rules.asp#article_18
In commenting on the Terms of Reference, ICC has stated:
A unique feature of ICC arbitration, the Terms of Reference serve the useful purpose of bringing the arbitrators and parties together at an early stage, to identify the issues they will be required to deal with and the procedural details that need to be addressed. It is also sometimes possible at that stage for the parties to reach agreement on certain outstanding issues, such as the language of the arbitration or the governing substantive law. A fact which users should not overlook is that a significant proportion of ICC arbitration cases are amicably settled at the stage of the Terms of Reference.
http://www.iccwbo.org/court/english/arbitration/introduction.asp
Controversy Over WLAN Standard Deepens
Chinese standard could fracture the global market, critics say.
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Licensing requirements at the heart of a Chinese standard for wireless LANs threaten to disrupt the ability of networking equipment vendors to do business in China, according to a U.S. technology trade group.
The requirement deepens a controversy over the recently-implemented Chinese WLAN standard that could undermine efforts to create a global standard for wireless networks.
The Chinese WLAN standard, called GB15629.11-2003, is very similar to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' 802.11 standard, commonly known as Wireless Fidelity or Wi-Fi, but it uses a different security protocol, called WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI).
Into Effect
The Chinese standard for WLANs was approved by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) in May and came into effect on December 1, although a transition period has been granted that extends the compliance deadline for some WLAN products until June 1, 2004.
Equipment vendors that want to sell WLAN gear in China are required to offer products based on the Chinese standard.
To conform to this standard, foreign equipment vendors must license WAPI through a manufacturing agreement with one of 11 Chinese companies designated by the Chinese government, including Legend Group and Huawei Technologies, according to Anne Stevenson-Yang, managing director of the U.S. Information Technology Office in Beijing.
The Chinese companies--many of which compete against foreign equipment vendors--are not under any obligation to license WAPI to foreign companies, who could find themselves locked out of China's WLAN market if they cannot reach an agreement with a local partner, Stevenson-Yang says.
"It's very threatening to foreign vendors," she says.
Intellectual Property Problems
In addition to market access, the licensing move raises other issues. Chinese companies that license WAPI may demand detailed access to foreign companies' products and technologies, raising concerns about the protection of intellectual property rights, Stevenson-Yang says.
A Legend spokesperson in Hong Kong declined to comment, saying the company had not been informed of the issue.
Seen as a whole, the implementation of the Chinese WLAN standard and the licensing requirements have fundamentally changed a market that had previously been open to foreign equipment vendors by creating a new barrier to trade, Stevenson-Yang says.
"Now it appears that the market is not open," she says, noting that USITO continues to discuss the standards issue with Chinese authorities.
Splitting the Market
Concerns related to WAPI have also been raised by IEEE, which is worried that the implementation of the Chinese WLAN standard will undermine standardization efforts and split the global market for wireless networking products in two: one based on the Chinese standard and one based on 802.11.
"We are concerned that mandatory use of the standard would prohibit the use of 802.11 standard products and thereby limit choice and increase costs to users," wrote Paul Nikovich, chairman of the IEEE 802 Local and Metropolitan Area Network Standards Committee, in a November 23 letter to SAC Chairman Li Zhonghai and Wang Xudong, China's minister of information industry.
While Nikovich and IEEE have signaled a willingness to engage Chinese authorities on the question of WLAN standards, Stevenson-Yang questions how much room is left for negotiation.
"We already have a published national standard and the standard has already gone into effect," she says. "Where's the flexibility?"
As talks between USITO and Chinese authorities continue, Stevenson-Yang hopes a way can be found to resolve the impasse over WLAN standards without resorting to a trade war over access to China's WLAN market.
"We're looking for ways we can remain in this market without creating a trade battle because nobody wins when that happens," she says.
Reuters
Japan Oct cellphone shipments up 30.2 pct yr/yr
Wednesday December 10, 11:51 pm ET
TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Cellphone shipments in Japan rose
in October for the 12th consecutive month as a photo phone boom
and expansion of high-speed third-generation services prompted
users to trade in handsets, an industry group said on Thursday.
Cellphone shipments grew 30.2 percent from a year earlier to
4.11 million units, said the Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association (JEITA).
Research firm IDC Japan said earlier this week more than 90
percent of the phones shipped in July-September in Japan, the
pioneer of photo phones, were camera-equipped.
