QCOM gets new 20BILLION $ MARKET>
6/19/00 - Qualcomm Announces Leading GSM Carriers Prepare for Pan-European Tests of Wireless Location Technology
PARIS, Jun 19, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Assisted GPS-Based Location System Phase II
Trials to Demonstrate SMS, Seamless Roaming
SnapTrack Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) and leader in wireless position location technology, today
announced an international consortium of Global System for Mobile telecommunications (GSM) wireless carriers, handset suppliers, applications providers,
infrastructure manufacturers and semiconductor manufacturers who are preparing to conduct an intensive evaluation of SnapTrack's breakthrough approach to
wireless handset location technology.
France Telecom Mobiles is hosting the multi-country SnapTrack location technology trials, as it is interested in deploying wireless location services and
technologies. The trials will demonstrate SnapTrack's functionality in a broad range of call environments and its ability to provide seamless cross-border
network-to-network roaming for location services. Prototype GSM handsets will be used by SnapTrack GSM Test Group members to also test Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) services augmentation and gateway compatibility, and the efficient exchange of location information between system elements via
Short Message Service (SMS).
"CMG Telecommunications' participation in the SnapTrack GSM Test Group field trials will allow us to gain valuable experience with wireless location
technologies and services," said Peter Maathuis, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing of CMG Telecommunications. "CMG's expertise in wireless
infrastructure systems, including SMS and WAP, will be central to the STGTG's trials, which will demonstrate CMG's commitment to providing its carrier
customers with a package of highly accurate WAP-enabled wireless location systems."
SnapTrack's Wireless Assisted Global Positioning System(TM) technology will enable a whole range of value-added location-based services for mobile
subscribers and mobile internet users. Services include location-sensitive billing, mobile directory assistance, personal navigation, improved roadside assistance
and enhanced vehicle fleet management. SnapTrack's responsiveness and accuracy will also enhance public safety for people placing emergency calls on their
mobile phones.
"The Phase I GSM Test Group trials demonstrated SnapTrack's ability to provide the highly accurate location information needed for the deployment of
cost-effective commercial location services in typical urban European centres -- for both pedestrian and in-vehicle services," said Steve Poizner, CEO of
SnapTrack. "The Phase II trials are expected to not only demonstrate SnapTrack's compatibility with SMS, but also that SnapTrack's enhanced GPS
handset-based system is the only approach that can provide seamless cross-border and inter-network location services roaming. This simply cannot be done
with any location system that requires network equipment modifications."
The SnapTrack GSM Test Group Phase I trials in Madrid, Spain, successfully demonstrated near-commercial location services applications in the GSM
environment, with callers typically pinpointed to within 5-20 meters. During the trials, mobile users were guided to featured points of interest and to hotels,
ATMs, nightclubs and tourist attractions closest to their calling locations. Recent studies by Strategis Group indicate that the wireless location services market
could generate as much as $20 to $30 billion per year in revenues for European carriers and vendors by 2005. *<<<<<<<(20 $ BILLion+!!
The SnapTrack GSM Test Group consortium, formed more than a year ago, collectively supports over 30 million subscribers. |
