QUALCOMM Plans to Offer cdma2000 1x/1xEV Services in Australia
QUALCOMM Awarded Licenses to Operate 3G CDMA System in Australia
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2001--QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq:QCOM - news), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that 3G Investments (Australia) Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM, has been awarded 2x10 MHz licenses in the Australian third-generation (3G) wireless spectrum auctions. QUALCOMM plans to immediately begin preparations to deploy cdma2000 1x/1xEV networks with commercial 3G service expected in 2002.
QUALCOMM won the licenses at the Australian Communications Authority-set minimum reserve price of A$159 million (US$79 million). The licenses cover a total of 12.3 million potential customers (POPs) in the eight major Capital City markets, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra.
The results of the auction, which began March 13, 2001 and ended March 22, 2001, were announced by the Australian Communications Authority when the auction concluded after 19 bidding rounds.
``QUALCOMM is a strong believer in the growth prospects of CDMA in the Australian market and entered the latest auctions committed to acquiring appropriate spectrum to support a high-quality, high-capacity cdma2000 1x/1xEV system,'' said Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO, QUALCOMM. ``cdma2000 1x and 1xEV combine time-to-market and cost advantages with the highest performance and quality for voice and broadband data. With strong demand for mobile and Internet services, the Australian market presents a significant opportunity for early deployment of 3G high-speed wireless, always-on Internet services. QUALCOMM's successful participation in numerous spectrum auctions in the past has resulted in nationwide CDMA networks being deployed in other countries, such as Mexico, Chile and Brazil.''
With a total population of more than 19 million people, Australia has approximately 10 million mobile phone subscribers, representing a market penetration approaching 50 percent. Additionally, 50 percent of Australian households will be connected to the Internet as of June 2001 (source: Australian Bureau of Statistics).
QUALCOMM believes wireless mobile average data volumes will rapidly increase, exceeding 200 megabytes per user per month by the year 2006, fueled by the dramatically improved user experience and lower costs enabled by third-generation technology. In a data capacity-driven environment, it is projected that the network cost to an operator of a user consuming 200 megabytes of data per month would be US$4 per month for cdma2000 1xEV, US$14 with WCDMA and US$83 with GPRS (source: QUALCOMM white paper, ``The Economics of Wireless Mobile Data,'' qualcomm.com. With the lowest cost per bit transmitted, cdma2000 1xEV enables affordable flat rate service price plans and a price to the user substantially below GPRS and WCDMA.
cdma2000 1xEV supports peak data rates of up to 2.4 Mbps in a standard 1.25 MHz frequency channel. With Internet protocol-based architecture and frequency independence, cdma2000 1xEV can be overlaid on a variety of voice networks or operate as a stand-alone system. cdma2000 1xEV is compatible with cdmaOne(TM) and cdma2000 1x networks, thus leveraging existing product designs and enabling service providers to obtain higher capacities and superior performance by optimizing voice and data spectrum separately. cdma2000 1xEV offers third-generation data services in accordance with the International Telecommunications Union's International Mobile Telecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000) requirements. This high data rate technology offers consumers advanced capabilities, such as Web browsing, e-mail, file downloads, and applications such as streaming video, Internet games, enhanced position location and telematics. Since cdma2000 1xEV provides the highest spectral efficiency of any mobile, wireless wide-area network in existence today, a rich variety of services can be economically supported in the 2x10 MHz spectrum awarded in the auction.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. The Company's business areas include CDMA integrated circuits and system software; technology licensing; the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless(TM) (BREW(TM)) applications development platform; Eudora® e-mail software; digital cinema systems; and satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar(TM) system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS® and OmniExpress(TM). QUALCOMM owns patents that are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 100 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the Company's ability to successfully design and have manufactured significant quantities of cdma2000 1x/1xEV components on a timely and profitable basis, the extent and speed to which cdma2000 1x/1xEV is deployed, the acceptance of the services offered in the marketplace, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2000, and most recent Form 10-Q.
Note to Editors: QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. OmniExpress and BREW are trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services, Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
