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

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (20920)	3/29/2002 2:20:06 PM
From: kech	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197121

Love those handsets. See this? Thursday March 28, 12:47 am Eastern Time Reuters ANALYSIS-KDDI meets marketing challenges in Japan's 3G race By Eriko Amaha TOKYO, March 28 (Reuters) - Japan's number two mobile carrier KDDI Corp (9433.T) has always boasted about its cost-effective wireless technology but never been able to translate that into substantial subscriber growth because of unsuccessful marketing. ADVERTISEMENT But Yuji Fujimoto, the general manager of KDDI's sales planning department, says things are changing. KDDI launched its third-generation (3G) mobile service ``CDMA2000 1x'' on April 1 and Fujimoto believes the company can win a chunk of market share. ``We've built great infrastructure with big capacity, but so far that has only been good for our pride,'' he said. ``Starting from April, we want to change drastically the way we appeal to customers...We plan to snatch a lot of users from our rivals.'' Top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T) kicked off 3G services in Japan last October and it plans to expand its service area from April to cover 60 percent of Japan's population from the current 22 percent. DoCoMo's service, which offers a maximum speed of 384 kbps (kilobits per second), is expected to go nationwide by 2004. KDDI's CDMA2000 1x, which delivers data at 144 kbps, plans to cover 70 percent of the population at launch and 90 percent by the end of March 2003. J-Phone, operated by Japan Telecom Co Ltd (9434.T) and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L), is scheduled to join the 3G race in June, although no details have been announced. Analysts like KDDI's CDMA technology but are cautious as to how much KDDI can gain from it in Japan's maturing mobile market. ``Over the next few months, particularly in April and May, they can probably do fairly well because it is a high-speed service that's available in a much wider area,'' said Kirk Boodry, telecoms analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. ``But the churn rates for all the carriers have come down significantly,'' he added. Analysts said customers were becoming reluctant to switch companies because of complicated operating systems. Once they master a system, increasingly they tend to stay with it. COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGY KDDI uses the CDMA technology, which is different from the W-CDMA (wideband code-division multiple access) standard adopted by DoCoMo and J-Phone. While W-CDMA requires hefty spending to build new networks for 3G services, CDMA involves lower costs to boost transmission speeds because existing networks can be upgraded. This allows KDDI to offer competitive communication fees, rapid coverage expansion and smooth migration to 3G, with users able to switch between 3G and 2G with one mobile handset. DoCoMo 3G users, on the other hand, have to carry two handsets if they want to be connected everywhere in Japan until a whole new network is completed.. The CDMA system also features GPS (global positioning system), a service W-CDMA networks will not be able to offer. Docomo and J-Phone have chosen W-CDMA since many European carriers are expected to adopt the standard, which would allow them to offer wider global roaming services. Fujimoto said the best way to sell KDDI's technology was to offer email systems whereby users can send large files such as still or moving pictures, or a map to show their location. Hitoshi Hayakawa, a telecoms analyst at ING Barings, said the technology should help KDDI tap new markets such as automobile or corporate segments. ``It's not impossible for KDDI to grab 25 percent of new sign-ups going forward,'' he said. MIXED VIEWS KDDI, which was created through a three-way merger in October 2000, has long suffered from a lack of unified strategies, juggling three different mobile arms, Tu-ka, au and DDI Pocket. KDDI has also been challenged by J-Phone, which has successfully captured new subscribers by savvy marketing of ``sha-mail'', a service where users can take still pictures and email them using a handset with a tiny, built-in camera. The 3G market has got off to a slow start and market leader DoCoMo garnered only 55,700 3G users by February, way below the 150,000 it had targetted by the end of March. KDDI aims to boost the number of its subscribers to 17.9 million from the current 12 million in the next three years. But analysts are split over whether that is feasible and their ratings on KDDI shares also vary. Yasumasa Goda, senior analyst at Merrill Lynch, rates the stock a strong buy and has target price of 500,000 yen based on KDDI's technological advantage and improving financial health. Goda says the stock can go as high as 550,000 yen and expects a 2002/03 EV/EBITDA (enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of 10 or 11 times. But Mark Berman, telecom analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston Japan Ltd, has a more conservative view, projecting KDDI's EV/EBITDA to be 6.1 times next business year, with a target share price of 353,000 yen. That compares with 10.8 times for Japan Telecom and 10.1 times for DoCoMo next year. Shares in KDDI have risen 38 percent this month on expectations that its three-year business plan, announced on March 15, would improve the company's financial health. The stock traded at 341,000 yen on Thursday, up 1.49 percent, compared with the Nikkei (.N225), which was up 0.22 percent. biz.yahoo.com

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (20920)	3/29/2002 6:06:57 PM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 197121

