W-CDMA delay could benefit Qualcomm
February 23, 2001
Irwin Jacobs, chief executive officer of Qualcomm, claims that European GSM operators that have paid billions of euros for 3G spectrum licenses are listening with renewed interest to Qualcomm’s potential ‘rescue plan.’
The company is focusing on the lengthy delays now being experienced with GPRS deployment as supporting evidence that wideband-CDMA 3G will be some years away before it becomes a commercial reality. Jacobs maintains that Qualcomm’s cdma2000 technology, which he claims will be available much sooner than rival W-CDMA, could become attractive to operators as they come under pressure from their financial backers to generate a return on their 3G investment.
While not revealing the actual level of interest by European operators in adopting cdma2000, Jacobs points to the two Korean mobile operators that are offering 3G-style services already.
“Up to nine months ago we had no European interest in cdma2000. Now, after the public failure of GPRS to deliver on time and to its promised performance levels, we are starting to receive calls.”
However, Jacobs admits that cdma2000 will only become a reality in Europe if W-CDMA 3G is delayed. “This delay is highly likely to appear within the next nine months, and operators need to be aware that cdma2000 offers an alternative. EDGE is not an interim option. There has been much talk about the technology, but it is very complex to implement.”
W-CDMA delay could benefit Qualcomm
Irwin Jacobs, chief executive officer of Qualcomm, claims that European GSM operators that have paid billions of euros for 3G spectrum licenses are listening with renewed interest to Qualcomm’s potential ‘rescue plan.’
The company is focusing on the lengthy delays now being experienced with GPRS deployment as supporting evidence that wideband-CDMA 3G will be some years away before it becomes a commercial reality. Jacobs maintains that Qualcomm’s cdma2000 technology, which he claims will be available much sooner than rival W-CDMA, could become attractive to operators as they come under pressure from their financial backers to generate a return on their 3G investment.
While not revealing the actual level of interest by European operators in adopting cdma2000, Jacobs points to the two Korean mobile operators that are offering 3G-style services already.
“Up to nine months ago we had no European interest in cdma2000. Now, after the public failure of GPRS to deliver on time and to its promised performance levels, we are starting to receive calls.”
However, Jacobs admits that cdma2000 will only become a reality in Europe if W-CDMA 3G is delayed. “This delay is highly likely to appear within the next nine months, and operators need to be aware that cdma2000 offers an alternative. EDGE is not an interim option. There has been much talk about the technology, but it is very complex to implement.”
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