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High-speed dialing:LG scores biggest U.S. success with cell phones
By Allen Wan, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:18 PM ET March 25, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - While it produces everything from air conditioners to plasma TVs, LG Electronics' greatest success in the U.S. has been in the wireless-phone market.
In the third quarter of 2003, the Seoul-based company sold 8 million mobile phones in the U.S. It's built a 25 percent share of the market for "Code Division Multiple Access" phones - the dominant U.S. technology - in just five years.
Its phones carry a growing array of high-end features, including built-in MP3 players and camcorders, on-demand video and two-way mobile videoconferencing.
LG (LECLF: news, chart, profile) made inroads in a short time on the strength of its camera phones and through partnerships with Sprint PCS (PCS: news, chart, profile) and Verizon Wireless (VZ: news, chart, profile) -- the two biggest U.S. operators of CDMA networks.
"The U.S. handset market has incredible potential for growth and is ready to take huge steps forward in adopting advanced mobile technologies," Juno Cho said last month after taking the helm of LG Mobile Phones, a unit of LG Electronics.
For 2004, LG is aiming to sell over 36 million handsets, up from the 27.4 million in 2003. Last year, it ranked fifth in the world in the wireless phone market with a 5.2 percent share, trailing Nokia (NOK: news, chart, profile), Motorola (MOT: news, chart, profile), Samsung (SSNGY: news, chart, profile) and Siemens (SI: news, chart, profile), according to industry group IDC.
If camera phones take off in America like they have in Asia, LG will have a strong competitor in the VX 6000. Shaped like a clam, the handset is one of the lightest available at less than four ounces.
A noteworthy feature is a camera lens unobtrusively embedded in the top half of the shell. There's also a tiny mirror next to the lens, allowing owners with a vanity streak to take self portraits.
Pricing and technological progress could drive LG's success, said David Linsalata, associate analyst at technology research firm IDC.
Said Linsalata: "The price to include a camera continues to drop and faster networks are being rolled out and improved (upon) nationwide. These changes bring with them a clear opportunity."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&gui...
Four Picks In Wireless
03.25.04, 2:57 PM ET
Deutsche Bank increased its price target for Qualcomm (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ) to $80 from $70, citing "our more favorable outlook on 1xEV-DO [wireless] technology and Qualcomm's continued success with CDMA." Deutsche Bank urged investors to not "ignore the emerging wireless technologies." The research house said that capital spending on wireless technologies is "no longer on the back burner, and that deployments of EDGE and 1xEV-DO wireless technologies should accelerate as those technologies mature." In the wireless sector the research house reiterated "buy" ratings for Qualcomm, Andrew (nasdaq: ANDW - news - people ), Silicon Laboratories (nasdaq: SLAB - news - people ) and Tekelec (nasdaq: TKLC - news - people ). Deutsche Bank also repeated "hold" ratings for Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ), Powerwave Technologies (nasdaq: PWAV - news - people ), RF Micro Devices (nasdaq: RFMD - news - people ), Brightpoint (nasdaq: CELL - news - people ), Stratex Networks (nasdaq: STXN - news - people ) and Sirenza Microdevices (nasdaq: SMDI - news - people ).
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/03/25/0325automarketscan11.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=
The pmcw Report Adds Broadcom and Qualcomm to Its List of Investment Ideas
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2004--The pmcw Report (http://www.pmcwreport.net/), a financial newsletter published by twenty-year semiconductor veteran Paul McWilliams, announces updates to its investment ideas section. McWilliams was also named by SmartMoney as one of the thirty most influential people in investing.
Started in September 2002, the pmcw Report's model equity positions have returned a staggering 320%, well outdistancing the Nasdaq's 46% gain over the same period. Since January 1st, 2004, the report's equity positions have gained over 16.4%.
In this latest update, McWilliams notes why he is bullish long-term on chip makers like Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM). Over the past two weeks McWilliams has updated the investment ideas section with nearly fifteen ideas. His latest update also included some short-term cyclical semiconductor plays.
McWilliams said that investment ideas were "stocks that we haven't yet felt comfortable making a pmcw focus stock and adding to our model portfolio; but, we're familiar enough with the big picture and their markets to discuss our impression of the company and (in most cases) provide what we feel is a reasonable fair value target."
Past investment ideas have included familiar names such as Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), for a maximum gain of over 125%, and JDS-Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU), for a maximum gain of 90%.
McWilliams also recently posted his first quarter review of the semiconductor market providing opinions as to what investors should expect for the remainder of 2004. He provides readers with the insights he gained from discussing the current cycle with his many field contacts. Topics covered include:
-- Where does the industry stand in relation to the records set in 2000?
-- What do semiconductor cycles have in common?
-- How long do semiconductor cycles last?
-- Where does China fit in the world of semiconductors?
Technology investors can sign up for a free thirty-day trial to his service by clicking: http://www.pmcwreport.net/join.php3?refer=BW2.
About the pmcw Report
The pmcw Report is a newsletter managed by technology veteran Paul McWilliams and RagingBull.com founder Rusty Szurek. Members enjoy daily postings and a model portfolio.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/altavista/index.jsp?epi-content=GENERIC&newsId=20040325...
QCOM INTRODUCES NEW BROADCAST MEDIA FOR MOBILE PHONE CTIA WIRELESS IN ATLANTA GEORGIA
Wed March 24, 2004 17:10 PM ET
Qualcomm Inc. senior product manager Nick Glassman (L) and Rod Chandhok shows off a new media broadcast technology that allows mobile phones to view anywhere from five to twenty channels of TV-like content.
Qualcomm Inc. senior product manager Nick Glassman (L) and Rod Chandhok shows off a new media broadcast technology that allows mobile phones to view anywhere from five to twenty channels of TV-like content at the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) trade show in Atlanta, Georgia March 24, 2004. Qualcomm Inc. provides the technology behind most of the mobile phones in the United States and Asia and the cell phone users of MediaFLO contents will be able to choose channels for downloading such events as music videos, newscast summaries and even soap opera highlights. REUTERS/ Tami Chappell
http://www.reuters.com/newsSearchResultsHome.jhtml?query=qualcomm§ion=a&x=14&y=7
Leading Game Publishers and Developers Endorse QUALCOMM and ATI's New Wireless 3D Gaming Collaboration
- Bandai America, Criterion Software, Hudson Entertainment, JAMDAT Mobile,
Namco America, NCsoft, Sega, Sony Online Entertainment, Sony Pictures
Digital Networks, THQ Wireless and Walt Disney Internet Group Among
Initial Supporters of Agreement that Opens New Doors for BREW(TM) and
ATI Developer Communities -
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM) (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, and ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT) (Nasdaq: ATYT; Toronto), the global leader for mobile graphics, today announced significant publisher and developer support for their next generation wireless 3D gaming platform, announced earlier this week. Publishers and developers will be able to take advantage of revenue opportunities by creating 3D games for QUALCOMM's BREW solution and ATI's 3D graphics technology to enhance wireless content and bring their games to the next level.
As part of the collaboration announced earlier this week, QUALCOMM's industry-leading Mobile Station Modem(TM) (MSM(TM)) baseband solutions will be combined with ATI's highly optimized IMAGEON(TM) architecture to provide a fully featured, high-performance 3D gaming solution for 3G CDMA2000(R) and WCDMA devices. QUALCOMM will license the IMAGEON technology for its next-generation MSM7xxx(TM) family of chipsets, and will also enable ATI to interface IMAGEON ASICs to QUALCOMM's MSM6xxx(TM) chipsets -- providing device manufacturers using QUALCOMM's chipsets with a fully tested 3D multimedia hardware solution.
"The wireless realm represents an opportunity to expand and extend high- quality gaming experiences," said Tim Walsh, president of THQ Wireless. "The future of mobile gaming is in good hands with QUALCOMM and ATI teaming up to provide advanced 3D mobile entertainment solutions."
"Namco America is dedicated to bringing Namco content to the mobile market in North America. We have been extremely successful in developing wireless games with the BREW solution to date and that is one of the reasons why this announcement is so exciting," said Kenji Hisatsune, EVP & COO of Namco America Inc. "With ATI added to the mix and QUALCOMM's advancements on the chipset side, we now have access to some of the top business and technical solutions for wireless game development in a single unified offering. This is an important milestone for game publishers and developers."
"3D is a great advance for mobile content. It dramatically changes the mobile game experience and we commend QUALCOMM and ATI for bringing this solution to market," said Larry Shapiro, EVP of business development and operations, Walt Disney Internet Group.
"By integrating 3D gaming technology at the chipset level and offering the highest level of support to developers via the BREW system, QUALCOMM and ATI are raising the bar on wireless game development to new heights of innovation," said Matt Sivertson, director of international operations, Sony Online Entertainment. "We look forward to taking full advantage of this new technology to raise the standard of our mobile games, close to that of our popular console and PC games."
"The advent of accelerated graphics hardware in portable devices marks the beginning of a truly exciting time for gaming and graphical applications," said Peter Freese, core technology director, NCsoft. "It dramatically expands the market for graphical entertainment, personal and business applications."
"Sega was an early adopter of wireless gaming and has seen it become a great business," said Yuki Kobayashi, director of mobile, Sega of America. "We are pleased to see ATI bringing 3D graphic technology to this market as it will allow the market to mature on a worldwide basis."
"Leveraging 3D graphics has been a central pillar of Bandai's wireless gaming strategy to date, and this announcement allows us to continue on this path to create increasingly rich mobile games," said Masao Ohata, vice president of Network Entertainment for Bandai America Incorporated. "The combination of QUALCOMM's MSM chipsets, ATI's leading-edge graphics acceleration technology and the BREW system promises an exciting future for mobile gaming and entertainment."
"The announcement of ATI and QUALCOMM working together to advance 3D gaming technology at the hardware level is a very key event in the wireless gaming industry," said John Greiner, president, Hudson Entertainment. "This will rapidly accelerate the proliferation of 3D graphics and we're looking forward to evolving both our existing BREW titles to 3D as well as produce all new content."
