Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (5012)	11/28/2000 1:21:53 PM
From: Getch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197015

If the rumors of AT&T Wireless moving to W-CDMA turn out to be true, what assumptions can we then make about the future of EDGE? Are there any other carriers out there to carry the finger burning EDGE short torch? What does this mean for Cingular? Also, doesn't AT&T already own a chunk of NTT? Wouldn't a purchase by NTT DoCoMo into AT&T in effect be a sale by T of its NTT to get cash, and an excuse to dump EDGE? Need to find the post of AT&T response to Gilder this past summer.

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (5012)	11/28/2000 1:44:05 PM
From: widget445	Respond to of 197015

"Where there's smoke, usually there's fire" ---- OT (sort of) So lets take stock so far: - Docomo already wildly successful offering i-mode, now they go streaming video and are headed toward WCDMA (real services, now). - Docomo and AWS talking about joining at the hip state side. - AWS desperately needs competitive offering against existing CDMA operator evolution to 1x, 1xEV (3G etc). - AWS know that EDGE is dead because it has no future and so by definition is its predecessor TDMA. - AWS know they have to truck-roll their entire network, so it's just a matter of when, to what and how to pay for it. If they follow the likes of Sprint to CDMA they'll just be another me-to operator looking for service differentiation on IS95, and forced to compete on price. Likely reading too much into the smoke here (looking only, not inhaling) but this looks like a need for cash, a need for a compelling new service alternative and a need for commercial survival (all the elements necessary to drive a discontinuity). My guess would be Docomo invests in AWS bringing cash and current services suite. AWS uses cash to go GSM PRS (that's GPRS for the uninitiated) now and WCDMA longer term, offering products & services that only operators on the other side of the pond(s) have thought about yet. Consumers won't care whether its CDMA or not they'll just want cheap, and pretty, and fun. And they'll know that all the hype about the Euro's and Japanese being years ahead of the "colonies" in providing wireless data services is nothing but a load of hooey because AWS will then be able to deliver the same goods. Am sensing a disturbance in the force "big time", with upsets and ripple effects all around (either that or maybe I've been inhaling). Regardless should be fun to watch. Regards, -wdg

To: Kent Rattey who wrote (5012)	11/28/2000 2:01:49 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197015

Kent, << "Where there's smoke, usually there's fire" >> There sometimes is and sometimes isn't. I think that Ericsson's statement is very sensible. The sources so far for the conjecture that AWS will use GSM/GPRS and eventually WCDMA (perhaps skipping TDMA-EDGE) seem to be journalist Lynette Luna (who to me is not very credible) and Andrew Seybold (who, IMO, is reasonably credible. Andrew Seybold has gone so far as to recently remove EDGE from his interesting Wireless Roadmap". wirelessroadmap.com Above roadmap may require (free) registration at Seybold's site: wirelessroadmap.com Article on Seybold's AWS "Outlook" is here: outlook.com One of the things that adds credibility to Seybold's conjecture, IMO, is that he is a long time CDMA "Bull", even though he is able to apply rather sensible objectivity. I myself am not so sure that TDMA-EDGE should be written off (although I'll be delighted if it does). There are two reasons for my thinking this way. AWS GSM is somewhat impractical to my way of thinking due to the lack of 800 MHz GSM gear, and GSM has no AMPS heritage (AWS still relies on AMPS) even though there are GSM-1900/AMPS-800 handsets. TDMA Troopers in Latin America are faced with a serious dilemma without TDMA-EDGE as it relates to regional (voice & data roaming) now that spectrum is being auctioned for GSM-1800 (or maybe CDMA-1800 <g>). AWS is leading the parade (and standards evolution for EDGE) within 3GPP. GSM-EDGE seems to be gathering some supporters in Europe (where little if any existed before). With all that said AWS & Cingular have a dilemma, and nothing could tickle my CDMA fancy more. There is one potential downside for us CDMAers I can think of, and that is if some deal is being made within 3GPP or GSMA in support of 800 MHz GSM/GPRS gear. For the moment GSM has no penetration in 800 MHz (prevalent throughout the Americas and available in China and elsewhere) and I'd like to see it stay this way. - Eric -