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


To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (78594)8/15/2000 9:20:57 AM
From: Don Lloyd  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
Art -

[...I've come to the conclusion that the best strategy to implement CDMA is for QUALCOMM to cut its royalty rates in half! Yes, that's right--by 50 percent. This would be tantamount to an offer no competitor could refuse. It would so reduce the cost of obtaining CDMA technology that anyone trying to get by on inferior systems, such as the TDMA or GSM systems, would be left in the dust with higher expenses, worse performance. . . and declining customer base. The short term loss in royalties would be made up by the long term switch to CDMA by every wireless service provider in the world, including in Europe...]

I suspect that you are severely overstating the importance of royalty levels as a barrier to CDMA acceptance. Of more likely significance is the human, physical and financial capital that the competitors have tied up in the alternate systems, which they are loathe to abandon.

Regards, Don



To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (78594)8/15/2000 1:13:04 PM
From: Kirk ©  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
I've come to the conclusion that the best strategy to implement CDMA is for QUALCOMM to cut its royalty rates in half! Yes, that's right--by 50 percent.

Well, you might just start a price war where competitors try to protect their large capital investments in alternative technology. This would mean "nobody wins", especially the shareholders.

How DOES someone decide what to charge for a technology license?

regards
Kirk out



To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (78594)8/15/2000 1:31:53 PM
From: JohnG  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
Art Bech--Royalties of 4.5% are really not the issue at all. The issue is who sells the equipment and grows their telecom industry and who is shut out. European equipment companies backed by government owned state monopolies and Japan's NTT see a chance for control of the majority of future equipment if they can destroy QCOM's CDMA operators market and equipment makers. Their GSM upgrade path involves selling much more equipment that a QCOM path. They have little expertese in QCOM's CDMA. Their governments are behind them. They have control now with GSM having defeated Motorola in the 2G battles and won't willingly give an inch.

The US is on the defensive here with NORTEL, Lucent, Samsung and a few others facing incumbent European equipment makers, and Govt owned operator monopolies with very deep pockets. They hope to slowly take back the key IPR by forcing divergence from QCOM's designs and IPR. QCOM however owns the critical IPR and is striving mightily to enhance the value chain for CDMA.

Content is the key. No one needs the higher data rates if theycan't use it to provide dazzeling content to subscribers eager to use the high bit rates. The networks, handsets and content is slowly being put into place.

This is the first serious trade war I have ever witnessed.
JohnG



To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (78594)8/15/2000 2:33:22 PM
From: Keith Feral  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 152472
 
No offense, but I'm glad that IJ is at the bargaining table and not you!! <gg>

Why in the world would QCOM drop the royalties for CDMA when every major telecom player in Asia and the North Aemrica have already signed the dotted line? QCOM's threatening to increase royalty payments for companies that wait too much longer. Europe's stalling tactics are a function of their preoccupation with GSM. Companies like Nokia, Siemens, Alcatel and others will soon have to grab their 3G licenses from Qualcomm. I don't care if it takes until next year as I will still be long the stock.

The bottom line is this - our lack of patience with the stock price has nothing to do with the overwhelming vision and progress that QCOM has achieved this year. Who would have thought that QCOM would be on the verge of major breakthroughs in telematics, UMTS services, and PDA's? This has all been tapped at the same royalty rate. The last market that I would like to see QCOM penetrate is laptop computers. However, that may take some extra time until 1Xrtt is actually deployed.