Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

[Jim Mullens]

Two Articles (CSCO and BRCM) downplaying WiMAX

1. Cisco Casts WiMAX Doubts
2. Broadcom to Push HSDPA, Not WiMax

Article 1.

Snip>>>>

By the time WiMAX is mobile, 3G will be well established, he notes.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://www.americasnetwork.com/americasnetwork/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=132918

Cisco Casts WiMAX Doubts

Nov 10, 2004
By: Nguyet Le Thomas

America's Network Enews

After just having joined the WiMAX Forum in September Cisco Systems is now having doubts. Its CTO, Charles Giancarlo, told the Next Generation Networks conference in Boston last week that his company does not plan to invest in WiMAX beyond providing backbone infrastructure for potential WiMAX networks in the future.

Giancarlo argues that DSL and cable are already in place, and it will be hard for WiMAX to penetrate their bases. By the time WiMAX is mobile, 3G will be well established, he notes.
Giancarlo reminded listeners at his speech that many wireless technologies have come and gone over the years without finding success. “This is what went wrong with MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution system) and LMDS (local multipoint distribution system),” says Giancarlo. “The economics became very bad very quickly.”

Giancarlo’s comments seem to contradict Cisco's recent activities, and the fact that Cisco, perhaps more than any other vendor, stands to benefit from the shift to all-IP wireless broadband that WiMAX could accelerate, according to some analysts. Cisco has been in the forefront, with Intel, of lobbying for new spectrum for broadband wireless, including below 2 GHz. The Intel model of open IP access from mobile devices, rather than closed cellular walled gardens, is clearly at the heart of the networking giant's interests.
A Cisco spokesperson did not return repeated phone calls for comment. Members of the WiMAX Forum, such as Intel, declined to comment on the news, stating that each company must do what it determines to be in its best interest.

Some members of the WiMAX Forum believe Cisco’s action won’t stop the momentum for WiMAX. Ken Stanwood, president and CEO of Cygnus Multimedia Communications, says he’s not deterred by Cisco’s announcement.

“Cisco has been classically an infrastructure company, so it sounds like a prudent move,” Stanwood says. “I don’t see it as surprising or disappointing. They could help push WiMAX if they announced that they wanted to develop WiMAX but I don’t see this announcement deterring other companies focused on WiMAX at all.”

Article 2 >>

Broadcom to Push HSDPA, Not WiMax
By Mark Hachman, eWEEK

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1725724,00.asp