With photo phones likely to account for 20 to 30 percent of
total shipments in the United States and Europe in the Christmas
season, Japan's penetration is by far the highest, followed
possibly by South Korea, IDC analyst Michito Kimura said.
JEITA said on Wednesday that global demand for mobile phones
was expected to rise 5.8 percent to 479.4 million units in 2004,
fuelled by strong customer growth in developing markets such as
China and India.
The following table shows domestic shipments (in millions)
and year-on-year percentage changes for the past four months (no
data is released for individual companies):
.............................. ....JULY AUG SEPT OCT
SHIPMENTS.......... 5.254....4.148...4.129...4.111
Y/Y PCT CHANGE..+40.3...+24.5...+20.6...+30.2
Handset makers surveyed are:
Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc (Tokyo:6756.T - News)
Sanyo Electric Co Ltd (Tokyo:6764.T - News)
Sharp Corp (Tokyo:6753.T - News)
Toshiba Corp (Tokyo:6502.T - News)
NEC Corp (Tokyo:6701.T - News)
Japan Radio Co Ltd (Tokyo:6751.T - News)
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd (Tokyo:6752.T - News)
Hitachi Ltd (Tokyo:6501.T - News)
Fujitsu Ltd (Tokyo:6702.T - News)
Mitsubishi Electric Corp (Tokyo:6503.T - News)
Sony Corp (Tokyo:6758.T - News)
Casio Computer Co Ltd (Tokyo:6952.T - News)
Kyocera Corp (Tokyo:6971.T - News)
Seiko Instruments Inc (unlisted)
Note the plus interest. It would seem an arbitration panel should follow the same reasoning as the court in awarding interest on any award they make on the theory of making whole.
"will receive $4.1 million plus interest "
OT: bulldzr, I don't follow this company so I have no idea who is right, but here is one company who considers that a recent analyst's report might have been written based on an agenda.
Health Management issued a release contending analyst report issued Dec 8, 2003 by U.B.S. analyst Ken Weakley "contained material errors that substantially distorted Mr. Weakley's analysis and negatively impacted HMA's stock price". Company states that it terminated an investment banking relationship with U.B.S. less than one year ago, and "the timing and content of UBS' report raises concerns regarding its independence and objectivity". Among other errors, HMA contends that the statement Weakley made in his report contending that HMA's managed care contracts represent 55% of HMA's commercial net patient revenue is incorrect, and that Weakley never made an attempt to verify this info with the company. HMA states that managed care contracts represent 41% of HMA's commercial net patient revenue.
bulldzr; I don't think any legal action would be considered, unless they had some proof that the writer was trying to influence the stock's action.
Pre market not so good:
09.13 $ 19.09 200
09.11 $ 19.15 300
09.08 $ 19.15 200
09.08 $ 19.25 500
09.08 $ 19.30 300
09.05 $ 19.32 300
08.44 $ 19.50 1000
08.44 $ 19.49 100
08.44 $ 19.50 500
08.31 $ 19.61 500
7:42AM Mobile phone sales could reach 500 mln -- Reuters : Reuters reports that mobile phone sales could reach half a billion this year, but Nokia (NOK) and Motorola (MOT) are under pressure from German rival Siemens and Korea's Samsung and LG, according to a survey. "The mobile phone market is on fire. We're seeing phenomenal growth," says an analyst at Gartner Dataquest. At the start of the year the firm expected the total market to reach 460-470 mln unit sales, but now it's likely it could be half a billion. Gartner's numbers confirmed a trend also spotted by rival research firm Strategy Analytics on Friday, which noted that Nokia's European market share had dwindled to 42.1% in Q3 vs 48.8% in Q2. Nokia partly compensated for its weaker European position by growing in emerging markets like Russia, India and China.
NTT DoCoMo Tests Superfast Mobile Phone
By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
December 7, 2003
TOKYO (AP)—Japan's top mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, has developed a test model of a cell phone that offers both its superfast third-generation mobile service and a wireless local area network Internet phone service.
But the Tokyo-based company said Friday that no decision has been made on when the dual-functionality model will become available.
NTT DoCoMo 3G mobile phones can relay data at up to 40 times the speed of other 3G-enabled phones, allowing users to relay live video and facilitating services such as a videophone.
Wireless local area networks, or W-LANs, enable users to access the Internet through short-range radio transmitters in designated areas at speeds far faster than with dial-up modems.
