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Technology Stocks : The New Qualcomm - a S&P500 company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: w molloy who wrote (6115)	2/2/2000 4:28:00 PM
From: SKIP PAUL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13582

FOCUS-Ericsson, Qualcomm deal fuels share gains (Updates share prices) By Paul de Bendern STOCKHOLM, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Telecoms groups Ericsson and Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news) said on Wednesday they had agreed to jointly develop a technology which makes cellphones more versatile, adding impetus to both companies' share prices. Sweden's Ericsson and the the U.S. firm said they would expand the compatibility of Bluetooth standard short-range radio technology to widen its use in mobile phones and devices around the world, regardless of network standards. The deal means Ericsson will be able to add its Bluetooth technology to Qualcomm's wireless CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology and fit it into CDMA phones, not just the more widely used GSM mobile phone standard. ``The true promise of wireless technology lies in its ability to expand the potential of personal appliances,' Ericsson's head of microelectronics, Bo Andersson, said in a statement. Ericsson's shares closed at 711 crowns, up 49, after reaching a record 722 crowns while Qualcomm, fresh from announcing a deal with China's second-biggest state-owned telecoms company to open its market to its CDMA mobile standard, was trading just over a dollar higher at around $137.3/4 at 1738 GMT. ``It benefits both as each has technology the other needs,' analyst Douglas Smith of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette said. "Each of them are willing to do deals to share technology to develop the growth of the overall wireless market. ``Ericsson started a bit behind on the CDMA terminal market and Qualcomm is somewhat narrowly focused on CDMA technology so both needed to broaden their range of technologies and this deal will help in that direction,' he said. Analysts said the deal would benefit microchip designer ARM Holdings (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ARM.L) because it provides technology to both Qualcomm and Ericsson. ARM shares were 10 percent higher at 42.50 stg. At the same time it gives Qualcomm access to the Bluetooth market as it expands, broadening Qualcomm's technology base. CDMA is widely used in the United States and is growing quickly in South America and Canada. GSM dominates in Europe and is driven by Ericsson and Finnish rival Nokia . BLUETOOTH IMPROVES MOBILITY Bluetooth is a technology using radio links instead of wires or cables to let electronic devices like phones, computers and printers communicate with each other and the Internet as mobile phones with access to the Web are launched this year. ``Ericsson Microelectrics and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies will jointly promote the integrated solution to handset and mobile device manufacturing companies,' Ericsson said. The deal is a further step in Ericsson and Qualcomm's cooperation after they agreed last year to settle a patent dispute over CDMA and promote it as the global standard for the next generation of mobile phones and systems. Ericsson, the undisputed leader in making mobile phone systems like GSM networks, has moved fast to ensure that it can make mobile systems and phones that fit all standards. ``We're broadening our product range and it's interesting because the CMDA market is the fastest growing,' Ericsson spokeswoman Pia Gideon told Reuters at a GSM congress in Cannes. Ericsson, the world number three in mobile phones, will launch its first mobile phone based on the CDMA standard in the fast-growing U.S. market this year. CDMA -- part of the foundation of next generation mobile systems like WCDMA -- takes information contained in a signal and spreads it over a wide bandwidth. Next generation systems, also known as third generation (3G) networks, have multimedia capacities, allowing wireless Web access, as well as sending and receiving voice, data, still and moving images on cell phones. Ericsson, which announced last December a link-up with software giant Microsoft (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) on mobile Internet, is due to launch a Bluetooth wireless headset this year. The headset means a person will be able to talk while being as far as 10 metres away from their mobile device. (Additional reporting by Salomon Bekele in Cannes)