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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 (29860)	12/9/2002 9:37:21 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197214

Telesp Celular to launch BREW handsets in 1Q03 DECEMBER 9, 2002 12:00AM BUSINESS NEWS AMERICAS BNamericas.com via NewsEdge Corporation : Brazil's largest mobile operator Telesp Celular (NYSE: TCP) will launch Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM) BREW wireless applications platform in early 2003, Qualcomm Brasil senior marketing manager Jacqueline Lee told BNamericas Monday at Qualcomm's headquarters in San Diego, California. Lee confirmed that Telesp will be the first Latin American operator to commercialize BREW. The operator ran preliminary tests with 250 subscribers in the Sao Paulo metro area during June and July of this year, she said. Telesp has already enjoyed considerable success with mobile data services based on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), marketed under the brand Waap. Short for Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, BREW is an open platform that brings together software developers, handset manufacturers and mobile operators, ultimately enabling the operators to select downloadable wireless data applications for their customers. Qualcomm describes it as providing the "kick-start" needed to fuel mass-market adoption of wireless data applications and services. Since BREW is an open platform available to all mobile technologies, the cost for launching it is no higher for GSM than CDMA subscribers, Qualcomm Internet services president Peggy Johnson told BNamericas. Johnson said the Telesp trials were "very successful." However, costs may limit mass-market penetration of data applications among Latin American subscribers, who continue to spend little on data services other than short-text SMS messaging. Although BREW is available for handsets with standard greyscale screens, most BREW-capable handsets are being developed with color screens, and the least expensive color handsets yet seen in the US are priced at around US$100. Lee said color handsets in Brazil are selling for about 1,800 reais (US$492), although "prices will come down." Qualcomm Mexico's business development VP Flavio Mansi told BNamericas that operators might subsidize handsets to an extent, but added he expects Latin American operators to focus BREW on high-end markets. "You're going to go after a market that can pay you," he noted. On the other hand, the actual cost of downloading applications, such as one dollar for a particular game, can be quite low, Clint McClellan, senior director for Qualcomm strategic marketing, told BNamericas. BREW may make sense even for prepaid subscribers, he said. However, at the end of the day the operators themselves are the ones who will have to determine the economic viability of that and other marketing strategies, he added. Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) controls Telesp Celular, while Spain's Telefonica Moviles (NYSE: TEM) has a minority interest. The company ended the third quarter with 5.75 million clients. wirelessweek.com