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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 (31849)	1/29/2003 5:57:03 PM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197247

AT&T Wireless Says It's Slashing Capital Spending By 40%; Industrywide Revenue Down; Firm must convince people to buy GSM phones rather than older TDMA models Investor's Business Daily January 29, 2003 BY REINHARDT KRAUSE AT&T Wireless Inc. will hit the brakes on capital spending in 2003 as the mobile phone industry's revenue growth slows. The nation's third largest carrier with 20.86 million subscribers, AT&T Wireless says it'll slash network spending in 2003 about 40% to $3 billion. AT&T Wireless said it expects industry revenue, as well as its own, to grow 5% to 7% in '03. That's down from about 10% growth in '02 and 17% in '01, says market researcher Yankee Group. John Zeglis, AT&T Wireless chairman and chief executive, says the carrier still plans to invest in new services. "We're not in harvest mode in a flat industry," he told an analyst meeting in New York Tuesday. AT&T Wireless shares closed Tuesday at 6.40, down 4%. By cutting capital spending, the carrier expects to become free cash flow positive in 2003. That's cash flow from operations minus capital spending. It's a yardstick used in capital-intensive industries in which few firms report net earnings. In 2002, AT&T Wireless reported a net loss of $2.32 billion on revenue of $15.63 billion. Sales rose 14.8% from 2001. AT&T Wireless said it wouldn't estimate how many subscribers it will add in 2003. Its customer base grew 15.6% to 20.85 million in 2002, including subscribers acquired through the purchase of TeleCorp. Inc. Zeglis says AT&T is upbeat about long-term subscriber growth and new revenue from wireless data services. However, the firm is clearly growing more cautious about making huge investments, analysts say. Zeglis no longer expects to use more than 20% of AT&T Wireless' revenue for capital spending. It ponied up 31% of sales on network upgrades in 2002. Weak demand for wireless Internet services is one reason for AT&T Wireless' pragmatic outlook. "Truth be told, all the hype caused a lot of us (carriers) to plan technology upgrades that were separated by months, not years," Zeglis told analysts. That's not enough time for carriers, software developers or equipment makers to get a proper return on investment, he says. In 2002, AT&T Wireless began building a digital network that uses global system for mobile communications, or GSM, technology. AT&T Wireless built its GSM system alongside its older network, which uses time division multiple access, or TDMA, technology. In many markets, AT&T Wireless sells mobile phones that use either GSM or TDMA airwaves. However, AT&T's marketing challenge is getting more people to buy GSM phones instead of older TDMA phones. AT&T Wireless isn't being specific about how many GSM customers it signed up in 2002. "It's in the hundreds of thousands, rapidly approaching 1 million," said spokesman David Caouette. The problem is that AT&T Wireless must use part of its capital spending to support TDMA customers even as it expands the reach of GSM, analysts say. AT&T Wireless' GSM services are available in two-thirds of the nation's biggest markets. The GSM network will operate in 85 of the top 100 U.S. cities by year-end. However, many customers still prefer TDMA phones because they can be used in big cities, smaller markets and rural areas, analysts say. Zeglis said AT&T Wireless expects to finish a software upgrade to its GSM network by the fourth quarter. At that point the system will whisk data and Web content at average speeds two or three times faster than those of dial-up phone networks. AT&T Wireless recently scaled back plans to launch a more advanced system once the GSM build-out is completed. In late 2000, Japan's NTT DoCoMo paid $9.8 billion for a 16% stake in AT&T Wireless. Together, they targeted wireless Net services. AT&T Wireless now plans to roll out DoCoMo's technology in only four cities next year -- San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and San Diego -- instead of the 13 originally planned. AT&T Wireless must meet its commitment to roll out Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, or UMTS, in those four markets or it might be forced to buy back its own stock from DoCoMo for the original purchase price plus interest. ========== Zeglis said AT&T Wireless expects to finish a software upgrade to its GSM network by the fourth quarter. At that point the system will whisk data and Web content at average speeds two or three times faster than those of dial-up phone networks. Ahhh EDGEfantasies.... LOL! What happens when they pop? Is Zeglis sweating that he was promised commercial EDGEfantasy handsets last year?

To: foundation who wrote (31849)	1/29/2003 7:08:45 PM
From: rkral	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197247

Ben, re "[edit: CDMA2000 1xEV-DO] tied into Wi-Fi hotspots " I have seen suggestions about using DO with a Wi-Fi hotspot many times .. probably ever since the "Wi-Fi competition vs. complementary to 3G" debate started. But using a 2.4 Mbps forward link as the backbone to a Wi-Fi LAN ("hotspot") running at 11 Mbps has never made sense to me. I don't recall seeing this capacity issue addressed anywhere. The network architecture is only viable IMHO, if the majority of the LAN traffic is peer-to-peer. I cannot think of airport or a Starbucks type scenario where this would be true. And the reverse link of DO is much slower. What am I missing? Would 4 r-f carriers (5 MHz bandwidth, 9.6 Mbps combined), or something like that, be typically used for the forward link? Can someone shed some light on this? Ron

To: foundation who wrote (31849)	1/29/2003 9:10:42 PM
From: foundation	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197247

For Now, NextWave Sees Opportunity In Business, Not Selling Out BY MARK ROCKWELL JANUARY 29, 2003 NEWS@2 DIRECT WASHINGTON-NextWave Telecom apparently still is making noises about becoming a big wireless carrier. While speculation swirls about whether or not the wireless license holder will sell off its spectrum or plow ahead with plans for selling wholesale digital airtime, the company's primary plan is 'going out and finding the best opportunity for our creditors and investors. There are lots of opportunity to deploy data services,' NextWave senior vice president Michael Wack says in an interview with Wireless Week. NextWave said almost a year ago it had activated wireless networks in 60 of its 95 markets nationwide, at a cost of $100 million, but declined to specify at the time exactly what it had activated in those markets. NextWave contends it has met the FCC's build-out requirements and is currently waiting for the commission to review 'demonstration filings' the company made a year ago that showed it is providing adequate service in at least 60 of its markets nationally, says Wack. The company claims it has built out enough network infrastructure in those locations to serve 33 percent of the customers in areas where it owns C-block spectrum and 25 percent of customers in its D-, E- and F-block licensed markets, Wack says. Those percentages are in line with what the FCC requires, he says. The FCC has yet to respond to those demonstrations of service, he adds. The intervening Supreme Court case has been a drag on the FCC's response, say NextWave and FCC officials. FCC officials have said the company may have been given a little leeway in the build-out requirements, because making NextWave build out networks in areas where it might-or might not-have owned licenses would have been onerous, at best. But NextWave officials say that partnerships or selling off some licenses could happen if the company finds that the market for data doesn't pan out. In more fallout from the Supreme Court ruling this week that won NextWave its right to retain its PCS spectrum holdings, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the NextWave experience had taught the FCC a few things about auctions. In a briefing this morning with telecommunications reporters, he said he was concerned bidders in a future spectrum auction might use the cover of bankruptcy to avoid paying for their bids. He added the FCC would avoid acting as financier for minority-owned companies in future auctions. wirelessweek.com