Conflicting signals on CDMA in China
(UPDATE: Recasts with comments by China Unicom spokesman)
BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - Conflicting signals emerged on Thursday about the fate of Qualcomm Inc's (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news) CDMA cellular phone technology in China, one of the world's biggest markets.
The China Daily newspaper, citing an unnamed spokesman at China Unicom, the number two state mobile operator, reported that Unicom's plans to build a CDMA (code division multiple access) network were ``still on track''.
``We have not received any official document to call off the construction and deployment of a CDMA network in China,'' the paper quoted the spokesman as saying.
That statement contradicted comments this week by Unicom officials in Hong Kong, who said plans to use current generation CDMA technology developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm had been shelved.
The officials were speaking to analysts in Hong Kong at the start of a roadshow for a stock market listing that could reach $5.26 billion.
Unicom spokesman Hu Qingdong told Reuters he had not seen the China Daily report, but statements by Unicom officials to investors ahead of the initial public offering should be taken as accurate.
``The word of company heads who are on the roadshow should be considered more accurate,'' Hu said.
Fears over the future of CDMA in China sent Qualcomm shares plummeting more than 13 percent on Wednesday, down 10 points to 66- on Nasdaq, erasing most of the previous day's gains.
Volume was nearly 55 million shares, making Qualcomm the most active stock on the exchange.
Unicom in February signed a royalty agreement with Qualcomm to use the code division multiple access standard.
But many analysts believe it makes little sense for Unicom to build networks using current generation CDMA to compete with its existing GSM (global system for mobile communications) network.
They argue the company would be better off waiting for next generation CDMA, which would have multimedia capacity.
E-mail this story - View most popular
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Quotes and News: Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news)
Related News Categories: IPOs, US Market News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help |