"This is a significant announcement from a business and technology standpoint, as it will enable us to leverage our premium entertainment brands in an entirely new level of visual clarity across our wireless games portfolio," said Rio Caraeff, vice president of wireless services for Sony Pictures Digital Networks. "The BREW platform has been a very successful business for us, and this exciting announcement will enable this trend to continue with the development of higher quality 3D titles for consumers to enjoy."
"3D is one of the next frontiers for wireless game development and we are pleased that ATI's 3D technology is coming to QUALCOMM's BREW solution," said Mitch Lasky, CEO of global wireless publisher JAMDAT Mobile Inc.
"ATI's IMAGEON solution brings mobile gaming to a level at which the product of mainstream game development can be brought to the wireless consumer," said Lincoln Wallen, vice president of RenderWare Mobile for leading middleware supplier Criterion Software. "This collaboration between ATI and QUALCOMM will serve to excite the CDMA market and stimulate the demand for premium game content."
Demonstrations of BREW-based wireless games, leveraging ATI's 3D graphics capabilities, will be on display at the Game Developers Conference, March 22-26, 2004 in the ATI booth #827 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, Calif.
QUALCOMM's BREW system provides products and services that connect the mobile marketplace value chain, which includes application developers, publishers, content providers, device manufacturers, operators and consumers.
Publishers and developers worldwide are generating revenue from BREW-based applications and content, and 24 manufacturers have offered more than 120 BREW-enabled device models to consumers. BREW is successfully enabling the commercial wireless data services of many very successful operators, including Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL, Cellular One, MetroPCS, Midwest Wireless and U.S. Cellular in the United States, China Unicom, KDDI in Japan, KTF in South Korea, Hutch in Thailand, Telstra in Australia, VIVO in Brazil, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Chile, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Colombia, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Ecuador, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Guatemala, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Panama, BellSouth(NYSE:BLS) Peru, Telefonica Moviles in Peru, Movicom in Argentina, Telcel and Movilnet in Venezuela, Verizon Dominican Republic, Verizon WirelessPuerto Rico and Pelephone in Israel.
ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT) is the world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's foremost visual processor unit (VPU) provider. ATI is dedicated to delivering leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstations, set-top and digital televisions, game consoles and handheld device markets. With 2003 revenues in excess of US $1.3 billion, ATI has more than 2,200 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).
QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM) (www.qualcomm.com ) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2003 FORTUNE 500(R) company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the extent and speed to which the BREW solution is deployed and adopted, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2003, and most recent Form 10-Q.
QUALCOMM is a registered trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM) . BREW, Mobile Station Modem, MSM, MSM6xxx and MSM7xxx are trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM) . IMAGEON is a trademark of ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT) ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT) CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA USA). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For further information, contact: Michele Bakic, QUALCOMM Internet Services, +1-858-651-4017, mbakic@qualcomm.com, or Emily Gin, Corporate Public Relations, +1-858-651-4084, publicrelations@qualcomm.com, or Bill Davidson, Investor Relations, +1-858-658-4813, ir@qualcomm.com, all of QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM) ; or Chris Evenden, Director Public Relations, +1-416-509-0890, cevenden@ati.com, or Janet Craig, Director Investor Relations, +1-416-997-9006, janet@ati.com, both of ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT)
SOURCE QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM)
; ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT)
-0- 03/25/2004
/CONTACT: Michele Bakic, QUALCOMM Internet Services, +1-858-651-4017,
mbakic@qualcomm.com, Emily Gin, Corporate Public Relations, +1-858-651-4084,
publicrelations@qualcomm.com, Bill Davidson, Investor Relations,
+1-858-658-4813, ir@qualcomm.com, all of QUALCOMM, or Chris Evenden, Director
Public Relations, +1-416-509-0890, cevenden@ati.com, Janet Craig, Director
Investor Relations, +1-416-997-9006, janet@ati.com, both of ATI Technologies
Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT)
/
/Web site: http://www.qualcomm.com /
(QCOM ATYT ATYT.)
CO: QUALCOMM Incorporated(NASDAQ-NMS:QCOM)
; ATI Technologies Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ATYT)
ST: California
IN: CPR STW MLM CSE HRD TLS ENT
SU: TDS
TU-AJ
-- LATH011 --
5446 03/25/200407:30 ESThttp://www.prnewswire.com
http://www.nasdaq.com//asp/quotes_news.asp?logopath=http%3a%2f%2fcontent.nasdaq.com%2flogos%2fQCOM.G...
DR, Yes, I have the same problem. I have tried many times at no avail.
China Unicom's Profit Probably Rose 9%, Poll Shows (Update1)
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- China Unicom Ltd., the smaller of the two mobile-phone operators in the world's largest wireless market, probably boosted 2003 profit by 9 percent after buying provincial networks and clients from its parent to boost sales.
Net income rose to 5 billion yuan ($604 million) from 4.6 billion yuan in 2002, according to the median estimate of seven analysts polled by Bloomberg. Sales probably jumped by 67 percent to 68 billion yuan.
Profit growth slowed from an annual 75 percent in the previous three years after Unicom gave away handsets to add users to its code division multiple access service and took charges on an unprofitable paging unit. Unicom sold the unit to state-owned parent China United Telecommunications Corp. in November in exchange for provincial cellular networks and said it would cut subsidies to help the two-year-old CDMA service post a profit.
``They need to show a big operating profit from CDMA for the fourth quarter to offset losses recorded earlier in the year.'' said Kelvin Ho, an analyst at Nomura International (H.K.) Ltd., who has a ``reduce'' rating on the stock.
Hong Kong-based Unicom posts earnings today after local markets close.
The CDMA service, based on technology developed by Qualcomm Inc., posted a 570 million yuan pretax loss for the first nine months of 2003. Unicom added 10.7 million CDMA customers last year, failing to meet its target for 11.4 million new users amid intensifying price competition with China Mobile (H.K.) Ltd.
21 Provinces
Unicom had 80.8 million customers at the end of 2003 in the 21 provinces it served, or about a third of China's mobile market. The company's users rose to 95 million by the end of February, including subscribers in nine networks Unicom bought from China United Telecommunications in November, giving it almost nationwide coverage.
About 75 million of Unicom's customers use the global system for mobile communications service, based on China's dominant mobile standard. Unicom also sells long-distance and Internet services.
Unicom shares have risen 13 percent this year, outperforming a 0.1 percent gain by the benchmark Hang Seng Index, as investors bet the CDMA service will improve profit this year. The stock fell 1.2 percent to HK$8.20 at 10:34 a.m. in Hong Kong.
Unicom's average revenue per user, a measure of the size of customers' monthly phone bill, probably dropped 18 percent last year to 57 yuan for its older GSM service, Ada Ho, a Bear Stearns & Co. Hong Kong-based analyst, estimates. That's about half of China Mobile's customers, who are all GSM users, and about a 10th of users at NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's largest cellular carrier.
Unicom has said it will take a year-end charge of as much as 480 million yuan from the sale of its paging unit to China United Telecommunications. That will add to a one-time loss of 528 million yuan booked in the first half to reflect the falling value of the paging unit. More Chinese people are disconnecting their pagers to switch to mobile phones as prices of cellular service drop.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kenneth Wong in Hong Kong
at Kwong11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor of this story:
Charles Bickers in Tokyo at cbickers@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 24, 2004 22:03 EST
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a09FPWM40YHQ&refer=asia
Wireless industry poised to deliver long-awaited, next-generation services
By Jennifer Davies
UNION-TRIBUNE UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 25, 2004
TAMI CHAPPELL / Reuters
A model at this year's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association trade show demonstrated how wireless Internet technology could be incorporated into fashion.
ATLANTA – Is this a defining moment for the wireless industry or just more of the same?
That was the discussion at this year's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association trade show in Atlanta.
Amid optimistic talk of a rebound in revenue and demand, companies displayed plenty of cool phones and gee-whiz applications. Megapixel camera phones, phones that record and display video, 3-D and interactive games, and high-resolution color screens were in booth after booth.
But all these next-generation devices have been hinted at or promised for years.
"There's not a whole heck of a lot of new, earth-shattering stuff out there," said Michael King, a wireless industry analyst for the Gartner Group.
Yet William Plummer, vice president of strategic and external affairs for Nokia, said there's a difference this year: The wireless industry is finally poised to deliver the much-hyped next-generation services.
"We are there. The promise is being realized today," he said. "Be impressed with this moment in time."
In the past, wireless networks weren't able to transmit high-speed data applications like downloading a video clip, and the phones lacked memory and a user-friendly design to take advantage of applications like 3-D gaming. Also, there were few compelling reasons to spend the extra cash to buy a high-tech phone and the necessary service.
Now, Plummer said, the missing pieces are being put into place.
ERIK S. LESSER / Getty Images
On display at the Atlanta trade show were new phones, cameras and wireless game devices, including Nokia's N Gage.
Most of the major wireless phone companies have announced their intentions to launch super-fast wireless networks. Verizon Wireless, which has been offering its wireless high-speed Internet service in San Diego and Washington, D.C., for several months, this week reaffirmed plans to expand that service throughout its network over the next two years. By the end of 2004, Verizon Wireless plans to install the high-speed data technology on one-third of its network, which would cover about 75 million consumers. Verizon's wireless Internet service offers speed comparable to cable modems and DSL technology, and is based on Qualcomm's patented wireless standard.
Other cell-phone companies would have to respond, said Steve Searles, vice president of sales and marketing for Nortel Networks, one of the companies that will supply Verizon with the equipment for the super-fast wireless network.
"What's happened is that Verizon has this big bandwagon and everybody has to jump on it," Searles said. "If you don't, you'll be left behind."
AT&T Wireless, which is being acquired by Cingular, also said it plans to launch its version of high-speed wireless Internet service in four markets by the end of the year.
Rod Nelson, chief technology officer for AT&T Wireless, said two of those markets would be Seattle and San Francisco. While San Diego and Dallas had previously been mentioned as the other two, Nelson said AT&T Wireless had not decided where else it would offer the service initially.
Bloomberg News
John William Stanton, chairman of T-Mobile USA, denied widespread reports that the wireless industry had a down period.
