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

To: Ibexx who wrote (72822)	5/30/2000 3:49:00 PM
From: Ibexx	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Qualcomm Gets Closer To Landing China Tuesday May 30, 3:25 pm Eastern Time Forbes.com By Betsy Schiffman When the U.S. House of Representatives approved normalized trade with China it was good news for technology companies, and it could be especially good for Qualcomm, the wireless powerhouse that has its sights set on the huge Chinese market. All the major wireless companies have lustfully eyed China's population of 1.25 billion and underdeveloped telecom network as a potentially enormous wireless market. With 40 million cellular phone subscribers, China is already close to becoming the world's second-largest cellular market. And according to the Chinese Vice-Minister of Information, Zhang Chunjiang, in the near future wireless phone subscribers in China will exceed fixed phone users. San Diego-based Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM - news) got itself on the inside track in February, when China Unicom, one of the country's two largest telecom carriers, agreed to use its code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. But China Unicom has failed to follow through on the deal, prompting some analysts to suggest that it might opt instead for a competing interface technology, global system for mobile communications (GSM), supported by Nokia (NYSE: NOK - news) or Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY - news). The ball could start rolling again for Qualcomm now that the trade bill has passed the House (it's considered a sure bet to pass the Senate). ``CDMA in China has been a political football,'' says First Union analyst Mark Roberts. ``China wanted to get the trade bill. Now that the bill is passed it increases the likelihood that China will move ahead with CDMA.'' A spokeswoman from Qualcomm says that while the company's business in China doesn't depend on that country's relationship with the U.S., ``the passage of the trade bill sets a positive tone and encourages cooperation and partnerships between the U.S. and China.'' However, she was quick to deny assertions that the Chinese government held CDMA political hostage as an attempt to get the trade bill passed. The general sense in the industry is that China will probably give the go-ahead to CDMA now that normalized relations have gotten the green light. One insider intimately familiar with Qualcomm, however, says the bill isn't likely to change Qualcomm's situation in China at all. ``It's still not certain if it would be cost-effective for China to build a CDMA-based network,'' the industry watcher says. ``The Chinese government has placed many orders with Ericsson and Nokia--I'm not sure that I'd bet on a horse named Qualcomm in the Chinese market.'' Roberts, however, argues that Chinese carriers would be foolish not to build a CDMA network. ``CDMA is a vastly superior technology,'' he says. ``It offers three to four times the capacity of competing technologies. Also, if you look at third-generation wireless technology proposals out there, most of them are based on Qualcomm's CDMA.'' As it stands now, no one can say for sure whether the Chinese government intentionally held-up the use of CDMA as a means of getting the trade bill passed. Soon that will be a moot point and Qualcomm should have its answer. Go to www.forbes.com to see all of our latest stories. ____ Ibexx