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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas Mercer-Hursh who wrote (42777)	5/18/2001 1:56:00 AM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

re: 4G Korea Style Beating DoCoMo (2006 implementation target) to the punch? >> 4th Generation Telecom Standard to Be Unveiled Kim Deok-hyun Korea Times May 15, 2001 The government and business groups are working to introduce a fourth-generation (4G) telecommunications standard which would be 10-times faster and offer an even richer variety of wireless multimedia services than the current third-generation service, or IMT-2000 service, industry source said yesterday. The source said that the government is scheduled to hold a public hearing to pool various opinions on 4G services and plans to unveil the standard before June. The technology would promise a data transmission speed of up to 20 Mbps, a speed at which services comparable to those on a standard PC can be provided. In an initial stage, network operators and equipment makers will have to adhere to a code of conduct setting out common standards in such areas as batteries, antenna and handsets. The initiative also intends to set up a unified communication system that will enable consumers, even if they are in different countries, to exchange their data and images without having to adopt a costly ``roaming'' service. The battle for telecoms standards -- for instance, between code division multiple access (CDMA) and global system for mobile telecommunication (GSM) -- has been a long and fluctuating one. Under the proposed plan, one of the biggest steps is the introduction of a unified mobile phone handset that incorporates those multiple standards. Based on all kinds of spectrums and standards, the government plans to issue guidelines for introducing so-called multi-mode handsets, which enable consumers to use all radio frequencies with a single handset. Currently, five companies-- Korea Telecom, KT M.com, SK Telecom, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics-- have formed specialized research teams for 4G with the aim of introducing services much sooner than the current target of 2010. These companies have kicked off basic research work last year and formed specialized research teams this year for full-scale research activities into 4G. Some analysts are still pessimistic on the prospects of 4G telecommunication services. ``Even third-generation mobile services have so far proven elusive for the world's big-name mobile carriers, which have poured astronomical investments into airwave spectrum licenses and network deployment,'' said Jin Young-wan, a telecom analysts of Hanwha Securities. The government views the current situation as the infancy stage for 4G telecom services and so will invest 12.5 billion won in the first-phase 4G development project in order to cultivate future industry leaders. In addition, a de facto 4G telecommunications research team is expected to start from the second half of 2003 when the current asynchronous-mode 3G services are fully deployed for commercial use. << - Eric -

To: Thomas Mercer-Hursh who wrote (42777)	5/18/2001 11:29:21 AM
From: rich evans	Respond to of 54805

Thanks everyone for all your good replies to my question on 4G and how it relates to Qualcom. On the question of timing I am pasting the rest of the article I read which talks about timing and 3G versus 4G. Rich Wireless LAN ``already removes a lot of the immediate applications for 3G,'' says Brett Stewart, founder and president of Wayport, which builds wireless-data networks for airports. ``Someone who's using a laptop and gets 6 megabits per second -- why would they want 3G?'' argues Pontus Bergdahl, CEO of Sweden's Columbitech, which develops the software needed to connect LANs with the main networks. If carriers do sit 3G out, that would hurt the wireless infrastructure market. Technology consultancy Adventis estimates carriers will spend $75 billion in the next few years on 3G equipment. But that number is beginning to look wildly optimistic. For their part, mobile telcos are worried that 3G services might fail to bring in expected revenues. And many carriers still staggering under the debts they assumed to win spectrum auctions now find capital markets closed and no way to fund 3G buildouts. HYBRID SOLUTIONS. For these reasons, some analysts believe 4G might even arrive at the same time as 3G, which will likely be fully deployed in North America only by 2005 -- the same year 4G is expected to debut. And companies that leap-frog 3G might be spending less at the end. How much less? According to analysts from Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities, covering all of Germany with wireless LANs would cost as much as the amount six wireless operators paid for their 3G licenses there last August. But enough companies have sunk money into 3G to ensure it won't be a total washout. ``It's still the lowest-risk strategy to migrate [to newer services] through 3G,'' says Adventis analyst Andrew Cole. Carriers wedded to 3G will likely combine LANs and Bluetooth with their new networks as well, he adds. That's the plan for Sweden's Telia, which operates wireless networks using different technologies in 30 countries and plans to use both 3G and wireless LANs. Nokia Mobile Vice-President for Systems Research Heikki Ahava calls the 3G and 4G technologies ``complementary. They all have their own role.'' Indeed, many operators and infrastructure vendors say they don't feel threatened by 4G. Wireless LANs and Bluetooth work only in limited ranges and won't allow for the mobility offered by 3G, says Hakan Eriksson, vice-president for research at Ericsson, which has the most 3G-infrastructure contracts of any company in the world. REFUND, PLEASE. Overlapping wireless LANs could also cause interference and low quality of service, says Columbitech's Bergdahl. And 4G proponents have yet to work out standards to allow users to switch back and forth from wireless LANs back to traditional cell networks. ``There are sufficiently large problems with 3G that it's unrealistic to talk of 4G,'' says Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. But 4G believers counter that such problems can be overcome. And 3G looks wobblier each month. Large carriers, including British Telecommunications and NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest wireless provider, have postponed 3G offerings after technical glitches. Several European 3G auctions have collapsed. And some European operators are now asking governments to refund the money spent to buy licenses to the 3G wireless spectrum, a dramatic about-face. All this has made companies building technologies for 4G networks hot plays, according to John Roy of Merrill Lynch -- while companies that bet heavily on 3G, including Ericsson, Deutsche Telecom, and Vodafone, ``are in a tough spot,'' Roy says. That could be an understatement. Some of these players must be wondering if they poured that $100 billion into a wireless black hole. <i/>