For now, Verizon and AT&T services focus on providing wireless Internet access to laptops. But cell phones are beginning to be offered that can also use the high-speed service.
LG Infocomm, a Korean mobile-phone maker that has its North American headquarters in San Diego, introduced its VX8000 phone that will work on Verizon's souped-up wireless network and is equipped with a digital camera and video recorder and a ton of other bells and whistles.
Curtis Wick, LG's director of testing and technical support, said everybody has been talking about all the futuristic services known as third-generation, or 3G, technology for too long.
"Everybody has been saying '3G' for the last three years," Wick said. "Now you are starting to see it put to use."
But the real question is what the average consumer will use these services for. Paul Jacobs, president of Qualcomm's wireless and Internet division, said multimedia was the service that would spur demand.
The company announced several initiatives to offer multimedia, including its own technology that would allow subscribers to watch short TV segments on their wireless devices while not overburdening the cellular networks.
"Voice is the first killer app, and multimedia is the next big driver," he said.
Wireless executives say that even though next-generation services are only now emerging, the industry has been doing just fine.
John Stanton, the head of T-Mobile, said the past gloom-and-doom media coverage didn't accurately reflect the industry's performance. There was a "misconception that the industry had a down period," Stanton said.
Denny Strigl, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, concurred, adding, "It's seldom that I agree with my friend here."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040325-9999-news_1b25wireless.html
QCOM expect to deliver 32 million chips this quarter, already half of what it delivered for all of 2002.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&refer=top_world_news&sid=an_KsFbWMkaE
U.S. Economy: Durable Goods Orders, Home Sales Rise (Update4)
Excerpt from above:
<<Qualcomm Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of wireless-telephone chips, has had trouble with chip supplies because of rising demand, Irwin Jacobs, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in an interview yesterday.
``The supply issue has worsened, because demand has been great,'' Jacobs said. ``We have been getting the same amount of chips, but demand has increased.'' The company said it expects to deliver 32 million chips this quarter, already half of what it delivered for all of 2002.>>
Cellular Execs Say Go Slow on High-Speed Wireless
Wed Mar 24, 2004 02:03 PM ET
By Justin Hyde
ATLANTA (Reuters) - U.S. wireless companies are wary of pouring billions of dollars into faster networks to accommodate high-speed data, noting that it may be years before consumers widely adopt the technology.
High-speed wireless data technology claimed much of the limelight at this year's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association industry show here, but executives want more time to evaluate the technology and wait for more advanced consumer devices, such as phones that can send and receive video clips.
High-speed wireless data "is here, it's here to stay and it's going to be a big part of our business," Tim Donahue, Nextel Communications (NXTL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) president and CEO said during a panel discussion on Wednesday.
But with the telecom spending boom and bust of the past few years in mind, several cellular companies say they want a clear picture of the high-speed business before they resume spending.
"We're trying not to have a short-term memory lapse and remember where we came from and have a viable business case," Sprint Corp. (PCS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (FON.N: Quote, Profile, Research) President and Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer said in a panel at the CTIA show on Tuesday.
After several false starts, high-speed wireless data appears poised to take off for two reasons. One is that the wireless industry has settled on a few network standards that can make wireless links competitive with wired high-speed services.
The second is that while the U.S. cellular market as a whole is still growing, competition has begun to push down prices for its bedrock voice service. To avoid the fate of the traditional phone business, where declining revenues are a fact of life, cell phone companies need another tool to keep customers' wallets open.
LAPTOP VS. HANDHELD
Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. cellular company, has unveiled plans to spend about $1 billion to roll out a high-speed data service over about 30 percent of its network by the end of the year.
That service, known as EV-DO, will be aimed mostly at business laptop users whose companies are willing to pay about $80 a month per user for Internet access speeds that can average 500 megabits per second or more.
Sprint's Lauer said in an interview that his company will spend $1 billion in 2005 to upgrade its network for high-speed data. But it does not expect much consumer demand until as late as 2006, when device manufacturers catch up.
From our view, you can't get a return just going after the business market," Lauer said. "You've got to get the handsets and the PDAs."
Other than Verizon, many cellular companies have not publicly committed to a high-speed technology for strategic reasons. Sprint seems to favor a variation of the technology Verizon is using, called EV-DV, that allows higher data rates for uploads from customers -- essential for swapping files like video clips.
Nextel garnered much attention at the show with its test of a different technology from Flarion Technologies, a spin-off of Lucent Technologies.(LU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) The Flarion wireless network can provide download speeds of about 1.5 megabits per second, with bursts up to 3 megabits -- comparable to home cable Internet connections.
In a meeting with analysts on Tuesday, Nextel's chief technology officer, Barry West, did not commit Nextel to using Flarion's technology or say when Nextel would roll out a high-speed data service.
But he did say the testing around Raleigh, North Carolina, was "more than a technical trial," and that a full roll-out of high-speed wireless would cost Nextel roughly $2 billion.
West said Nextel was still considering other technologies, and that he had not found a network that would let Nextel serve high-speed data for prices similar to DSL or cable.
The $80 per user Verizon is charging "is hard to sustain," West said in a panel discussion. "I think the real competition is down at the level of cable or DSL, with a premium for mobility."
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=4649594
EV-DO Hits Alaska
03.24.04
ATLANTA -- Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (ACS) [NASDAQ: ALSK] announced today that it plans to launch Alaska’s first commercially available 3G wireless data network. This network will significantly increase ACS’s network capacity, and position ACS to deliver advanced data services like Web browsing and video and audio streaming to end-users over high-speed wireless connectivity as an alternate broadband access medium.
The CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network will be powered by Nortel Networks* [NYSE/TSX: NT] CDMA core and access technology, giving ACS wireless subscribers an experience of high-speed broadband access.
“We are thrilled to be on the forefront with this next generation wireless technology for voice and data,” said Sheldon Fisher, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Alaska Communications Systems Group. “By combining the CDMA technology in to our existing asset mix of voice, Internet, entertainment and long distance, we are well positioned to play the leading role in the converged world of wireline and wireless services.”
Nortel Networks is providing ACS with a complete solution – including radio, switching and core infrastructure equipment – for what is expected to be Alaska’s first network to use the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO wireless standard. 1xEV-DO coverage will include Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau and other communities throughout Alaska. Anticipated commercial launch is May 2004.
“Nortel Networks congratulates ACS for its leadership in delivering CDMA 1xEV-DO technology across the state of Alaska,” said Steve Searles, vice president, CDMA/TDMA marketing, Nortel Networks. “Because Nortel Networks continues to innovate, 1xEV-DO is gaining momentum and is proving to be a viable solution for operators of varying sizes in regions throughout the world.”
Nortel Networks Corp.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=49881
March 24, 2004 :Sprint Sticking with Own 3G Path
By Erin Joyce
ATLANTA -- Now that Verizon Wireless has pledged another $1 billion to expand its 3G data services based on its CDMA (define) 1xEV-DO (evolution data only) technology, will other carriers be goosed into spending big bucks for "true" 3G upgrades?
Not Sprint. (Quote, Chart) Company officials told internetnews.com it is sticking with its plan to upgrade its 3G network to the EVDV (evolution data voice) standard, which will deliver data at 1.5 megabits per second.
"We're looking at a two to three year rollout," said Tom Shaughnessy, Sprint's director of enterprise marketing. "If we start to go down the EVDO path, it's just a band aid, when what we're trying to do is get to EVDV," which is Sprint's version of its voice-only data network upgrade, Shaughnessy said.
Verizon said its 1xEV-DO technology now boasts data transmission speeds of up to 300 kilobits per second, with bursts of up to two megabits per second means a major improvement in speed.
Tom Stone, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless, said his company is overlaying its EV-DO network on its existing 1XRT (define) data network that preceded Verizon's EV-DO buildout. In all, that means its 3G footprint will eventually spread to 200 million, officials said, as it rolls out the service nationally beyond trials in San Diego and Washington, D.C. last fall.
"The biggest thing about this announcement is that it's the first true 3G offering in the U.S.," Stone said. "I think it will be some time before you see competing 3G offerings on the same scale as what you're seeing here."
And as for how the service competes with Wi-Fi? Stone said the service offers much more ubiquity. "I can go anywhere in downtown Atlanta and I've got coverage."
If there is one area in which Sprint is sticking by its plans, it is in joining the chorus with Verizon to claim that its CDMA version of 3G is as good as, if not better, than the GSM version of 3G, known as the EDGE data networking standard.
"EDGE is just a band aid to get to UMTS (GSM's version of 3G, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, is slated to deliver data at 2 Mb per second), Sprint's Shaughnessy added. "EDGE isn't backwards compatible with GPRS, which isn't backwards compatible with GSM. You need constant upgrades and swapouts," he said.
But Chris Pearson, president of 3G Americas, a lobbying organization for GSM-standard carriers, said EDGE is backwards compatible to GSM. "If you're outside an EDGE device, you default down to GPRS (define)," he said.
"EDGE reaches 220 million POPs in the US. Additionally, Cingular has launched EDGE in 10 major markets. We're really hitting the 3G sweet spot, which is a key enabler for enterprise and consumer applications of 110 and 130 kilobits per second."
http://www.internetnews.com/wireless/article.php/3330521
Motorola Sees Opportunities in the 'Space Between'
March 23, 2004
By Erin Joyce
ATLANTA -- The next big opportunity for the mobile computing industry involves the work of bridging gaps between a growing universe of networked devices, the CEO of chip and cellular giant Motorola (Quote, Chart) said Tuesday.
Without those connections, the concept of seamless mobility won't be fully realized, Ed Zander told a keynote audience at the CTIA Wireless 2004 show here Tuesday.
"One of the challenges that we have as manufacturers and suppliers of technology is how we make these networks seamless, how we take the concept of mesh (define) and ad hoc [networks] and make them converge" with cellular-based networks, Zander said.
Zander's comments came on the heels of Motorola's release of a phone built to target the compatible-networks issue. Dubbed by Motorola as "one world" phone, the A840 model works on both the CDMA (define) cellular protocol and GSM (define) standard for what Motorola called "worry-free global roaming."
