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 Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: S100 who wrote (99214)	5/15/2001 7:45:34 PM
From: S100	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Good news on 3G costs, they can save $1.98 by reusing the power plug. Tuesday, May 15 9:14 PM SGT AWSJ: 3G Build Out Costs Falling -Singapore Mobile Execs By H. Asher Bolande Of THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--The cost of building third-generation mobile phone networks will be lower than forecast several months ago because existing equipment can be upgraded, the chief executives at Singapore's two largest cellular providers said Tuesday. SingTel Mobile - a unit of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. - previously predicted it would spend approximately S$1 billion on its 3G network over 10 to 15 years, SingTel Mobile Chief Executive Lucas Chow told The Asian Wall Street Journal. "But recently when we reassessed the situation, prices have come down," he said. "One can expect there will be some reductions in terms of 3G" capital expenditure, he said, without specifying the extent of the reductions. In a separate interview, Neil Montefiore, the chief executive of Singapore's number-two wireless carrier, MobileOne Ltd., echoed the remarks, saying that cost estimates had come down substantially over the last 12-18 months. Both executives said while it was previously assumed operators would have to build the 3G networks from scratch, some base station equipment used for today's second-generation phone networks is 3G-ready and can be upgraded relatively cheaply. "All we need to do to get 3G footprint is put the wideband CDMA modules in," said Montefiore, referring to the standard for 3G that his company will employ. "(New) operators will incur costs maybe twice that of an incumbent," he said, adding that competition between equipment vendors has also led to lower prices. Designed to transmit data at high speed, 3G networks are expected to give users the ability to tap into online services like CD-quality music downloads and multiplayer games while on the go. But the high price tag associated with 3G spectrum licenses and network construction has soured investors on the technology's business case in the last several months. Montefiore declined to comment on a possible change of MobileOne's ownership, saying: "At the moment it's business as usual." However, he said he thought the issue should be fully resolved in "a month or two." MobileOne's four corporate shareholders recently announced they were seeking a buyer for the company. They are Keppel Telecommunications & Transportations Ltd., Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., Britain's Cable & Wireless PLC and Hong Kong's Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. The Regional Wireless Co., a new joint venture between Australia's Telstra Corp. and PCCW, has expressed interest in bidding. Other possible bidders include European giant Vodafone PLC and Norway's biggest telecom company, Telenor AS. -0- 15/05/01 13-13G asia.biz.yahoo.com

To: S100 who wrote (99214)	5/16/2001
From: The Reaper	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

<"It's a disappointment and a fairly minor glitch in the scheme of things," said Roger Westbury, a spokesman for London-based BT. "Still, the problem meant you'd have an unmobile mobile phone, so that's no good."> I wonder what he would consider a major glitch? <BT was planning to roll out the service to 70,000 users at the end of this month, offering video and other multimedia services over phones with bandwidth much higher than the current 14K bit/sec. But BT will postpone the launch until late summer or early fall. "We shan't launch it until we're sure it's working," Westbury said.> Well, they "shan't" be launching anytime soon. I guess all the world's SP's outside of the U.S. are content to watch the good ol' USA launch 3G first. Analysts said they weren't concerned about the glitch. "A technical glitch such as this is not something to write home about," said Shiv Bakhshi, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based IDC, which is a sister company to Computerworld. "There are different interfaces involved with content, network distribution and reception on the handsets and to get one to talk to another, which involves a tremendous amount of technical and business coordination." It's called "synchronization". Can't do mobile without it. This story is better than any novel I've ever read. kirby