Old news, bro'.
Might be to us but I believe it is very significant for the WSJ to begin picking up the story...especially this:
Even before Telefonica's criticism of 3G technology, concerns were beginning to mount about the competitiveness of the European version of 3G, known as wideband code division multiple access, or WCDMA, against a rival technology called CDMA 2000 developed by Qualcomm Inc. of the U.S.
In Japan, NTT DoCoMo Inc. has launched a 3G service based on WCDMA, but demand has been very slow, partly because the handsets are more expensive and have less battery life than standard mobile phones. At the same time, a 3G service launched by DoCoMo's rival, KDDI Corp., using CDMA 2000 technology has been gaining customers at a rapid pace. That is ominous for Ericsson and Nokia, who are leaders in the WCDMA market, but trail rivals in the CDMA 2000 market.
It was only two years ago that WCDMA was considered to be a surefire hit. It was then that Group 3G first began acquiring 3G licenses, but the venture has been put on hold before it even started what it considered its core business: 3G services. The company's only working operations, in Germany, has met with difficulties ever since it began operating six months ago under the brand name Quam.
If the press can get it right, eventually the analysts may also! ;-) |