The company said the A840 lets users be almost anywhere in the world and be able to segue seamlessly from CDMA to GSM without interruption. The handset is among the first handsets on the market that can offer what Motorola calls seamless mobility.
But the work of filling the gaps between incompatible networks is just getting started, and needs to be a focus in order to fulfill a vision of computing devices that can do more than talk to people, but can talk to other devices. "The opportunities are enormous, with security, medicine, telemetry," Zander said.
The former president of Sun Microsystems (Quote, Chart), who has been on the job as Motorola's CEO for about 2 and a half months, was brought in as part of the company's turnaround plans. The 56-year-old is leading Motorola at a time when the company has slipped to third in handset revenues behind Nokia and Samsung Electronics.
Among the company's initiatives, he said, is an added emphasis of how to target the spaces between mobile devices.
"It's OK to talk about how many cell phones are in the home, or in the enterprise, but really the big challenge is how we move seamlessly between these spaces with the same devices and experience those unique technologies."
With that in mind, Zander said Motorola is placing its tech bets in four areas, starting with what he called alternative networks that bridge the worlds of wireless networking with cellular technology.
The second area, he said, is devices embedded with smart processors, such as the use of smart dust in wireless sensors. The third is the "everything everywhere" concept of content moving through a number of devices without running into compatibility. The fourth pillar, he continued, is to design software stacks that enable these concepts.
Zander gave some examples of the concepts in action, in addition to the A840 world phone handset announcement. They included a new alliance with mobile e-mail application player Good Technology, in which the company's GoodLink wireless messaging and corporate data access system is to be deployed on Motorola's new MPx mobile handset.
The deal means that Motorola's newest converged handheld device, based on its MOTOPro Innovation Platform, Windows Mobile software for Pocket PCs, and the GoodLink system, are offering enterprise customers a secure system that enables wider access to Outlook connectivity and to other business applications.
Motorola also said it has chosen chipmaker NVIDIA's (Quote, Chart) GoForce 4000 processor for its new 3G mobile phones. The processor is built for delivering imaging and video processing for 3G phones. It also serves as a development environment for building new applications for multi-media phones.
The chips are helping support phones that can play extended MP3 music files, as well as MPEG4 videos.
"Think of it as a micro-tv-video-ipod," Zander said Tuesday. Devices such as those help signal where convergence is going, he added. But for now, the work of stitching compatibility among networks is underway, at the same time the world is seeing exponential increases of "everything that has a digital heartbeat being connected to the digital network."
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/erp/article.php/3329981
Alcatel Mulls Chinese Move
03.24.04
Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA - message board; Paris: CGEP:PA) is reported to be in partnership talks with an unidentified Chinese vendor over plans to jointly develop 3G infrastructure equipment based on Time-Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA, wot else?) technology.
Developed by the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Technology, TD-SCDMA has been approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and combines older Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) with Time-Division Duplexing (TDD) techniques of broadcasting over a single chunk of spectrum, rather than the normal two bands (see TD-SCDMA Forum Joins 3GPP).
The Chinese government has been eagerly touting the benefits of this new technology over established rival 3G standards such as Wideband-CDMA and CDMA2000 (see W-CDMA: China's No. 1 Son? and Chinese 3G: Open to All?).
To date, all six carriers trialing third-generation networks in the region have tested the nascent TD-SCDMA flavor -- China Mobile Communications Corp., China Netcom Corp. Ltd., China Telecommunications Corp. (NYSE: CHA - message board), China Unicom Ltd., China Satellite Communications Corp. (China Satcom), and China Railcom Co. Ltd. -- and the technology is expected to feature in the award of 3G licenses next year (see Global Vendors to Rule China? and Chinese 3G Faces Further Delay).
According to a China Daily report, Alcatel is in contact with a “Chinese company” for the production of TD-SCDMA kit.
Alcatel president and CEO Philippe Germond is quoted in the story as saying, “There will be partnership with a Chinese company and the discussion is ongoing. We see China as a strategically important market for our global growth.”
Any such move would follow in the footsteps of rival vendors. Last August, Siemens AG (NYSE: SI - message board; Frankfurt: SIE) announced a tie-in with local player Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in an effort to promote the homegrown Chinese standard; and Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT - message board) has teamed with Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. Ltd. (see Siemens, Huawei Start 3G JV and Nortel, Datang Open 3G Lab).
Alcatel has already been busy tapping market demand for 3G services, investing heavily in Chinese R&D through its 3G Reality Centre in Shanghai (see Alcatel Boosts China R&D). A tie-up with a domestic vendor would further increase its market presence.
“It is important for Alcatel to work with local partners because they have the knowledge and expertise of this technology,” says IDC senior analyst Paolo Pescatore. “As a global player, Alcatel can’t go it alone.”
Alcatel had not responded to calls by press time.
— Justin Springham, Senior Editor, Europe, Unstrung
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=49919
Qualcomm's Jacobs Says Chip Demand Outpaces Supply (Update2)
March 24, 2004 10:51 EST -- Qualcomm Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of mobile-telephone microchips, is racing to meet rising demand for its chips, Chief Executive Officer Irwin Jacobs said.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conews&tkr=QCOM:US
MSN and QUALCOMM Introduce MSN Mobile Services
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 04:04 PM PST
Solution Enables Popular MSN Hotmail and MSN Messenger Services on the Go
MSN, a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers, and QUALCOMM Incorporated, pioneer and world leader of Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced MSN(R) Mobile services enabled with QUALCOMM's BREW(TM) solution. MSN Mobile services for the BREW solution will enable consumers to access MSN Hotmail(R) and MSN Messenger services in a rich and familiar way via select mobile handsets.
"The MSN goal is to enable customers to access the people and information that matter most anytime, anyplace. To do this, we're working to deliver a great consumer experience by providing rich and familiar MSN Mobile services," said Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president of MSN Communications Platforms at Microsoft Corp. "By working with QUALCOMM and its BREW solution, we've been able to develop advanced MSN Mobile services that can easily be ported to a range of handsets, enabling us to potentially introduce more and more people to rich MSN Mobile services."
"QUALCOMM is thrilled to team with an established, leading communications provider such as MSN. This collaboration further validates the BREW system as a great choice for companies to offer their branded content to operators around the world," said Gina Lombardi, senior vice president of marketing and product management for QUALCOMM Internet Services. "It has been wonderful working with the MSN team on these exciting wireless initiatives. MSN Mobile services for BREW is an exciting new application that we expect will benefit existing MSN subscribers as well as attract new users."
Today, there are more than 170 million active MSN Hotmail and 120 million MSN Messenger customers worldwide. Mobile operators that deploy MSN Mobile services for BREW could tap into this existing customer base to deliver mobile Web services such as these:
-- MSN Hotmail. MSN Hotmail for MSN Mobile enables consumers to access
their inbox online and offline and receive personalized alerts for
designated e-mail messages.
-- MSN Messenger. MSN Messenger for MSN Mobile enables consumers to remain
visible online to their contacts even without an active data
connection, receive alerts on their handset when their contacts want to
communicate via instant messaging, and carry on simultaneous or
multiparty conversations concurrently.
QUALCOMM's BREW system provides products and services that connect the mobile marketplace value chain, which includes application developers, publishers, content providers, device manufacturers, operators and consumers.
Publishers and developers worldwide are generating revenue from BREW-based applications and content, and 24 manufacturers have offered more than 120 BREW-enabled device models to consumers. BREW is successfully enabling the commercial wireless data services of many successful operators, including Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL, Cellular One, MetroPCS, Midwest Wireless and U.S. Cellular in the United States; China Unicom; KDDI in Japan; KTF in South Korea; Hutchison Wireless CAT in Thailand; Telstra in Australia; VIVO in Brazil; BellSouth Chile, BellSouth Colombia, BellSouth Ecuador, BellSouth Panama and BellSouth Peru; Movicom in Argentina; Telcel in Venezuela; Verizon in the Dominican Republic; Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico; and Pelephone in Israel.
http://www.thetsector.com/displayarticle7322.html?POSTNUKESID=561fac6a4d5f9ee7b72e4c35b580e545
Qualcomm grows up
http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/23/technology/techinvestor/lamonica/index.htm
Everybody's favorite speculative stock in '99 is now a solidly growing (and dividend-paying!) tech.
March 23, 2004: 2:25 PM EST
By Paul R. La Monica, CNN/Money senior writer
Sign up for the Tech Biz e-mail newsletter
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Mighty Q is back.
Qualcomm, a Wall Street darling at the height of the tech bubble, late last month issued extremely bullish guidance for its fiscal second quarter. And shares have enjoyed a solid run this year, up nearly 16 percent.
There appears to be more upside ahead.
Qualcomm (QCOM: Research, Estimates) has a few things working in its favor right now, most notably the arrival of so-called third generation or 3G wireless services, like video and audio files.
That should drive demand for cell phones -- and for Qualcomm's chipsets used in phones that run on the code division multiple access (CDMA) standard.
There are other standards, most notably GSM, which is used by AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile, as well as most European cell phone carriers.
But CDMA is gaining in popularity in Asian markets, and in the United States, Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS have adopted it. "People are recognizing there is viability in multimedia. CDMA affords higher bandwidth for delivery of new broadband services," said Michael Davies, managing director with Investec.
On a roll
At this week's widely watched CTIA wireless trade show in Atlanta, Qualcomm was featured prominently in some noteworthy developments.
Nextel, known for its push-to-talk walkie-talkie like service, said it would be testing phones using Qualcomm technology known as QChat. This could help make Nextel's push-to-talk feature more compatible with phones running on CDMA networks.
Qualcomm also forged a deal with graphics chip company ATI Technologies, which could lead to more advanced video games on phones and other wireless devices.
Finally, Qualcomm and Real Networks announced that Qualcomm chipsets available in the second quarter of this year will allow customers to play and stream RealAudio and RealVideo media files on wireless devices.
Add all this up and you have a scenario where consumers are expected to upgrade cell phones much more quickly than they have in the past, said Greg Gorbatenko, an analyst with Marquis Investment Research. That translates to more revenue for Qualcomm.
"Qualcomm is sitting pretty," said Gorbatenko. "It has the best technology in a growing industry and handsets are taking off like crazy."
