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To: postyle who wrote (4512)	9/29/2000 4:24:56 PM
From: biostruggle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5195

Current Interdigital IPR required for W-CDMA = (zero). Total 3G revenues = (zero)

To: postyle who wrote (4512)	9/30/2000 4:07:39 AM
From: w molloy	Respond to of 5195

Delays in 3G roll-out feared... "Most of the show speakers were not promising a near-term market–or even a smooth transition to 3G." --------------------------------------------------------- Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For 3G By Peggy Albright CHICAGO—Like most wireless data and third-generation technology events held around the country this past year, the meeting room at last week’s PCIA GlobalXChange was filled to the brim with attendees–hundreds, if not thousands, who have not yet seen a wireless trade show. But those hoping to get rich quick may be wondering what all the 3G hype is about. Most of the show speakers were not promising a near-term market–or even a smooth transition to 3G. “I worry as we move from 2G to 3G that things may get worse before they get better,” says Carl Northrop, a partner and head of the telecom law practice of Paul Hasting Janofsky & Walter in Washington, D.C. Northrop predicts there won’t be enough spectrum to meet 3G needs, especially in the United States where designated frequencies already are encumbered by other technologies. But the grounds for his grim view don’t end there. He says this past summer’s specification of multiple, additional 3G frequencies by the World Radiocommunication Conference will undermine the ability of carriers in the United States to efficiently migrate to 3G. And some major carriers still lack complete 2G footprints and will have to look to forthcoming auctions to fill in major coverage gaps. The new SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. wireless venture, for example, has no coverage in New York City. The carriers will need to look to forthcoming auctions to fill in the gap, regardless of new bandwidth’s suitability for 3G. Despite Northrop’s pessimistic perspective, the FCC still believes the deregulated approach used in the United States–which has led to multiple technologies–is better, in the long run, than the European model that required uniform technologies. If the United States had followed the European approach and selected a technology in the mid-’90s, it likely would have selected TDMA, suggests Bryan Tramont, advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth. Anticipated spectrum auctions, such as the move to free up channels 60-69 and the C-Block re-auction, will help companies evolve to 3G, Tramont says. But even then, other panelists were not hopeful that the 60-69 bands held by the broadcasting industry would ever become available because that industry wields so much influence in Washington. “We in the wireless industry have nothing that compares to that sort of economic power,” says Alan Pearce, president of Information Age Economics. All this adds up to one mighty hurdle for the wireless industry to overcome. But don’t count out a future transition to 3G–the race has only begun.

To: postyle who wrote (4512)	10/2/2000 6:45:47 PM
From: w molloy	Respond to of 5195

Idea of Postponing Launch of IMT-2000 Gathers Momentum (More evidence supporting a delay in 3G roll-out, this time from Korea. ) The idea of postponing the introduction of IMT-2000 services in Korea is gaining momentum following the government¡¯s recent announcement that it would not intervene in the selection of the technology standards for the next-generation telecommunications service even if the nation¡¯s top three telecommunications service providers, SK Telecom, Korea Telecom and LG, all opt for asynchronous wideband CDMA technology. There have been worries that such an occurrence could potentially leave a number of equipment manufacturers in the lurch, as they favor sticking with the synchronous CDMA technology that is currently in use and for which their business investments have already been geared. The government could, however, postpone the launch of IMT-2000 until domestic equipment makers such as Samsung Electronics are able to complete R&D and get production lines going for asynchronous mobile phones. Backing up the idea of postponement, Minister of Information and Communication Ahn Byung-yub, told reporters early last week that the government would consider holding off on the introduction of IMT-2000 services if the nation¡¯s equipment makers were to recommend doing so. According to one high ranking official at the ministry, unlike their larger counterparts, many of the nation¡¯s small and medium sized telecommunications system equipment manufacturers are behind adopting WCDMA technology, as the change to the technology would open up a whole new market for mobile phone equipment. While SK Telecom and Korea Telecom have been showing an amenable attitude towards postponement, LG appears to be unhappy with the idea. Observers explain that LG is currently the front-runner in the development of asynchronous technology and that it undoubtedly fears that it could lose its current advantage over Samsung Electronics in this area if a delay were to happen. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has been sticking to its guns in insisting that synchronous CDMA technology must be adopted as the standard for IMT-2000 services, claiming that the government must stand behind the small and medium sized firms that have already been gearing their production to the technology. (Cho Hyung-rae, hrcho@chosun.com) chosun.com