With the new handset, users will be able to access the W-LAN—increasingly available in cafes and office buildings—to chat using Internet phone technology, otherwise known as Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP, which is cheaper than other telephone services. They can then switch back to using 3G wireless elsewhere.
The test model is a folding handset that weighs 123 grams (4 ounces) and is 30 millimeters (1.2 inch) thick, NTT DoCoMo said in a statement.
But more work needs to be done to develop products and features, and ensure the dual-mode function works smoothly, NTT DoCoMo said in a statement.
The use of 3G phones has been gradually growing in Japan, which leads the world in Net-linking mobile phone use, but its spread to the rest of the world has been limited. NTT DoCoMo has drawn 1.6 million users to its 3G service called FOMA. KDDI Corp., the nation's second largest telecom, has more than 15 million customers using its slightly slower version of 3G.
Separately, a computer science laboratory affiliated with Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. is developing a similar dual-functionality model, Sony spokesman Shinji Obana said.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's top business daily, reported Friday that a commercial product using that technology was planned for 2010, but Obana denied that as speculative.
The experimental handset uses either infrared or wireless LAN to enable the user to relay data from one personal computer to another, doing away with the hassle of carrying a laptop around.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
zitboy: Don't ask me what it all means, but here is a definition and specs for TDCDMA.
TDCDMA
UTRA TDD is planned to operate in the unpaired spectrum. TDD uses a combined time division and code division multiple access scheme. It is base on radio access technique proposed by ETSI Delta group and the specifications was finalised 1999.
TDD Technical Summary
Frequency band:1900 MHz -1920 MHz and 2010 MHz - 2025 MHz (Time Division Duplex) Unpaired, channel spacing is 5 MHz and raster is 200 kHz. Tx and Rx are not separated in frequency, but by guard period.
Minimum frequency band required: ~ 5MHz, ~ 1.6MHz with 1.28 Mcps
Frequency re-use: 1
Voice coding: AMR (and GSM EFR) codec
Channel coding: Convolutional coding, Turbo code for high rate data
TDMA frame consist of 15 timeslots
Each time slot can be transmit of receive
Duplexer not needed
Asymmetric connection supported
Data by packet and circuit switch
QPSK modulation
Receiver: Joint Detection, (mobile: Rake)
Chip rate: 3.84 Mcps or 1.28 Mcps
Channel raster: 200 kHz
Maximum RF ch bit rate (kbps): ~ 3.3Mbps (1/2 rate coding, spreading factor 1, 15 timeslots, ex overheads), but interference limited
Frame length: 10ms
Number of slots / frame: 15
Handovers: Hard
Power control period: 100 Hz or 200 Hz UL, ~ 800 Hz DL
Power control step size: 1, 2, 3 dB (Variable)
Power control range: UL 65dB, DL 30dB
Mobile peak power: Power class 1: +33 dBm (+1dB/-3dB) = 2W; class 2 +27 dBm, class 3 +24 dBm, class 4 +21 dBm
Number of unique base station identification codes: 512/frequency
Physical layer spreading factors: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/tdcdma.htm
Jim: if you want to go to the top here is one:
Ask Steve Forbes, your letters to the Editor-in-Chief.
AskSteve@Forbes.com
rmarchma: I don't know if you are keeping a running record of insider transactions from the SEC website, but for a quick reference a good listing of insider transactions is on the NASDAQ website. If you click on an individual's name it will list all his transactions.
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/holdings.asp?mode=&page=&symbol=IDCC&symbol=&symbol=&s...
Jim: to e-mail her use the following :
Forbes Magazine employee e-mail addresses are formatted:
first initial last name@forbes.com
(dsmith@forbes.com).
http://www.expressresponse.com/cgi-bin/forbes/displayArticleWebForm.cgi
The writer, Elizabeth MacDonald, is often a panelist on Forbes on Fox. It might be worth watching today.
ASIA : Reuters - Softbank has applied to Japan's Telecommunications Ministry for a license to test a 3G technology, TD-CDMA.
Softbank declined to elaborate on its plans, but the license, if granted, would be the company's first step into the cellular market.
Softbank, which already offers IP phone and wireless local area network (LAN) services in addition to ADSL operations, said it was unclear when the license for would be granted.
No operator currently offers a commercial service using TD-CDMA, which is a TDD-based standard using unpaired spectrum in the 1900 MHz range.
NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone KK, the Japanese mobile unit of Britain's Vodafone Group, used W-CDMA and KDDI's 3G operation is based on cdma2000-1x.
A Telecommunications Ministry official said the granting of a test license does not guarantee that a commercial license will follow, and that candidates for commercial operations need to go through a series of screening steps.
COPYRIGHT: © Reuters 2003
"Security represents the biggest concern for consumers considering wireless networks"
For an article on two methods of wireless network security:
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=1466831428
rmarchma: Thanks for the post. As I am also a relative newcomer to IDCC and the wireless industry, I have a lot to learn. Your post was great background information in helping to more fully understand IDCC's role in the industry. While it will probably take some time for the various licensing problems to get worked out, I believe the upside potential is much greater than that for the downside.
hookrider: in regard to "Have no idea who Bill Fleckenstein (is)". Bill Fleckenstein is a hedge fund manager who is considered to be very bearish. You can tell that from the article that was posted. He often appears or is quoted on the different TV financial programs.
William Fleckenstein
President,
Fleckenstein Capital
Most short-sellers and hedge fund managers prefer to stay anonymous, but Bill Fleckenstein has never been one to run with the crowd.
If he has an opinion about the market or economy, his readers will hear about it. For the past seven years Fleckenstein has produced an online column for TheStreet.com, and these days he also writes the aptly-named "Contrarian Chronicles" on MSN.com. He sees Alan Greenspan as leader of the most incompetent Federal Reserve in history, views banks as "sheep" that invest in one problem area after another, derides popular financial TV as "bubblevision" and describes people who buy on every market decline as mindless "dipsters."
Oh, he also manages money. Fleckenstein Capital started in 1982, and since then its founder has been bullish and bearish on almost every type of investment at one time or another. He set up a short-only fund in 1996 because he thought the market was turning into a "speculative performance derby" that would turn out very badly, though he was off by a few years. Fleckenstein says he plans to return to the long side of investing when it's safe to be bullish.
In some ways, he still maintains that hedge fund reticence. Even though Fleckenstein has been writing for the Internet since 1996, Fleckenstein Capital didn't have a Web site until this year and it remains devoid of anything that would even hint at the company's specific positions; it exists mainly to publish answers to reader questions.
Fleckenstein received a degree in mathematics from the University of Washington. He worked for the Kidder, Peabody and Co. investment bank from 1979 to 1982, when he began Fleckenstein Capital. He merged his company with Olympic Capital Management in 1990 and re-established the firm under his own name in 1996.
With all the discussion about licensing terms, and what may or may not have been negotiated, I think the following comments included in a letter from Irwin Jacobs to a Korean politician are appropriate. The letter is in regard to complaints from Korean companies about lower royalty rates that were negotiated with Chinese companies. I have often heard that the best negotiation should end in a win-win situation for both parties. As the letter states, what may be a win-win will vary according to the need of each party in a particular negotiation. Of interest is also the comment regarding their most favoured royalty provision.
I agree with you that contracts between
two parties should be fair and reasonable to
both parties, what I often refer to as a win-
win situation. In working out the win-win sit-
uation, one party may decide to stress an
improvement in one term balanced by a con-
cession in another. In this regard, our most
favoured royalty provision with our Korean
licensees is a typical provision found in many
license agreements of this nature. It requires
that if the licensee elects to change to a roy-
alty provision found acceptable by another
company, it must maintain balance by accept-
ing the full set of terms and conditions that
were accepted by that company. It cannot
pick and choose among terms and conditions
from different licenses to assemble the best
of each, which would not be win-win. In this
case, if the Korean licensee accepts the lower
royalty rate in China, it must also accept pay-
ment of the higher royalty rate for sales out-
side of China, as well as commit to purchase
Qualcomm’s components. Because of the
large market outside of China that the
Korean licensees are benefiting from, some
or all may decide that their existing agree-
ments are more favourable and suited to
their needs, but that is a decision we of
course leave to them.
http://www.telecomtv.com/pdf/i121001.pdf.
UPDATE - NTT DoCoMo sees 25 mln 3G users in 2006
Thursday December 4, 2:39 am ET
TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - NTT DoCoMo Inc (Tokyo:9437.T - News), Japan's dominant wireless carrier, said on Thursday it expected users of its third-generation (3G) mobile phones to total 25 million in 2006, up from 1.3 million as of October this year.