The company even could benefit if GSM phones do well. Qualcomm has patents on many CDMA-related technologies and it receives license royalties from companies using a technology known as wideband-CDMA (WCDMA) in more advanced GSM phones.
"Qualcomm is collecting profitably on intellectual property," said Kenneth Leon, an equity analyst with Standard & Poor's.
Is the stock still attractive?
Here's a quandary, however. Qualcomm trades at 36 times estimates for this fiscal year. Is that too pricey? After all, when I cited Qualcomm as a tech bargain in a column last May, it was trading at just 22 times forward earnings. The stock has since doubled, from $30 to more than $60.
But why quibble? Qualcomm may no longer be "cheap" but I think it deserves a premium because of its market position.
Plus, earnings are expected to increase 23 percent this year. And if anything, estimates might be too low now since Qualcomm should face some relatively easy comparisons in its next few quarters, according to Leon. That's because at this time last year, Qualcomm and other wireless components companies were faced with a cell phone inventory glut in China. The SARS outbreak exacerbated the problem.
Qualcomm has come a long way from being the quintessential poster child for irrational exuberance in tech stock investing. Remember 1999, when shares of Qualcomm surged 2,619 percent? The $1000 price target?
Well, the company never reached $1000 ($250 post-split) but Qualcomm is now a stable company that continued to innovate during the downturn. The company has done a much better job than others of emerging from the tech quagmire.
(In case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to see how many Q words my editor will let me get away with in this piece. By the way, aren't quesadillas quite tasty?)
What's more, the company pays a dividend now. It even increased it by 43 percent last month.
Sure, the yield is still relatively tiny, at about 0.6 percent. But Qualcomm has about $5.9 billion in cash and investments and just $117 million in long-term debt. So further dividend increases are not out of the question.
So here's one more Q word I'd use to sum up Qualcomm: quality.
Analysts quoted (another Q word!) in this piece do not own shares of Qualcomm and their firms have no investment banking relationships with the company.
Qualcomm backs advanced wireless services
By Jennifer Davies
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 23, 2004
ATLANTA – Qualcomm is making a big bet that wireless multimedia applications are going to be in demand.
The San Diego wireless technology company announced three initiatives yesterday that will help deliver three-dimensional games, as well as video to cell phones at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association trade show.
Paul Jacobs, president of Qualcomm's wireless and Internet group, said the company has created a way to deliver video that doesn't overburden cell phone networks and doesn't force consumers to deal with delays or buffering issues.
Called MediaFLO, the technology allows wireless phone companies to send video in hours when their networks aren't busy. The video is then stored on a consumer's cell phone, with the subscriber choosing when to watch it.
Qualcomm said it is targeting wireless phone companies that use its application download technology called BREW to deploy MediaFLO.
Qualcomm also said it is teaming up with ATI Technologies to offer three-dimensional games on cell phones by including ATI's architecture on the wireless chips that Qualcomm makes.
ATI designs and manufactures 3-D graphics for a variety of devices, including computers, digital televisions and handhelds. The company had revenue of more than $1.3 billion in 2003.
Financial terms of the deal between ATI and Qualcomm were not disclosed.
Qualcomm also said it is licensing RealNetworks' technology to offer audio and video on cell phones.
Sanjay Jha, president of Qualcomm's wireless chip division, said the company is focusing on multimedia because it is what will drive demand for wireless devices.
As proof of demand for next-generation applications, Qualcomm announced that its BREW technology had reached the milestone of 150 million downloads. BREW, which is offered by several cellular companies, including Verizon Wireless, allows customers to download games, ring tones and applications like MapQuest to their phones.
The success of BREW is due to the fact that it benefits both developers and wireless carriers, he said.
"Everybody is making money," Jacobs said. "Developers are making money. The carriers are making money. And, yes, even Qualcomm is making money."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/20040323-9999-news_1b23qcom.html
S. Korea's Telson in Talks to Ship Mobile Wrist Phones to India
SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Telson Electronics Co. said on Tuesday it has been in talks with India's biggest cell-phone company Reliance Infocomm Ltd. to export its cell phones that can be worn around the wrist.
The move is the second step in a push by the Seoul-based company to supply the TWC 1150 phone, using an advanced version of Qualcomm's code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, to the Indian market
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20040323/300500000020040323171244E6.html
BREW(TM)-Based Application Downloads Now Exceed 100 Million
Monday, March 22, 2004 - 03:16 PM PST
Massive Expansion of the BREW Global Marketplace Enables Application Downloads to Double in Six Months
QUALCOMM Incorporated today announced that wireless subscribers have securely downloaded more than 100 million BREW- based applications since BREW-enabled products and services became commercially available more than two years ago. This achievement marks ongoing momentum for the BREW system within the rapidly expanding global wireless industry as 25 operators in 18 countries have launched commercial BREW-based services. Application downloads have doubled in six months and operators, publishers, developers and device manufacturers continue to realize growing revenues for wireless applications and services.
The power of the BREW solution enables publishers and developers to develop, deploy and monetize compelling, advanced mobile content including business applications, location-based services and video as well as multiplayer and 3D games. The openness and flexibility of the BREW solution also allows operators and device manufacturers to customize their devices with advanced content including user interfaces (UI), multimedia messaging services (MMS), Web browsers, media players and Java Virtual Machines (JVMs). Using the BREW system, operators and device manufacturers have also delivered an intuitive shopping experience to consumers -- a critical element to generating downloads and maintaining a cost-effective service.
"It is an exciting time to be in the wireless data business, as we witness record growth in terms of BREW-based application downloads," said Peggy Johnson, president of QUALCOMM Internet Services. "We have more than doubled our number of downloads in less than six months time -- a phenomenal achievement that could not have been accomplished were it not for the superior caliber and joint efforts of the key companies throughout the mobile marketplace value chain, from operators and device manufacturers to new and existing publishers and developers."
"Our company has seen substantial download and revenue growth as we have expanded to serve mobile operators around the world. The BREW solution has directly contributed to this growth as the platform allows us to quickly deploy our applications to new markets," said Mitch Lasky, CEO of JAMDAT Mobile. "In fact, on a monthly basis, we are now generating more than $1 million in revenue worldwide from our BREW-based applications -- tangible results that demonstrate the value of the BREW system for operators, publishers and developers globally."
"The success of QUALCOMM's BREW solution illustrates that consumers have a rapidly growing appetite for entertainment and information on their mobile phones," said Adam Zawel, director of the Wireless/Mobile Enterprise Strategies & Commerce Group at the Yankee Group. "The BREW ecosystem reduces the friction in the premium content marketplace. Content providers see in the BREW solution a one-stop shop for testing, distributing and billing. End users discover an intuitive environment for trying and buying wireless data services."
QUALCOMM's BREW system provides products and services that connect the mobile marketplace value chain, which includes application developers, publishers, content providers, device manufacturers, operators and consumers.
Publishers and developers worldwide are generating revenue from BREW-based applications and content, and 24 manufacturers have offered more than 120 BREW-enabled device models to consumers. BREW is successfully enabling the commercial wireless data services of many very successful operators, including Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL, Cellular One, MetroPCS, Midwest Wireless and U.S. Cellular in the United States, China Unicom, KDDI in Japan, KTF in South Korea, Hutch in Thailand, Telstra in Australia, VIVO in Brazil, BellSouth Chile, BellSouth Colombia, BellSouth Ecuador, BellSouth Guatemala, BellSouth Panama, BellSouth Peru, Telefonica Moviles in Peru, Movicom in Argentina, Telcel and Movilnet in Venezuela, Verizon Dominican Republic, Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico and Pelephone in Israel.
http://www.thetsector.com/displayarticle7314.html?POSTNUKESID=1dd1e7a13d7a340c5e6e45b8245483fe
China Network Maker Enters Mainstream Mobile Market
Mon Mar 22, 2004 01:25 PM ET
Printer Friendly / Email Article / Purchase for Reprint (Page 1 of 2)
By Eric Auchard
ATLANTA (Reuters) - UTStarcom Inc., a maker of a low-cost mobile phone alternative that is popular in China, on Monday said it struck patent licensing deals that will help it enter the mainstream wireless business around the world.
The Alameda, California-based company said it reached deals with Hyundai Syscomm, developer of the first commercial digital mobile systems in South Korea and with IPWireless for its high-speed data technology based on European UMTS standards.
The company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs said it had expanded its licensing agreement with Qualcomm Inc., allowing UTStarcom to develop wireless equipment based on the CDMA standard that is popular in the United States and Asia.
UTStarcom said that the new deals, together with its own research and development, gives it a broad-based product strategy for advanced wireless networks that works on European, American and Chinese-led technology standards.
UTStarcom said it believed the deals would allow it offer wireless operators around the world the most cost-competitive set of Internet-based wireless technologies and these would work on frequencies used from Scandinavia to Africa to China.
The company is the leading maker of so-called PAS telephone networks and handsets. PAS is a low-cost alternative wireless system that hooks up to traditional fixed line networks and provides citywide wireless telephone calling. UTStarcom phones are popular with urban immigrants in cities across China and are used in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Africa and Latin America.
VIDEO PHONES FOR DEVELOPING WORLD
The Qualcomm CDMA license will allow UTStarcom to develop dual-use networks and phones that bring together PAS and the latest WCDMA and CDMA technologies for transmitting not just phone calls but video, graphics and hefty e-mail files.
These dual-use networks can provide citywide wireless access in emerging markets where wireless access is unaffordable for large segments of the population, such as in China, UTStarcom said.
The company agreed to acquire Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) patent portfolio from Hyundai Syscomm for a price between $12 million and $15 million in cash, with the exact price depending on meeting some unspecified milestones.
The Hyundai Syscomm deal calls for UTStarcom to acquire about 2,900 patents, mostly from South Korea, but also 357 CDMA patents in countries outside of South Korea. Hyundai Syscomm shipped the first commercial CDMA network systems in South Korea in 1995.
UTStarcom said it was the first company to license IPWireless's technology for transmitting data at high-speeds over next-generation networks running on the European technology standard known as UMTS.
