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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jack bittner who wrote (65898)	2/3/2000 5:53:00 AM
From: Kent Rattey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Jack, To my knowledge, some patents do expire in 2006. How key they are is a good question. FOCUS-Qualcomm has radio technology deal with Ericsson Source: Reuters (Recasts, adds comments, updates stock price, PRV STOCKHOLM) LOS ANGELES, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Mobile phone technology company Qualcomm Inc.(NASDAQ: QCOM) said on Wednesday it agreed to jointly develop with Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson a technology that makes cellphones more versatile. The announcement, seen by analysts as a step to help Qualcomm hold on to a commanding marketshare for so-called CDMA wireless chips, sparked solid gains in both companies' stocks. San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm said it will combine its wireless CDMA techology, which forms the base of a new generation of high-capacity wireless networks, with the Bluetooth short-range radio technology to widen its use in mobile phones and wireless devices around the world. Bluetooth technology uses radio links instead of wires or cables to let electronic devices like phones, computers and printers communicate with each other and the Internet. Qualcomm stock rose 5 to 141-1/16 in active trading on Nasdaq, where it was among the most active stocks. "It's strategically significant," said Brian Modoff, an analyst at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. "Bluetooth is one of the key forward technologies. Ericsson is going to share their Bluetooth design expertise with Qualcomm, which has the chip expertise," Modoff said. Ericsson's stock closed at 711 Swedish crowns ($81.72), up 49, after reaching a record 722 crowns. Qualcomm stock has risen by more than 25 percent this week -- after a January slump -- in gains fueled by news of a deal with China's second largest state-owned telephone company to use Qualcomm's CDMA technology and on the Bluetooth move. The deal means Ericsson will be able to add the Bluetooth technology to Qualcomm's wireless CDMA (code division multiple access) technology and fit it into CDMA phones, not just the GSM (global system for mobile communications) mobile phone standard that dominates in Europe. The Bluetooth technology was developed by a group founded by Ericsson, International Business Machines Corp.(NYSE: IBM), Intel Corp.(NASDAQ: INTC), Finland's Nokia and Toshiba. Qualcomm developed CDMA technology, which takes information contained in a signal and spreads it over a wide bandwidth, and holds many patents on the technology. 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. "Together, we will drive to expand the number of applications possible by tightly integrating Bluetooth with CDMA technology," Johan Lodenius, senior vice president at QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies, said in a statement. Qualcomm holds an 85 percent to 90 percent share of the market for CDMA chipsets, analysts said, and the Bluetooth move will help give it key technology to defend its marketshare. "For them to maintain that market share will be difficult unless they can add more functionalities to their chipsets," said Mark Cavallone, an analyst with S&P Equity Group. "This is is a step in the right direction. 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. "This is a way to get Bluetooth into CDMA, the fastest growing wireless technology," Modoff said. Ericsson, the 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 CDMA market is the fastest growing," Ericsson spokeswoman Pia Gideon said at a GSM congress in Cannes. Ericsson, the world No. 3 in mobile phones, will launch its first mobile phone based on the CDMA standard in the fast-growing U.S. market this year. CDMA forms part of the base for next generation systems that 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 Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) 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 yards (meters) away from their mobile device. ((Los Angeles newsdesk 1 213 380 2014)) REUTERS Rtr 19:22 02-02-00