at the end of the below is where one should insert bluetooth into the picture..
Qualcomm's Sulpizio: Cos Will Pay CDMA
Royalties
By JOHNATHAN BURNS
NEW ORLEANS -- Rich Sulpizio, president and chief operating officer of
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), said Wednesday that no company will avoid
paying royalties on Qualcomm's CDMA-based technology.
"You're hearing a lot of rhetoric," he told Dow Jones Newswires. "But it is
absolutely not the case. (For a) CDMA product - whether it be a handset
or chipset - they will pay Qualcomm a royalty."
Sulpizio's comments came at the CTIA Wireless 2000 Conference here,
and were delivered against a backdrop of ever-increasing applications for
wireless technology.
Sulpizio said that Motorola Inc.'s (MOT) recent unveiling of new
CDMA-based technology won't allow Motorola to avoid paying royalties.
If the conference has made one thing clear, it is that the thousands of
attendees expect tremendous growth in wireless usage globally.
China Unicom Deal Moving 'Full-Speed Ahead'
Qualcomm, which signed a deal with China Unicom in February, still is
moving forward with plans to help China's second-largest mobile-service
provider deploy the country's first CDMA-based network.
Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese government
had delayed the undertaking. Many observers speculated it was a move by
the government to gain more leverage in the World Trade Organization.
But Sulpizio said Chinese officials haven't notified Qualcomm of any delays
in the contract.
"We have negotiated a fair deal with China Unicom for them and for us,"
he said. "We're full-speed ahead. We haven't heard anything different."
Sulpizio said a CDMA-based network will be up and running in China by
the end of the year. He said China Unicom's stated goal of covering 10
million subscribers by year-end may be ambitious, but that circumstances
within the country may make building a network easier.
Earlier this week Qualcomm announced it would buy U.K.-based TELLIT
Communications for $20 million. Qualcomm will use the acquisition to
introduce CDMA into the European market, most likely in the former
Eastern Bloc nations first.
"It gets us into Europe," Sulpizio said. "It should drive competition in the
marketplace."
Meanwhile Sulpizio sees further opportunity in North America and Europe.
AT&T Corp. (T), the current leader in U.S. wireless subscribers, uses a
different wireless technology, as does Europe.
"It's not a question of if they move to CDMA," Sulpizio said. "It's a
question of when."
He said Qualcomm will form a new group focusing on the wireless Internet
and hopes to further drive demand for CDMA usage.
But Sulpizio also sees new markets emerging for wireless applications.
Echoing comments made at the conference by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos and Miscrosoft Corp. (MSFT)
founder and Chairman Bill Gates, Sulpizio said wireless technology will be
used in everything from vending machines to household appliances.
"Projections for what's going on in the wireless industry, in my opinion, are
understated," he said. "We are very bullish." |