IPWireless technology, which goes by the technical nickname TD-CDMA, is used in nine countries from Germany to South Africa to Australia to the United States. TD-CDMA offers high-speed wireless Internet access for laptops and personal computers.
TD-CDMA can be used to provide behind-the-scenes access for local Wi-Fi networks and for applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). In effect, it provides both high-speed data and voice calling, a UTStarcom spokesman said.
The latest agreements build on a partnership with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.'s Panasonic to build mobile radio equipment that work on next-generation networks known as W-CDMA, a standard popular in Europe and TD-CDMA, a home-grown wireless technology standard in China.
Amid a sharp decline in broader U.S. markets, shares of UTStarcom fell 73 cents $30.08 during midday trading on the Nasdaq market on Monday.
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=TPTR0N1XJYWVWCRBAELCFFA?type=reutersEdge&st...
Nextel tests Qualcomm push-to-talk technology
ATLANTA (Reuters) — Nextel Communications said Monday it was testing new phones with "walkie-talkie" type service based on Qualcomm Inc. technology that could connect U.S. subscribers with foreign cellular customers.
The move by Nextel, the fifth-largest U.S. cellular company, comes as its lucrative niche in so-called "push-to-talk" services has come under threat from larger cellular operators, such as Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc venture Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. .
Thanks to push-to-talk, Nextel customers spend an average of $70 a month, compared with the industry average of about $50 per month.
Nextel executives at the CTIA Wireless trade show here contend the new services from competitors are technically inferior to Nextel's, with unacceptable lag times during calls. But Nextel will have to upgrade its own network technology in the near future to handle high-speed Internet and other data services that are expected to grow sharply over the next several years.
The Qualcomm system, known as QChat, uses Qualcomm's Code Division Multiple Access technology and network equipment that Lucent Technologies Inc. will put on sale later this year. CDMA is the preferred cellular standard in the United States and Asia, and Nextel said it would make QChat compatible with its U.S. network, which is based on technology from Motorola Inc. .
Lucent executives said on Monday that Nextel has an exclusive right to the QChat system it is testing for an unspecified period of time. Nextel did not say when it might introduce a phone featuring QChat technology.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2004-03-22-push-to-talk_x.htm
Mindy:I wonder how all this good news will effect the stock price??
If NASDAQ cooperates(positive), we might see QCOM jump up 1 to 2 points, JMHO. At 9AM,ET NASDAQ100 future was -12, QCOM's pre-market price was 64.00, -.36
Mobile phone services storming to next level
Only question is if consumers are ready to pay for new cells
By Laurence Frost, Associated Press
CANNES, France -- Now that a new wave of "3G" cellphonesequipped for streaming video and multimedia content is finally arriving in Europe, the industry is focusing on the next big unknown: what services users will pay for, and how.
The mobile phone services on display this week at the 3GSM World Congress industry show in this French Riviera town has ranged from video games to tennis to the hit reality TV show, "Big Brother."
Alcatel SA, the French producer of telecommunications equipment, announced a deal with cable channel Eurosport to develop sports TV for mobiles and offer it to wireless operators later this year. Eurosport already broadcasts in 18 languages, and business development director Arjan Hoekstra said it was well placed to pipe sports coverage to mobile phones around the world.
"It's a question of whether the consumer's ready to pay for it," said Hoekstra. "Nobody really knows -- but we certainly hope so."
Although some multimedia services based on third-generation wireless technologies, also known as 3G, have been introduced in Japan and South Korea, many innovations in the pipeline will be tested on real consumers for the first time in Europe -- offering a flavor of what's over the horizon for U.S. consumers.
Eurosport is closely following the example of a 3G operator called 3, which recently began selling downloads of Premiership football highlights to British fans. The same operator has also been streaming live 24-hour coverage of "Big Brother" to its Swedish subscribers since last month, selling 60,000 sessions in the first two weeks.
"I don't think you're going to watch an entire tennis match on your mobile phone, but you will watch the highlights and maybe the interviews with the players afterward," Hoekstra said.
Alcatel also announced a deal with software developer VRTVStudios in multimedia messaging services, or "MMS" -- the multipurpose sequel to short messaging services, or SMS, which has proven hugely popular in Europe.
"Every user can become a publisher of content via a simple MMS," said Patrick Parodi, head of the Alcatel subsidiary running the program.
Others are putting their money on mobile games as the next big earner to supplement operators' subscription revenues.
Paris-based Sofinnova Partners, which manages 500,000 euros ($635,000) in high-tech investments for pension funds and insurers, has placed 33 million euros over two years in Esmertec, which makes components used by phone makers to make their handsets compatible with games and other applications written in Java code.
Sofinnova associate Olivier Chapel said that as Java progresses from high-end to mid-priced phones, it will tap massive "latent demand" for games in the 12-25 age group -- an underestimated market until SMS and ringtones took off.
"Nobody believed in that business, but it has developed very fast because the demand was there," Chapel said.
Analysts say the content market will get a further boost when wireless payment technologies enable mobile users to buy their games, videos, or music from vendors without the wireless operator as intermediary.
Perhaps surprisingly, leading wireless providers are backing the idea. Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Telefonica Moviles said Tuesday that technical work had finished on their Simpay payment system, due to go live early next year.
Under Simpay's guaranteed payment scheme, customers will be able to buy digital content from any provider and pay for it on their next mobile bill, with purchases initially limited to 10 euros ($12.70) each.
"Operators realize that a vibrant off-portal market is very important for making their own services better," said Simpay CEO Tim Jones. "They can then cherry-pick the best for their own portals."
Arun Sarin, the head of Vodafone, the world's largest wireless operator, said the quest for hot content would lead to changes at the company, but insisted it had no ambition to produce its own mobile entertainment through expansion or acquisition -- possibly a reference to speculation his company might try to outbid Comcast Corp. for Walt Disney Co. following Vodafone's failed bid for AT&T Wireless.
"You will see many more people at Vodafone working with the content providers, with music companies, video companies and IT companies, that's for sure," Sarin told a Cannes audience of delegates and journalists.
But Vodafone would stay firmly in "the enablement business," he added, "not signing up Outkast and all the other new artists out there."
http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~2032512,00.html
Interesting news re Sprint Corp.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040320/1023087.asp
Excerpt from above:
Sprint Corp. was unchanged at $17.66 after a media report noted the company is now free to be acquired and could actively pursue suitors as part of the deal with BellSouth Corp. that sent Gary Forsee to Sprint as chief executive a year ago. Britain's Vodafone and Verizon Communications, up 10 cents at $37.47, are possible buyers.
CTIA Wireless 2004: Live from Atlanta(phone scoop)
by Rich Brome
March 21-24, 2004
CTIA Wireless is North America's premier cell phone event. In past years, the event was associated closely with CDMA and TDMA, due to the dominanace of those standards in the Americas. But with the recent rise of GSM in this part of the world, CTIA Wireless has become a more diverse show. And with the recent emergence of EDGE, PTT, and EV-DO as U.S.-centric technologies, CTIA Wireless is quickly becoming one of the world's most important technology events.
This year, Atlanta is the host city. Last year's show in New Orleans saw such exciting announcements as Verizon's plans to launch EV-DO commercially, and LG's first GSM phones for the U.S. New phones announced included the Samsung A600, Sanyo 8100, Kyocera Slider, Audiovox 8900, and Danger's color-display Hiptop.
This year's show is expected to see the launch of even more new phones, including the Kyocera Koi, Audiovox 8610, and a whopping 14 new models from LG, including the VX-8000, the country's first EV-DO phone.
Last year's hot topics were Push-To-Talk and camera phones. If last week's announcements at the CeBIT show in Hannover are any indication, megapixel camera phones will be 2004's hot topic. Two other technologies expected to grab headlines are EDGE and EV-DO. And finally, with AT&T Wireless planning to launch WCDMA in several cities as early as July, it's possible that America's first WCDMA phones could be unveiled at CTIA.
Check back throughout the week for Phone Scoop's daily reports from the show floor in Atlanta.
http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/ctia_2004/index.php
Kyocera Launches Bluetooth RF Module for CDMA Devices
Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 11:08 AM PST
Industry's Smallest Class Size with Outstanding Reception and Low Power Consumption
Kyocera Corporation today announced the introduction of RB06, the world's smallest class-size Bluetooth(TM) radio frequency (RF) module for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile phones. Measuring only 5.0x4.0x1.4mm, the ultra-compact module features outstanding reception and low power consumption during sending and receiving of RF signals. RB06 embeds the Broadcom® BCM2004 Bluetooth radio chip, providing full Bluetooth support that enables wireless connectivity between CDMA mobile phones and other wireless devices such as PCs, home electronics, and automotive telematics.
Broadcom Corporation designed and developed the BCM2004 Bluetooth radio chip, specifically to interface with QUALCOMM Incorporated's Mobile Station Modem (MSM(TM)) baseband systems for third generation (3G) CDMA devices. Kyocera's Bluetooth RF module RB06 incorporates the BCM2004 Bluetooth radio chip to optimize the function of the module for QUALCOMM's MSM solutions.
"The utilization of Bluetooth in CDMA devices continues to grow and Kyocera anticipated an increasing need for high-quality Bluetooth RF modules that support CDMA mobile handsets," said Katsuichi Kato, manager of RF device R&D at Kyocera. "In response to these market needs, Kyocera developed the RB06 Bluetooth RF module optimized for the MSM baseband systems provided by QUALCOMM, the pioneer and leading provider of CDMA technology for wireless networks and handsets." Kato continued, "With the introduction of this new product, Kyocera continues to play its leading role in advancing the CDMA wireless market."
"With its small size, and excellent performance, the RB06 Bluetooth RF module will help drive the adoption of Bluetooth in CDMA cellular phones," said Scott Bibaud, Director of Bluetooth Marketing at Broadcom. "Kyocera, with their complimentary technology and radio expertise, is a strong partner in Broadcom's effort to bring Bluetooth to an ever expanding universe of devices."
http://www.thetsector.com/displayarticle7291.html?POSTNUKESID=9bf676ca5367fb7de973e31b52166ea4
Huawei Wins CDMA Project
03.19.04
ALGIERS, Algeria -- Huawei Technologies, a global supplier of telecom infrastructure, today announced the company has been selected by Algerie Telecom, the biggest operator in Algeria, as the strategic partner to construct its CDMA2000 1X WLL network.
