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

To: foundation who wrote (15079)	9/20/2001 7:19:02 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196499

LG, KTF Battle for Expanding Market Share The struggle between KTF and LG Telecom, the second and third largest mobile carriers, concerning telecom industry regulations looked likely to intensify after a recent flurry of aggressive statements. In a 31-page document Tuesday, LG Telecom argued that KTF must be treated as an oligopoly in league with market leader SK Telecom. ``The government's lack of both a creative policy and an accurate understanding of the telecoms industry has spawned a monopolistic market environment,'' LG said. So far, LG Telecom's sights have been confined to SK Telecom, but the move is seen as being a step toward gaining the upper hand in the public opinion war. LG Telecom, which won the third and last third-generation (3G) mobile phone license last August, has been trying to persuade the government to continue its market share restrictions on dominant mobile carriers until LG itself raises its market share to 20 percent. As part of efforts to encourage LG Telecom to re-bid for the 3G license last August, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) promised a variety of favors to the company. However, the ministry is still in a dilemma how to translate into action its guarantees without enraging LG's competitors. Against LG's move, KTF, which has up until now adopted a wait-and-see attitude, hit back immediately. ``KTF is not an oligopoly under current antitrust laws,'' said company spokesperson Lee Byong-moo. In addition, the company is broadly in favor of LG's proposal to impose differentiated regulations on different sized mobile players, but its specifications are in sharp contrast to those of LG. At first, KTF opposed LG's appeal to retain market share restriction on SK Telecom and KTF, saying it is against market principles and capitalist economic theory. Secondly, the company denounced its rival's suggestion that the government should give priority to LG Telecom, including provision of its mobile phone service to public sector businesses. ``That argument has no legal ground and is likely to infringe upon consumers' right to freely choose their needed service,'' KTF pointed out. kdh@koreatimes.co.kr ÀÔ·Â½Ã°£ 2001/09/20 17:08 hankooki.com

To: foundation who wrote (15079)	9/20/2001 3:54:54 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196499

<Korean mobile phone manufacturers are preparing for the construction of their factories in China to roll out code division multiple access (CDMA) handsets ahead of the Chinese government's formal approval. ... Samsung Electronics reported that it has agreed to a business cooperation arrangement with Keijian, a Chinese firm, for the transfer of CDMA technology. > This is better than them whining about the derisory 5% royalty they are paying for such an amazing technological development. As QUALCOMM has said, they are welcome to the same terms as Chinese companies but it seems that the Koreans don't want that - they want to cherry pick. Well, the Korean companies have actually [had already] figured out what to do about it. Form a joint venture with Chinese companies so that when they make CDMA phones in China they can sell them in China for only 2.5% royalty, thereby getting the cherry [albeit shared with a Chinese company but just how greedy are they?]. The Koreans [and Japanese] can put up some money, manufacturing knowledge and some technology transfer as their side of the joint venture. The Chinese company can put up land, buildings and a horde of people who will be grateful to get a job in the most modern 21st century part of the world there is. Then, people in China can buy super duper high quality 21st century communications at a cheap price [they don't have a lot of money - yet - so it's sensible to give them a discount to get them going]. Because Chinese get such low pay [still coming out of Maoism's great leap backwards] they will be able to export phones really cheaply, even with 7% royalty. So, QUALCOMM will get huge royalty payments from sales inside China, plus supply the ASICs to those who got the low royalty agreements in China [part of the agreement was to buy ASICs and other stuff, such as SnapTrack I suppose], plus huge 7% royalties on exported phones which will still be much cheaper than the high-priced phones made outside where only 5% royalties are charged [early licensees such as Motorola, for pre 1995 patents, pay less]. So, the Korean and Japanese companies will enjoy hugely increased sales at low royalties in China. They will get cheap phones, Made in China, which they will export, paying 7% royalty and they will still be cheaper than phones Made in Korea or Made in Japan or Made in USA. So, QUALCOMM will make a fortune. As people are starting to notice, just as in Korea in 1998 and now USA in 2001 and especially since the WTC destruction, cellphones are not a luxury. Communication comes even before food and water in some circumstances. Everybody on earth needs to communicate and everybody on earth is mobile [other than a few prisoners and the like]. Blind and deaf people need to communicate too - one by reading the other by listening. Everybody wants to read [other than the illiterate] so data will be very big time apart from deaf people's needs. Everyone on earth needs CDMA. Cellphones are not a luxury. When economies get crunched, cellphone sales continue. People need to communicate even more when they are struggling to earn a living instead of lazing around in a holiday resort or on vacation in foreign lands. People will stay home, buy a cellphone and get back to work. Also, cellphones simply wear out! Replacement is not due only to the need to upgrade to enjoy better features and performance. Batteries last a limited time, keypads wear out. Aerials break. Screens get scratched or cracked. After 2 years of use, phones are not looking new. There is already a huge replacement market and the rate of replacement varies from as quick as 6 months for young people to 1 year for Generation X and 2 or even 3 years for old fogies. Watch young people with cellphones and it is as much a mania as anything I have seen in my life. They are completely nuts! They spend on cellphones before anything else. QUALCOMM will be leading the world out of the recession [if the infamous recession actually does arrive as expected by many - I have my doubts though things have definitely slowed down]. Mqurice PS: Service providers need to adopt a pricing model to avoid overloading when a plane crashes into a building and everyone wants to phone home straight away. They need to enable people in emergencies to get through immediately, not wait for somebody to stop yakking about baseball. Baseball talk could wait until minute rates drop from $10 a minute. [I thought it timely to do a little rant on pricing and the "Busy" signal problem]. I imagine somebody on top of the WTC or in an aircraft couldn't make a call to their loved ones because somebody safely out of harm's way at street level phoned home. At $20 a minute, people on the ground would keep their calls very brief. People heading for death would simply make the call and ignore the $20 a minute flashing sign on their handset.