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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 (32071)	2/6/2003 7:32:45 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197227

SK Telecom May Delay 3G Roll-Out SK Telecom Chief Executive Officer Pyo Moon-soo said yesterday the company’s roll-out of third-generation (3G) mobile phone service is dependent on the condition of the economy. ``Our priority on 3G network investment will depend on the economic situation,’’ the head of the nation’s dominant mobile phone operator said. ``We will flexibly decide the timing of 3G commercial launch,’’ Pyo said in a conference call with analysts and investors on Thursday morning. The inability of mobile handset and system manufacturers to produce equipment on time is a possible threat to the company's deadline to launch its service. Pyo said it is far too early to bring out 3G phones, which will be able to download full-motion video in color and music at a speed of 2 megabits per second because of technical problems. SK Telecom, which boasts some 17 million mobile subscribers, plans to start the commercial 3G service, based on wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) from the middle of September. Debate over the merits of 3G has been split among mobile operators, government officials and telecom experts said. Pyo said the company hasn’t considered investing in an international roaming service for its 3G network, saying the timing isn’t right for the investment. ``It’s not the proper time to spend capital investment on supporting roaming because there are few countries using the 3G service,’’ Pyo said. Experts said 3G provides the golden opportunity to unite the world behind a single standard so a subscriber could use the same handset anywhere in the world. Currently, the official 3G standard, known as IMT-2000, includes three incompatible standards: UMTS (Europe) CDMA2000 (the United States) and WCDMA (South Korea and Japan). All are variants of CDMA (code division multiple access), a technology invented during World War II and refined and developed by U.S. technology firm Qualcomm. Pyo said the company targets 9.5 trillion won in sales this year, up 11 percent from last year. Last year, SK Telecom netted 1.5 trillion won in profits on sales of 8.6 trillion won, falling short of analysts’ expectations. In addition, Pyo said the company didn’t change its capital spending program, amounting to 2.5 trillion won this year. ``There will be no reconsideration of our capital expenditure plan for this year,’’ Pyo said. He added the company would do its best to boost share value. Last month, SK Telecom faced angry investors after the company announced a surprise capital investment plan for 2003. The total amount of investment was some 1 trillion won more than anticipated. Some analysts said SK Telecom radically increased its capital spending program to sidestep government pressure to lower mobile rates and introduce phone number portability. However, the move irked investors, making the company’s shares hit their lowest point in 33 months to 173,000 won. By Kim Deok-hyun Staff Reporter 02-06-2003 17:24 times.hankooki.com ========== LOL! What a funny world. "Pyo said it is far too early to bring out 3G phones, which will be able to download full-motion video in color and music at a speed of 2 megabits per second because of technical problems." Is that because buggy wCDMA offers performance well under 100kbs? Is that because wCDMA offers dismal capacity and coverage? Is that because your "2.5G" evdo networks - which are fully commercial and working quite well - are providing everything - cheaper and sooner? Is that because evdo will have this lead for many years? Is that because Korean vendors will be selling handsets later this year that will work with all standards - and roam anywhere in the world? Is there an "economic condition" for wCDMA in Korea? Is there an "economic condition" for wCDMA anywhere? All eyes are on Hutchison 3.

To: foundation who wrote (32071)	2/6/2003 9:07:41 AM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197227

I doubt they will make their March '03 target, but this is the first sign of strength in FOMA sales in a long time. The question now turns to performance, but at least there are still signs of interest in FOMA. I wonder if the fact that Docomo is paying for half of the development cost counts as a subsidy when they are calculating royalties.... nni.nikkei.co.jp Thursday, February 6, 2003 Demand For New 3G Phone Strong: DoCoMo President TOKYO (Nikkei)--The two latest third-generation mobile phone models of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437) have sold a total of 17,000 units in the past two weeks, Keiji Tachikawa, the president of NTT DoCoMo, said in a press meeting on Thursday. Sales of its FOMA 3G service cell phones dropped to 2,000-6,000 units a month despite a strong initial performance just after the service started in October 2001. The strong sales of the two models - F2051 launched on Jan. 18 and N2051 offered on Feb. 3 - have boosted the total sales of FOMA mobile phones to 152,000. Japan's top mobile phone operator decided to shoulder 50% of FOMA phone development cost by handset manufactures from last month. "As a result, the purchase price of FOMA phones from suppliers has plunged sharply," Tachikawa said. The retail prices of FOMA models have fallen by about 10,000 yen to 14,000-29,000 yen. "Our stock has run out due to strong sales," an official at a large electric appliance retailer said. President Tachikawa also stated that his company will take action to block access to so-called dating Web sites from cellular phones, which have become something of a social problem in Japan. At the request of parents, the company will prevent access from phones owned by minors to content other than that provided on NTT DoCoMo official Web sites from this summer. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Friday morning edition)