Under the contract of over 30 million USD, Huawei will provide Algerie Telecom with the complete 1900MHz CDMA WLL system, which is based on the most advanced CDMA2000 1X RTT technology. This system will smoothly merge into the existing PSTN network. Besides the existing PSTN services, high speed data services up to 153.6kbps will be provided to boost the network value of Algerie Telecom. Based on Huawei’s advanced 3G platform, this system can be smoothly evolved to support 1xEV-DO. This ensures the strong ability of service provisioning and future development of Algerie Telecom.
This system will be deployed in the north-east of Algeria, which is a famous traveling and industrial region. This system will increase the capacity of the existing PSTN network in the region by 30%. As a result, the vast requirements on telecommunication services will be fulfilled.
“We are convinced of Huawei’s strength of technology, and satisfied with our more and more tight cooperation” said Mr. CHETTIH, President - Director General of Algerie Telecom. “We believe Huawei will also do an excellent job in the CDMA WLL project.”
"Huawei thinks highly of the long-term cooperation with Algerie Telecom," said Ding Saohua, VP of Huawei Technologies and President of Huawei Middle East & North Africa. “As a reliable partner, Huawei will continue to offer the cost-effective and tailor-made solutions, as well as prompt and professional service to ensure the satisfaction of our customers,” he added.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=49617
HongKong Government Sees New 3G Standard(CDMA2000) Replacing CDMA,TDMA Spectrum
Friday March 19, 7:14 am ET
HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- The Hong Kong government Friday said it proposes to issue a new third-generation telecommunications license for the spectrum vacated by two older technologies when the licenses for that spectrum expire next year.
ADVERTISEMENT
The telecommunications regulator, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, known as OFTA, wants to replace the two older standards with CDMA2000, a 3G standard with bandwidth big enough to offer video telephony and other data-intensive services.
"This will allow consumers to enjoy services and mobile phones or devices that have become successful and popular in places like Japan and South Korea," said Marion Lai, the Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology ( Communications & Technology).
Hong Kong already offers a 3G technology, however. The Hutchison Communications unit of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. offers a 3G technology called W-CDMA, or wideband code division multiple access, developed in Europe and backed by Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK - News) .
Hutchison currently offers it in Australia, Italy, Hong Kong and the U.K. Other mobile phone service providers in Hong Kong plan to roll out their own W- CDMA 3G networks.
By comparison, CDMA2000 is used only in Japan and Korea and was developed by QUALCOMM Inc. (NasdaqNM:QCOM - News) of the U.S.
OFTA wants to use the freed-up spectrum for the delivery of big-bandwidth data services, bigger than any technology currently used in Hong Kong, it said.
The expiry of the older licenses will force about 70,000 users of the older technologies - called CDMA and TDMA - to buy new phones as their service providers' licenses expire and aren't renewed.
Against their loss, the thrust of the government's point of view is that the greater community's need to use that spectrum for high-speed data transmission is greater than the need of those relatively few users for their outmoded services.
About 70,000 people in Hong Kong use CDMA and TDMA, compared with a population of about 6.8 million people in a city with a mobile phone penetration rate of 94%, among the highest in the world.
One of the two spectrums currently provides CDMA services to just 40,000 customers. The service, code division multiple access, is a digital wireless technology that increases network capacity while improving call quality by providing better and more consistent sound than earlier technologies. Like CDMA2000, it was developed by QUALCOMM.
The CDMA license, owned by Hutchison, expires in November, 2005.
The second spectrum is devoted to TDMA, or time division multiple access. This is a digital wireless technology that allows a number of users to access a single radio-frequency channel without interference by allocating unique time slots to each user within each channel.
The TDMA license is owned by mobile phone company CSL, a unit of Australia's Telstra Corp. , which has just 30,000 subscribers. That license expires in July 2005.
"We are of the view that the spectrum under the two licenses should be vacated on expiry for better utilization, which will in turn benefit the consumer at large," Lai said.
As a consequence of the government's aim to offer "advanced and innovative" mobile services, it will impose conditions on the new licensee for the freed-up spectrum.
"More stringent conditions on the new license will be imposed particularly in terms of quality and variety of service," Lai said. "Examples are requirements for data transmission rate higher than existing 3G licenses and dedicated network capacity for mobile data services."
OFTA invited public comment on this and other proposals, setting a deadline of April 30 for submissions.
For the issue of the CDMA2000 license, OFTA suggested conducting a royalty auction subject to a minimum guaranteed payment. The auction would be conducted with one round of sealed bids. Only companies passing a prequalification examination would be permitted to bid.
-By John Ryan, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; john.ryan@dowjones.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040319/0714000353_2.html
LG teams with Microsoft for smart phone
by Mike Dano
March 18, 2004 1:44 PM EST
LG-SC8000
SEOUL, South Korea—LG Electronics Co. Ltd. becomes the latest mobile phone manufacturer to team with software giant Microsoft Corp. as it gears up to release its new LG-SC8000 smart phone running Microsoft’s Pocket PC operating system. LG will release the device in its home market of South Korea.
The advanced handset features an integrated megapixel digital camera, support for CDMA EV-DO networks, an Intel Corp. processor and a sliding keypad design. The phone is scheduled to be available next month.
The device is notable as LG recently signed a licensing deal with Symbian, Microsoft’s operating system rival in the mobile phone space. Juno Cho, president of LG’s U.S. phone business, said LG will initially make Symbian devices for the European market while using Microsoft software in Korea. He said the company has no plans yet to sell either Symbian or Microsoft products in the United States.
Microsoft has so far racked up a significant number of phone licensees, although its shipment volumes are relatively small.
Motorola Inc. plans to build a variety of high-end devices using the company’s software, while Siemens, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others also sell devices running Microsoft’s phone software.
Microsoft sells two mobile versions of its Windows operating system. Its Smartphone OS is designed for mobile phones and one-handed use, while its Pocket PC OS is for personal digital assistants and two-handed use. Both platforms fall under its Windows Mobile tagline.
http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=17364
Andrew Seybold: Return of the Wireless Guru
March 17, 2004 1:00PM ET
Please click on the link for Big Talk Discussions
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=big_talk_discussion&talkid=364
India to benefit from convergence initiatives’
Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, March. 18. —The convergence of Internet, telecom and telecast technologies would boost up India’s broadband industry and help the country to catch up with developed nations in the use of broadband, said the Trai Chairman, Mr Pradip Baijal.
The recent initiative by the government to bring cable TV under the purview of Trai would further expedite convergence of telecom, Internet and telecast technologies and networks, he added.
Supporting government’s decision to regulate cable telecast through Trai, Mr Baijal said the convergence of telecom and telecast networks would form the futuristic, next generation networks. “The 55 million cable TV reach forms a powerful medium”, he said.
Trai would come out with its recommendations on Internet and broadband services in next two weeks. “After removing artificial barriers between CDMA (WLL-M) and GSM (cellular mobile) technology, the Trai is now concentrating on the growth of broadband and Internet services”, he said.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=38585
Up 2,000% and Counting
By Dave Mock
March 18, 2004
It's not exactly a household name, but Novatel Wireless (Nasdaq: NVTL) hopes that someday it will be. The maker of wireless PC cards and modems has made quite a buzz in the markets lately -- the stock has vaulted over 2000% in the past year.
Jumping back in the limelight, shares surged 17% yesterday to just more than $19 on a trio of press statements released with development partner Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU). The recent announcements confirmed three more European carriers will offer Novatel's products to customers of their newly launched (or soon to launch) 3G networks.
Still in the "teething stage," third-generation network operators in Europe are easing into commercial operation of their high-speed networks by offering data-only products. Data connections are much more tolerant of delays and hiccups -- voice connections are far less forgiving. Rather than risking dropped calls and angry customers, carriers are first gauging their network maturity with data users, hoping to bring voice services online later, when good quality of service is established.
These deals follow on the heels of several other international wins for Novatel in 2003. Novatel also got a big boost when it announced a deal to provide Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) with data cards for its high-speed 3G network based on Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM) 1xEV-DO technology (say that three times fast!).
The dramatic rise in Novatel stock stems from an almost "too good to be true" turnaround story: As consumer and business spending slowed to a crawl between 2000 and 2002, the company was left for dead by early 2003.
After a late-2000 IPO opening at $12, within a year the company was in penny-stock land, struggling to stay alive. It was burning cash and orders were dwindling in the face of larger rivals such as highflier Sierra Wireless (Nasdaq: SWIR). Several private placements and debt offerings kept it afloat while it reorganized and even approved a sure killer -- a 1-for-15 reverse share split.
The bloodletting continued, though, until the company hit bottom then brought in a new CEO and profitability plan in 2003. By mid-year, the company was back on track and the balance sheet was improving. Novatel still sits in a precarious position, however, and it'll need all those euros to work through years of debt and dilution.
But with a new lease on life, a $300 million market cap, and a forward P/E of 30, Novatel is once again a contender -- albeit a risky and expensive one.
Looking for small-cap companies that are undervalued and worth the risk? Check out Tom Gardner's Motley Fool Hidden Gems, free, for 30 days.
Motley Fool contributor Dave Mock is still looking for cheap wireless investments -- but alas, there are none to be found. He owns shares of Lucent.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04031804.htm
Qualcomm: growth to double in India, not to pick stake in RIM
New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) US-based Qualcomm Inc, the pioneer of Code
Division Multiple Access technology in telecom, today said it is
no longer talking to Reliance Infocomm for equity stake and expects
over two-fold growth in India in 2004.
''We are talking to Reliance Infocomm for a technical tie-up
only and not for acquiring equity stake,'' Qualcomm Inc Group
President Paul E Jacobs told newsmen here today after addressing
a seminar on the eve of the three-day Convergence India, 2004.
Earlier, the San Diego-based company was in talks with Reliance
Infocomm to pick up four per cent stake for 200 million dollars.
That deal did not concretise and Mr Jacobs denied any further move
in that direction.