"We expect our total users to be around 50 million in 2006 and half of them will be 3G users," NTT DoCoMo Chief Executive Keiji Tachikawa told a regular news conference.
The announcement came as DoCoMo faces stiff competition from its rivals, particularly KDDI Corp (Tokyo:9433.T - News), which has attracted more than 10 million 3G users with competitive pricing.
DoCoMo now plans to roll out a series of 3G handsets that are as slim and light as its standard second-generation models and offer roughly the same battery life.
Tachikawa also said DoCoMo, hoping to encourage the development of more attractive models, recommended that makers of its 3G handsets produce phones based on either the Linux or Symbian operating systems.
Linux software is free and can be copied or modified, unlike Microsoft Corp's (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) rival operating systems.
Japanese handset makers mostly use the home-grown TRON operating system, while Fujitsu Ltd (Tokyo:6702.T - News) and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd (Tokyo:6752.T - News) use an operating system from London-based Symbian Ltd on some of their handset models.
Analysts say new models may allow DoCoMo to grow its 3G business in 2004, but that the company may also need to cut fees to stay ahead of the game.
Still, DoCoMo's 45 million 2G users represent more than half of Japan's cellphone market and include many potential 3G subscribers.
DoCoMo launched the world's first 3G service in October 2001 but limited area coverage, bulky handsets and poor battery life discouraged consumers from signing up for the new service.
DoCoMo shares closed up 1.25 percent at 243,000 yen on Thursday, compared with a one-percent rise in the Nikkei average (^N225 - News).
While surfing, I found the following from a 28 Mar 2000 press release titled “QUALCOMM and Motorola Extend License Agreements and Settle Long-Running Patent Litigation over CDMA Wireless Phones”. It just shows that once the lawyers get involved things can get complicated.
.........................
The agreement ends three years of complex litigation comprising seven separate federal court cases alleging claims and counterclaims for patent infringement, trade dress infringement, breach of the parties'' license agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition. Each company is dismissing its claims and counterclaims against the other. No payments are being made in consideration for the dismissals. In addition, the parties have agreed to a three-year moratorium on patent infringement lawsuits with respect to CDMA subscriber products, network equipment, chipsets and test equipment.
http://www.qualcomm.com/press/pr/releases2000/press303.html
rmarchma and mschere: Thanks for your comments regarding the indemnification problem. Previously I was under the impression that there was some big conspiracy against IDCC, but now it now appears to more of a normal business practice. However, if the indemnification issue is really affecting the acceptance of licenses from IDCC, as corp buyer wrote (msg 50777) it would seem that some type of legal action should be initiated.
my3 sons: Although every dollar helps. I don't think RIMM will add significantly to the bottom line. According to latest Gartner report Rimm sales, while up substatially, only were 123,775 units during FY03 3rd quarter.
https://www3.gartner.com/5_about/press_releases/asset_53947_11.jsp
Jim: I have read comments about indemnification. Are there any references that talk about it?
teesee. I was laughing yesterday when I first read your idea and the related comments, but maybe you are on to something. While going over Nokia's annual report I noted the following:
Similarly, we or our customers may face claims of infringement in connection with our customers' use of our products and solutions. It is therefore more likely that we will be required to obtain additional licenses or that some of the components in these handsets will be protected by intellectual property rights of which we are unaware, potentially causing us to infringe the rights of others inadvertently.
While I don't think they were talking about individual users, there have been plenty of crazy lawsuits.
Reuters
KDDI's new EV-DO service hit by handset glitches
Monday December 1, 11:27 pm ET
TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - KDDI Corp (Tokyo:9433.T - News), Japan's second-largest telecoms operator, said on Tuesday it temporarily suspended sales of new handsets intended for an advanced third-generation (3G) service due to software glitches.
The announcement comes just four days after KDDI's au mobile phone unit launched a high-speed 3G service based on the CDMA2000 1x EV-DO format, developed by U.S. wireless technology company Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - News).
Users cannot activate game software that is downloaded after more than 6,000 data files such as e-mails are already stored in the handsets, a KDDI spokesman said.
As of Monday, the company had sold about 7,200 of the handsets, made by Hitachi Ltd (Tokyo:6501.T - News).
The company aims to resume sales of the new handsets on December 8, after the software problem is resolved.
KDDI has no estimate on the cost of the repair, but it will be covered by Hitachi, the KDDI spokesman said.
