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

To: JohnG who wrote (6728)	1/30/2001 11:35:14 PM
From: JohnG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196550

QCOM-TI Agreement explained. JohnG CDMA Development Gets a Boost 1/30/2001 An agreement between two US powerhouses, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, will enable both to develop CDMA system chips. Last month, Qualcomm (San Diego, CA) and Texas Instruments (TI; Dallas, TX) announced a cross-license agreement through 2005 on their patent portfolios for integrated circuits (ICs) for wireless applications (see Qualcomm and Texas Instruments Enter into Cross-License Agreement. The agreement encompasses a significant amount of intellectual property (IP), focusing primarily on TI’s digital signal processing (DSP) and analog chip design and manufacturing patents and Qualcomm’s second- and third-generation (3G) code-division multiple access (CDMA) patents. For TI, it removes any barriers to developing integrated CDMA solutions, and for Qualcomm, it will extend its product portfolio. “The agreement with TI allows both companies to move forward in their respective markets without risk of a patent-infringement claim from the other,” observes Christine Trimble, Director, Public Relations at Qualcomm. New Development “This is another milestone in TI’s 3G development,” says Mike McMahan, Director of Wireless R&D, Texas Instruments. This agreement does not mark the start of TI’s 3G activity, the company has been working on it for the last three years or so, partnering with companies such as NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile phone operator. “Qualcomm’s primary goal is to drive the adoption of CDMA and usage of the wireless Internet,” notes Trimble. “We believe that having TI producing CDMA chips will be beneficial to CDMA's future and will support the worldwide adoption of CDMA.” Driving Force According to TI, the motivation for the agreement was that both companies realized that they needed to work together in order to free each other to operate. While TI already builds chips for CDMA phones, the evolution to more integration is likely to require use of some Qualcomm IP. “Because 3G standards will include technology which Qualcomm and TI both have IP in, this cross licensing agreement clears any perceived barriers for TI to enter this space,” explains McMahan. Multiple Standards While this agreement may smooth the road somewhat for Qualcomm and TI, the road to 3G itself is still littered with speed bumps (see “Confusion prevails on the Way to 3G” wirelessdesignonline.com{74DE1E7B-E0B5-11D4-A76E-00D0B7694F32}). For the most part, Qualcomm pioneered the IS-95 technology used in current US 2G systems. But 3G is taking a more global approach, with standardization being overseen by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). However, two competing access technologies still exist—wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) and cdma2000. W-CDMA has been largely promoted in Europe and Japan as an outgrowth from Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Many companies have contributed to this technology and have IP in this space. Cdma2000 is another 3G access technology that is being promoted primarily by Qualcomm and other US companies. Market Positioning While analysts are predicting W-CDMA is likely to be the winner, (see “W-CDMA Rushes Ahead of 3G Rivals” wirelessdesignonline.com{DFBB9FC0-BC82-11D4-8C7C-009027DE0829}most companies, including TI and Qualcomm, are taking the safe road by developing products for both standards. According to McMahan, TI’s strategy is “to be ‘standards agnostic’ and provide solutions for all the different standards.” And, the agreement with Qualcomm “extends and strengthens our ability to support this strategy.” As part of this broad support strategy, TI has developed its DSP-based Open Multimedia Platform (OMAP), to process next-generation (2.5 and 3G) applications for system on chip applications (SOC). The company reports that Nokia, Microsoft, Sony, and Sun Microsystems have all committed to and endorsed this platform. “We believe it will become a defacto standard platform in wireless,” adds McMahan. About the author… Janine Sullivan is a contributing writer for RF Globalnet. She is also the founder and owner of The Write Solution, a technical writing agency. Janine can be reached at The Write Solution, write2@mindspring.com.