San Diego-Based Wireless Tech Firm Wingcast Snags Deal with Nissan Infiniti wirelessdesignonline.com{71EEB2FE-426C-11D6-A789-00D0B7694F32}&VNETCOOKIE=NO 3/29/2002 Mar 29, 2002 (The San Diego Union-Tribune - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Wingcast, the joint venture by Qualcomm and Ford Motor Co., has finally made it to the starting gate in the race to offer wireless Internet service in cars. The San Diego company said yesterday it signed a deal with Nissan for its wireless technology to be a standard feature in four Infiniti models available this fall. The deal is a boost to Wingcast as it shows the company has a market beyond Ford, one of its key backers. Ford has yet to begin offering Wingcast service in its fleet of vehicles. The Infiniti Communicator Powered by Wingcast will allow drivers to talk on cell phones hands-free, get automatic road-side assistance when an airbag is deployed and even get recommendations on nearby restaurants. Wingcast is trying to grab part of an emerging market called telematics, the technology that combines telecommunications and electronics. Wingcast's technology uses cellular networks along with global positioning to pinpoint a vehicle's location to provide a wide array of services, including real-time navigation and traffic information. For all of Wingcast's futuristic applications, the company will have to play catch-up to the front-runner in the field OnStar, which is installed in one of every four new General Motors vehicles. Launched in 1996, OnStar has more than 2 million subscribers. The service, which offers roadside assistance, stolen-vehicle tracking and routing services similar to Wingcast's, is standard in more than 30 GM vehicles, including the Buick LeSabre and the Chevy Blazer. Lexus and Acura have also signed deals with OnStar. The increasingly crowded telematics field also includes MobileAria, a joint venture between Palm Inc. and car-parts maker Delphi, which is working on voice-activated Internet services. And last August, Daimler Chrysler said it would partner with AT&T Wireless to offer telematics services in its fleet of vehicles. Wingcast will offer its service using Verizon Wireless' cell-phone network. With all the competition, Wingcast will have a harder road because of its slow start, said Dan Garretson, senior automotive analyst for market research firm Forrester Research. But Egil Juliussen, principal analyst for Telematics Research Group, said there's plenty of time for Wingcast to gain ground. "There's no question that they are late," Juliussen said. "On the other hand, the telematics market is still in the pioneering stage." The fact that Wingcast was able to snag Nissan's Infiniti line is an important step for the company, because it had been assumed that only Ford would use the technology. When Qualcomm and Ford launched Wingcast in July 2000, Ford said it would equip 1 million of its cars and trucks with its technology by the end of 2002, with nearly all its vehicles equipped by 2005. Ford has not yet made an announcement about its current plans to offer Wingcast service. The Infiniti deal is significant, because Nissan had considered using telematics technology developed by ATX Technologies, a Dallas company. While the various competitors maneuver for position in the telematics market, some industry watchers question its real potential. Garretson estimated the telematics market will grow to $20 billion by 2006, but half of that revenue will go to wireless networks. Equipment manufacturers will garner about $6 billion, and only about $4 billion will go to providers of specific services, he said. As wireless technologies improve, the need for telematic services may evaporate, said Eddie Hold, a wireless analyst for Current Analysis, a Virginia market research firm. Hold pointed out that many of the so-called concierge services like movie listings and restaurant recommendations are already available elsewhere. "I can do that on my cell phone now for God's sake," Hold said. Because of that, consumers may be unwilling to pay extra for telematics services, he added. Wingcast has yet to release its pricing plans but will separate services into three categories: safety and security, communications and entertainment. The real appeal of telematics services is the security aspect, said Mike Finley, Wingcast's vice president of enterprise business. He said the success of LoJack, which tracks stolen cars, demonstrates consumer demand. Wingcast will be able to track stolen vehicles nationwide whereas LoJack works only in 21 states including California and Arizona. Automatic road-side assistance will be another selling point, he added. Safety and security can only go so far, Hold said. "Cellular networks are not omnipresent," he said. "If I break down where there's no signal, it's not going to do me a lot of good." By Jennifer Davies To see more of The San Diego Union-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to uniontrib.com (c) 2002, The San Diego Union-Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (20920)	3/30/2002 4:11:26 AM
From: limtex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197121

DR - If that lot doesn't do it for KDDI we might as well give up. The handsets look fantastic, loads of goodies. Its what we've been waiting for (since the enitre media seems to totally ignore Korea). Best, L

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (20920)	4/1/2002 4:00:43 AM
From: Dennis Roth	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197121

KDDI launches new 3G high-speed mobile service home.kyodo.co.jp TOKYO, April 1, Kyodo - KDDI Corp. on Monday launched a new third-generation (3G) high-speed data transmission service for its ''au'' mobile phones to compete with a similar service offered by rival NTT DoCoMo Inc. The new CDMA2000 1x service, to be available across Japan, moves data at 144 kilobits per second via the Internet, making it easy for users to send and receive video. Japan's second-largest telecom operator is also launching five new handset models, one of which features a built-in miniature camera. Until now, the au service handled data at 64 kps. Industry leader NTT DoCoMo launched its FOMA 3G wireless service last October, while another operator, J-Phone Communications Co., a unit of Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, plans to launch a 3G service in June. KDDI President Tadashi Onodera said the company aims to ship seven million handsets for the CDMA2000 1x by the end of March 2003. CDMA2000 1x handsets are priced at the 20,000 yen level, about half of FOMA handsets. Initially, the service will be available in 33 out of Japan's 47 prefectures and 477 municipalities throughout the country, KDDI officials said. It will be available in 90% of all populated areas in Japan by the end of the year, they said. CDMA2000 1x is already available in six other countries, including the United States and South Korea, under the management of 11 operators, KDDI said. Another 29 operators plan to launch it in 12 more countries such as China, Australia and New Zealand.