He said around six million handsets with Qualcomm technology were
sold in India last year ended September 30, 2003 and this year the
sale was expected to be 13 million. Mr Jacobs had earlier said that
Qualcomm was ``scrambling'' to meet rising demand for chips in the
US, India, China and Latin America.
Worldwide, the company is expecting sale of 142 million handsets
based on its technology this year.
Mr Jacobs also said that Qualcomm is planning to set up a
development centre in India with a ''significant investment''. While
refusing to put any timeframe, he said the development centre would
have more than 100 engineers. The facility is reportedly proposed to
be set up in Bangalore.
''The centre will work on chip design and software,'' Mr Jacobs
said.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG3_sub.asp?ccode=ENG3&newscode=46813
BSNL eyes five-fold jump in mobile subscriber base
New Delhi: BSNL, the public-sector telecom company, said today it was confident of expanding its mobile subscriber base to 25 million from five million in a year's time.
"We expect to ramp up our mobile subscriber base in the country to 25 million from existing five million in 12 to 15 months," the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, Mr V P Sinha, said at Convergence India conference and exposition here.
A tender of 15 million lines would be awarded shortly, and order for 40 lakh had already been given. It will not take much time to raise the subscriber base to the 25 million level, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Qualcomm Group President Paul Jacobs said, "The opportunities in future are exciting both in terms of new technology and its ability to impact the lives of people by having networks available at the right price point."
"India is poised to lead... There are new technologies here and the youth community are the ones who adopt the latest technology," he added. - PTI
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/15181302.htm
Court won't dismiss Qualcomm suit against Texas Instruments
1 hour, 25 minutes ago
A court has decided not to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Qualcomm Inc. against Texas Instruments Inc., the chipmakers said Wednesday, making it likely the dispute will go to trial in May or June.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - news) had asked the Delaware Court of Chancery to dismiss Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM - news) claims that TI reneged on a patent portfolio contract inked four years ago. That motion was reportedly denied on Monday.
TI Senior Vice President and General Counsel Joe Hubach said his company intends to re-file its motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment once more documents have been submitted.
In a statement issued Wednesday, TI indicated that Chancellor William Chandler wrote, "At the present time, there are so few facts before the court that it cannot conclude that the alleged breach of the confidentiality provision is immaterial."
Qualcomm, in a separate statement Wednesday, excerpted from the court opinion that Qualcomm "has alleged facts that, if accepted as true, may support a finding that the breach of the contract is so substantial that it defeats the object of the parties in making the contract."
Qualcomm spokespeople declined further comment on the case Wednesday, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation.
TI spokeswoman Gail Chandler, no relation to the judge, said: "This is not a ruling on the merits of the case and it doesn't address at all our claims against Qualcomm."
The court has indicated it could try the case in May or June of this year, according to TI.
San Diego's Qualcomm is represented by internal counsel and Wilmington, Del.-based Morris, Nichols, Arsht and Tunnell. Dallas-based TI is represented by internal counsel along with Wilmington, Del.-based Richards Layton and Finger and Cleveland, Ohio-based Jones Day.
Qualcomm initially filed a breach of contract lawsuit in July of last year against TI in Delaware Superior Court, alleging that Texas Instruments violated the confidentiality of a December 2000 cross-licensing deal. Qualcomm asked for undisclosed damages and that Texas Instruments' rights under the pact be terminated.
TI responded by filing an action in Chancery Court, asking that Qualcomm be required to adhere to terms of the licensing deal, and for an injunction that would prohibit Qualcomm from making false or misleading statements about the companies' rights and obligations.
Qualcomm voluntarily pulled its lawsuit from the Superior Court and re-filed with the Chancery Court, to which TI filed a motion for dismissal.
The Delaware Court of Chancery adjudicates disputes involving Delaware corporations and other business entities.
TI has suggested that Qualcomm's lawsuit was motivated by Texas Instruments' May 2003 announcement that it would begin providing its customers with samples of handset chips that use CDMA (news - web sites) technology, a wireless standard already heavily patented by Qualcomm. CDMA is an acronym for Code Division Multiple Access.
TI began sampling some of the CDMA chipsets to handset manufacturers in December.
Separately on Wednesday, Qualcomm Executive Vice President Paul Jacobs on a visit to India reportedly said the company might set up a business unit there. Qualcomm spokeswoman Bertha Agia confirmed that the India unit would be a research and development center for the development, design and support of CDMA hardware and software. No timeline for establishing the potential site has been disclosed, she said.
Qualcomm's stock price has been on a steady incline in recent months, from just under $30 in May to Wednesday's new 52-week high of $65.04. The company's market capitalization is about $52.11 billion.
Similarly, TI's stock price has climbed from $15.98 to $33.98 in the 52-week period, trading as high as $29.92 on Wednesday. Its market capitalization is pegged at $51.54 billion.
Related Link:
Delaware Court of Chancery: courts.state.de.us/chancery
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/sddt/20040318/lo_sddt/courtwontdismissqualcommsui...
Samsung announces first UMTS handset
17 March 2004 -- PMN -- Samsung is showing its first 3G UMTS handset at Cebit, a clamshell design which will be sold by Vodafone when it launches it commercial 3G service later in 2004. The Z105 supports video telephony, video downloads and dual-mode GPRS and W-CDMA.
It has a 260,000 colour main display, 65,000 colour sub-display and VGA video camera. It also support Java MIDP 2.0.
“Thanks to cooperation with major carriers and extensive technologies, Samsung Electronics is committed to providing everyone with the freedom to access all the services they want, when they want. This is the vision of 3G,” said Ki Tae Lee, President of the Telecommunication Business at Samsung.
Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NEC have all said they will have 3G handsets ready for the launch of commercial services in Western Europe during 2004.
Samsung's other handsets at Cebit include a mega-pixel 2.5G clamshell (P730) and two slider designs (E800 and E810) with VGA cameras.
The P730 can record up to 100 minutes of video in QVGA format or capture mega-pixel still resolution photographs. It also features Samsung's trademark rotating flip screen.
In CDMA markets, Samsung is planning to ship a 2 mega-pixel device with an embedded MP3 player and OLED external display.
http://www.pmn.co.uk/20040317samsung.shtml
Qualcomm Inc plans software development facility in B’lore
The company ruled out picking equity stake in Reliance Infocomm and said it was going ahead only with a technical tie up.
NEW DELHI, PTI / UNI:
In a bid to capitalise on Indian software skills, Qualcomm, the US-based global CDMA telecom technology player, said on Wednesday it is considering setting up a facility for software development and chip desiging housing over 100 professionals.
“We are considering it....We should be making an announcement towards this next year,” Paul Jacobs, Executive President and Group President of Qualcomm, told reporters on the sidelines of India Convergence.
He said the investment to be made in India would be significant. “The facility in India would have over 100 people and in terms of quantum of investment it will be significant,” Jacobs said. The facility is reportedly proposed to be set up in Bangalore. Qualcomm is the only CDMA technology supplier to various handset manufacturing companies like LG, Samsung and Nokia. Asked about Qualcomm’s expectations about CDMA market in India, he said the company had predicted 13 million handsets to be shipped in India in fiscal ended September 2004. “The operators think this projection can be exceeded,” he said. Globally, Qualcomm predicts that 142 million handsets will be shipped during 2004.
The current CDMA technology-based telecom usage in India is over eight million subscribers.
Reliance is expanding its network and within a year it has made heavy inroads into Indian telecom market. With Reliance and Tatas starting the CDMA-based mobile telecom operations, the CDMA market has witnessed a phenomenal growth.
Asked about earlier reports of Qualcomm picking up a four per cent stake in Reliance Infocomm, Jacobs said, “They (Reliance) were able to launch their network without any investments from us.” On this front, nothing is happening at present, he said. “We are talking to Reliance Infocomm for a technical tie-up only and not for acquiring equity stake.”
He said Qualcomm was “scrambling” to meet rising demand for chips in the US, India, China and Latin America.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar182004/b1.asp
CDMA handsets to India to top 13-m target
Qualcomm expects shipments of CDMA handsets to India to top 13-m target
Our Bureau
New Delhi , March 17
QUALCOMM Inc, the world's second largest maker of wireless telephone chips, on Wednesday said that it expects shipments of CDMA (code division multiple access) handsets to India to exceed 13 million by September 2004.
"We had predicted 13 million handsets to be shipped to India in the financial year ending September. Globally, we expect 142 million handsets will be shipped during the year," according to Mr Paul Jacobs, Group President of Qualcomm.
The operators — Reliance Infocomm Ltd and Tata Teleservices Ltd — believe that the projection of 13 million handsets can even be exceeded, given the market conditions, Mr Jacobs told presspersons on the sidelights of the Convergence India event here.
The number of subscribers using CDMA handsets in India had touched 6.75 million by February.
Qualcomm is also considering setting up a software development and chip designing facility in the country. The proposed facility would employ over 100 professionals, Mr Jacobs said.
"We are considering it... We are at an advanced stage of decision... We should be making an announcement towards next year," he said, adding the investment to be made in India will be "significant".
Mr Jacobs, however, denied earlier reports that Qualcomm was considering picking up an equity stake in Reliance Infocomm.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/03/18/stories/2004031802640100.htm
3G Wireless--the Next Frontier
March 15, 2004
Whet your appetite for the NVTC's March 17 Titans of Technology Breakfast
3G Wireless--the Next Frontier
Interview with Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, QUALCOMM
Leave it to the NVTC to host yet another technology giant--legendary telecom pioneer Irwin Jacobs at its Titans of Technology Breakfast, this coming Wednesday, March 17, at the Hyatt Regency Reston.
Jacobs, a one-time professor at MIT, co-founded QUALCOMM and led the development and commercialization of CDMA digital wireless technology, the foundation for revolutionary "third generation" wireless technology the tech world is buzzing about.
http://www.bisnow.com/oldload.cfm?d=040315
Registration and networking for this remarkable NVTC breakfast begins at 7 AM, and the program goes from 8-9:15 AM. Register at: http://online.nvtc.org/calendar/geteventinfo.cfm?event=TITANS-5