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To: CAtechTrader who wrote (8721)	10/19/2000 10:45:48 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 65232

Thursday October 19, 8:54 am Eastern Time China Unicom confirms Qualcomm CDMA plan (UPDATE: Adds more details of CDMA, Qualcomm's share price, background) By Matt Pottinger BEIJING, Oct 19 (Reuters) - In a major boost for U.S. Qualcomm Inc (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news), China Unicom Group confirmed on Thursday it plans to build a mobile phone network using the San Diego-based company's narrow-band CDMA technology. China's number two mobile company also confirmed it will set up a subsidiary to build and operate the CDMA network, but said the size and timing of the roll-out had yet to be determined. ``In short, the scale of the network will be determined by market demand,'' Wang Jianzhou, executive vice-president of the state-owned company, told a small group of reporters. Industry executives anticipate the network could reach a capacity of 10 million subscribers next year. That would mean big contracts for foreign and Chinese equipment makers, and meaty royalties for Qualcomm, which pioneered the CDMA standard. Wang said Unicom Group's listed arm, China Unicom Ltd (NYSE:CHU - news), would not bear the costs or risks of launching the network, but would have the option of acquiring it later if it is profitable. ``If the market is good, the listed company will have the right to acquire the network,'' said Wang, who is also president and executive director of the listed firm. SURPRISING CHANGE OF HEART The decision to adopt narrow-band CDMA (code division multiple access), first revealed to Reuters by a Unicom Group official on Monday, came as a surprise to many who follow the Chinese telecoms industry. In June, the firm publicly abandoned plans for narrow-band, or current generation, CDMA, sending Qualcomm stock into a dive. Unicom Group has also spent billions of dollars building mobile networks that run on the competing GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard promoted by European firms. But in recent months, it came under pressure from state-owned domestic equipment makers who had invested heavily in CDMA production plants, and from officials who had promised the U.S. government that China would adopt the standard in a concession to speed Beijing's bid to join the World Trade Organistion. Wang said the change of heart came when the government ordered the military to surrender Great Wall Telecom, which operated a trial CDMA network, to Unicom in July. Although the handover is being held up by wrangling over the price of the network, the delay does not appear to affect the Unicom Group plan to build a new network. ``Beyond supplementing the Great Wall network, we want to expand subscriber capacity,'' Wang said. ``The scope is too small: to make a profit you have to expand.'' UNICOM EYES INTERNET PHONES Asked to justify the roll-out of networks operating on rival standards, Wang suggested CDMA service would eventually be marketed as an upscale alternative to GSM. The narrow-band CDMA network could be upgraded easily to deliver Internet access at 144 kilobytes per second, he said. ``We attach great importance to smooth migration'' to the next generation of the standard, called cdma2000 1X, he said. Executives at Chinese CDMA equipment makers have said they agreed to upgrade Unicom Group's network to cdma2000 1X at a discount as an incentive to persuade the firm to adopt CDMA. ``With this upgrade, China Unicom Group will be first in the high-speed data market,'' Wang said. He said the company could easily obtain state bank loans to underwrite the network expansion. Qualcomm's stock jumped more than 10 percent on the news of the CDMA on Monday, to $77. It closed on Wednesday at $74 13/16.

To: CAtechTrader who wrote (8721)	10/19/2000 10:46:10 AM
From: Dutch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

I love a company with a good sense of humor!! Dial 1-800-888-3999 , this is "National Discount Brokers" Listen to the "options", paying close attention to #7, then hit #7!! Hilarious!! Have a GREAT day! Dutch

To: CAtechTrader who wrote (8721)	10/19/2000 10:50:25 AM
From: Mannie	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 65232

I just picked up EXTR March 75's.... I'll take the gift. Scott

To: CAtechTrader who wrote (8721)	10/19/2000 11:01:43 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

CAtech, They have issued a correction, but it is hardly notable considering they made numerous corrections that kept reporting the wrong information. Reuters needs to issue a statement that clearly states that erroneous news had been reported REPEATEDLY by Reuters & other news sources that may have affected trading in EXTR. Their prior erroneous stories discussed the beating EXTR shares were taking because they missed earnings. Ö¿Ö