The EV-DO service offers data transmission speeds of up to 2.4 megabits per second, or six times as fast as rival NTT DoCoMo Inc's (Tokyo:9437.T - News) 3G service, which is based on the competing W-CDMA format and has a top speed of 384 kilobits per second.
Shares in KDDI were up 0.83 percent at 604,000 yen by mid-afternoon, while Hitachi rose 0.91 percent to 666 yen.
The key Nikkei average (^N225 - News) was up 0.62 percent.
Mschere. Just a random thought.
As luckyk57 highlighted in his msg 50536, the term that is used for the accrual is IPR Infringement. In their Business Overview. Section 4b, page 38, where they discuss Patents and Licenses, they again are specific about using the term infringement.
Since they do have a license from IDCC, the dispute is not about patent infringement, but about the amount of royalty payments due for use of the patents. While conservative accounting would call for an accrual, is it possible that they have not made an accrual?
On a separate item I noted that Ericsson is listed as one of their principal competitors. So it would seem that they would be a valid trigger point for the royalty payment.
I don't think they figured in any payment to us;
9:34AM Nokia: upward estimate revisions likely in 2004 - Bernstein 18.05 +0.07: Bernstein maintains their Outperform rating on NOK, saying upward revisions are likely in 2004; firm says consensus EPS expectations for Nokia in 2004 of Euro 0.81 project a decline in profit contribution its dominant handset biz, yet given the robust state of world-wide handset demand, a well-articulated strategy for increasing mkt share, and a matchless record of execution, firm believes Nokia's actual 2004 EPS could exceed consensus by as much as 25%, yielding upward revisions and dramatic share price appreciation given the stock's multiple of 18.5x for consensus 2004 earnings.
Nokia, Vimpelcom sign $70 mln GSM equipment deal
Monday December 1, 3:20 am ET
MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Finnish wireless telecoms equipment maker Nokia said on Monday Russia's second largest mobile operator Vimpelcom (NYSE:VIP - News) had agreed to buy $70 million worth of GSM standard network equipment with capabilities to handle faster EDGE and GPRS standard technologies.
Delivery is to begin immediately, Nokia said. "Under an extension of an existing framework agreement, Nokia will supply a complete GSM system with EDGE-capable base stations, GPRS, and GSM core network equipment. The agreement confirms Nokia as one of the strategic suppliers to Vimpelcom," Nokia said in a statement.
Sun Cellular ties up with Ericsson
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star 12/01/2003
Gokongwei-owned Sun Cellular has just entered into a partnership with Ericsson in a bid to further expand its cell site infrastructure and strengthen its nationwide network coverage, particularly in Visayas and Mindanao.
The expansion thrust is in line with Sun Cellular’s Phase IV infrastructure development as it increases its cell sites to more than 1,200 across the country to enable its subscribers with better nationwide coverage and clearer signal. Phase IV will overlap with Sun Cellular’s Phase III of infrastructure development that is ongoing until May 2004.
The turnkey agreement with Ericsson will provide for the supply, installation and commissioning of telecommunications equipment and solutions that will further enhance the quality of coverage and data delivery for Sun Cellular subscribers.
With Ericsson as its infrastructure partner for Phase IV, Sun Cellular will be enabled with the latest EDGE-ready solutions that will make the network ready for high quality data services to its customers to meet market demands, as well as build a solid foundation for Sun Cellular‚s fast development and smooth evolution to 3G networks in the future.
"We are pleased to have Ericsson as our infrastructure partner for this next phase of development," says Charles Lim, head of Sun Cellular. "We are confident that Ericsson‚s leading-edge technology and expertise will not only enable us to meet our goal of providing the highest quality service to our customers, but also will provide a sound platform for future expansion into EDGE and 3G services".
EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) is a standardized set of improvements to the GSM radio interface that brings higher data rates and increased spectral efficiency for data services. EDGE triples the capacity of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), allowing operators to deliver Mobile Internet services requiring higher capacity and data speeds using their existing infrastructure.
Examples of services that could be offered to users over EDGE include streamlining media, logistic-based applications and mobile office applications that could enrich users‚ everyday lifestyle and efficiency at work.
Sun Cellular is the mobile brand of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel). Construction of its wireless network started in 2001. The wireless network of Sun Cellular is a digital Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) network operating on the 1800 MHz frequency band and has access to a total of 15 MHz of frequency for its wireless service.