To: Robert Rose who wrote (103904 ) 5/24/2000 11:03:00 AM From: H James Morris Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 164684
Robert, are you still holding some Qcom? If so this might interest you. Btw San Diego loves Qcom. Trust me on that. >Qualcomm shares, for instance, dropped amid continued speculation whether China will roll out the company's wireless system or go with a competing technology. Qualcomm closed down 10 percent at $79.371/2, the lowest it's been all year -- this from a company that last year led the Standard & Poor's Index with a 2,600 percent in value. Yesterday's dip may have its roots with a report this week from Lehman Brothers analyst Tim Luke, who noted that China Unicom, the second-largest wireless provider in the country, is rumored to be considering several options in building out its national wireless network, including continuing with a technology that competes with Qualcomm's code division multiple access or CDMA technology. Qualcomm has been banking on deployment in China to expand its market, which is currently limited to the United States, South Korea and Japan. Some analysts, such as Mark Roberts of First Union Securities, believe the deal will go forward. "It's a matter of when, not if" the company strikes a CDMA deal, Roberts says. But Ed Snyder, telecommunications equipment analyst with Chase H&Q, echoed Luke by telling Dow Jones News that he doubted China would deploy a large CDMA network. John Beale, head of corporate communications for Qualcomm, said the company expects to deploy CDMA in China as planned, but that "discussions are ongoing." As for Qualcomm's plunging stock, Beale chalked it up to a moody market. "It was a dark day." The Associated Press contributed to this report.