more press coverage of the mot announcement.
Chip May Make Cell Phones Mobile
By DAVE CARPENTER
.c The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) - When it comes to cell phones, mobile may finally mean global thanks to a new Motorola chip that can work with the different wireless systems used around the world.
The new semiconductor unveiled Monday could make use-anywhere mobile phones a reality by the end of next year, enabling overseas travelers to use a single phone instead of carrying two or more, Motorola said.
The announcement sent Motorola's stock shooting 5 percent higher, rising $4.93 3/4 to $102.25 in Monday's trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The current mishmash of wireless networks around the globe - and even within the United States - frequently makes it impossible to use the same mobile phone in different regions, countries and continents.
Motorola said its new DSP56690 processor supports all of the most common wireless standards: global system for mobile communications (GSM), code-division multiple access (CDMA), integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN), and time division multiple access (TDMA), as well as newer satellite-based formats.
The most universal format is GSM, used throughout Europe and many other parts of the world. But phones don't work in the United States, where CDMA and TDMA are most common, creating a hassle for cross-Atlantic travelers who'd like to bring their phones.
``No other semiconductor manufacturer in the world offers one baseband processor that can handle all of the world's cellular standards,' said Mario Rivas, general manager of Motorola's wireless subscriber systems group in Austin, Texas, where the announcement was made.
Although Qualcomm and Ericcson, the top developers of mobile phone technologies, recently agreed on a standard for a robust new generation of wireless networks, the deployment of single format is at least five years away for North America alone, analyst say. If that's true, the new chip may give Motorola a big jump on competitors in a fast-expanding market, analysts said.
``This is very significant, particularly for business travelers who are looking to have seamless roaming when they travel overseas,' said Mark Zohar of Forrester Research in Boston.
The new chip is expected to enter full-scale production in early 2000, and phones incorporating them will take months to develop.
Still, new phones made with the chips should be available to consumers in the third or fourth quarter of next year, Motorola said, declining to disclose how much they might cost.
The new chips are also designed for compatibility with a wireless market that's increasingly oriented toward data and Internet-related features.
For Illinois-based Motorola, the chip is further evidence of a comeback after being badly beaten by rivals in the transition to digital cellular phones.
``It's a reflection that they learned the painful lesson of not being first to market with their second-generation cellular phones,' said Herschel Shosteck, president of Herschel Shosteck Associates, telecommunications consultants in Wheaton, Md.
Motorola's move also shows its determination to compete directly in the wireless chip market with industry leaders Texas Instruments and Qualcomm rather than just supplying cell phones.
AP-NY-11-01-99 1854EST
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