Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: sag who wrote (32844)	2/25/2003 11:51:46 PM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 196649

I think that this one needs to be posted....confirmation of Telecom and Netcom's interest in CDMA. bloomberg.com 02/25 22:47 Qualcomm Talks With China Telecom, Netcom on Standard (Update2) By Michael Forsythe Beijing, Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Qualcomm Inc., whose wireless technology is used by 135 million mobile-phone users, held ``informal discussions'' with China's two biggest fixed-line phone companies to adopt its code-division multiple access technology, Qualcomm Chairman and Chief Executive Irwin Jacobs said. China's phone regulator promised China Telecommunications Corp. and China Netcom Communication Group Corp. cell-phone licenses, ending the duopoly of China Mobile Communications Corp. and China United Telecommunications Corp. The regulator hasn't said whether the new operators will have a choice of standards. ``It's still very early in the game,'' Jacobs told reporters in Beijing, referring to talks with China Telecom and China Netcom. ``I think they'll go ahead with CDMA.'' San Diego-based Qualcomm sells chips for cellular phones and networks and licenses technology to manufacturers, including Chinese companies. Last year, China United has signed up 7 million subscribers for its new CDMA network and plans to add 13 million users this year, 11.4 million in the 21 provinces operated by Hong Kong-listed unit China Unicom Ltd. China Telecom and China Netcom may have to build wireless networks from scratch, because their existing Little Smart local- only wireless phone systems, which serve about 12 million people, aren't compatible with CDMA, Jacobs said. Shares of China Telecom Corp., a unit of China Telecom, were unchanged at HK$1.46 at 11:46 a.m. in Hong Kong. Unicom stock rose 0.5 percent to HK$4.90, and China Mobile stock fell 0.6 percent to HK$17.30. Qualcomm stock fell 1.2 percent to $34.77 on Nasdaq stock market trading on Tuesday.

To: sag who wrote (32844)	2/26/2003 12:52:03 AM
From: q1000	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 196649

GSM1x per Thornley and Keitel today Most of the presentations today covered matters in the same manner as has been done in other presentations recently. However, there were a few items that I though were flushed out a little more in the presentations today, especially about GSM1x. Keitel on GSM1x GSM1x technology has received some increased attention recently… GSM operators today have a difficult path in how they upgrade their networks to get their 3G platform… At Qualcomm we’re very focused on seeing operators get to CDMA as effectively and quickly as possible… What I have depicted here is how a GSM operator might add CDMA to their network with this capability... Switching network and service network operate on a protocol that is different from the protocol of CDMA. What those operators need in order to be able to offer CDMA services is something that will convert the protocol of CDMA to something that can be interpreted by a GSM backbone network and vice versa—something that a CDMA radio network would be able to interpret the data coming off the service network and the switching network—that is GSM1x. It’s a protocol converter. With this capability, GSM operators—those who want to consider in-band migration rather than going out and buying new spectrum—it can be a very expensive proposition if it’s available—can consider in-band migration. CDMA2000 is designed to operate in increments of 1.25 MHz of channel so you need 2.5 MHz of spectrum for forward and reverse to begin offering service. In the case of WCDMA.. you need to clear 10 MHz of spectrum to initiate 3G service in the WCDMA mode. CDMA2000 offers some operators a better chance to do in-band migration and forego the costly path of adding new spectrum… China Unicom.. will trial—starting next quarter—our GSM1x solution. This will be the first commercial trial of GSM1x. The MSM6300 has already sampled—commercial volumes later this year and that chipset has the dual mode GSM/CDMA capability. If China Unicom goes commercial, it could very effectively then move GSM subscribers, probably those that prefer a data offering, onto a CDMA network. That user will not see the difference as long as they are on voice services as they move between a GSM and CDMA network. It is a very smooth elegant migration path potentially there for China Unicom or other GSM operators to move to CDMA. Thornley on GSM1x At 21+ minute mark: We have offered GSM operators an alternative path and we announced recently that we are doing a trial with Unicom. This is really taking 1x as an overlay into an existing GSM network and, by adding a soft switch to the network architecture; it allows the GSM operators to preserve its existing back office system and allows them to move to a third-generation system quite easily. However, I got to say that the GSM operators have believed in going the same path so for one to break away from the established path is a very difficult thing for them to do. Unicom though, having existing GSM and CDMA networks, is very interested in how to optimize the use of those and they see GSM1x as a great way to do that. Thornley also dealt with GSM1x in a Q&A: 31 minute mark: *Details on GSM1x China Unicom trial? Any other companies looking at that product?* The trial will start in the spring. What we’ll be doing is that in one region of Unicom’s deployment—a small network that will incorporate the soft switch I talked about—so it will be a technical trial. It will really be proving out the GSM side of the equation. We have demo-ed that a couple of times now in trade shows but we really want to do more of a capacity test on the GSM side—there shouldn’t be any issue with that at all. What we’d expect to see is also the introduction of the GSM/CDMA phone and proving those out and particularly Unicom is interested in giving GSM voice subscribers access to CDMA 1x data services. So we’ll be looking in particular at how to deliver that particular nuance to them. In terms of others, we are certainly in dialog with a number of other companies. We haven’t announced any other trials. The Unicom trial from a technical point of view is the most important but we do expect to see some other technical trials. As I mentioned, though, in terms of broad adoption, it’s not evident yet that we are going to see a huge amount of GSM1x. But it is a very good option for the European operators to consider as an adjunct—or maybe a solution—to some of their complications but as of yet they haven’t got there. Thornley also was upbeat about China and India in the questions that immediately followed the preceding question. *Update us on subsidies in China?* What happened.. in late 2002, Unicom had a target of 7 million subscribers. They introduced subsidies to achieve that number. In 2003, they have a target of getting to 20 million subscribers; they have introduced 1x—put it into the network—we’re working very hard with them on BREW, developing applications, bringing applications in.. and also launching gpsOne so that position location applications can be included in that repertoire of applications. As that gets launched—their target is in the first half of 03—I expect that—and it’s just my expectation—they haven’s said--that they’ll try to see how that goes without subsidies and then as needs be they’ll introduce incentives—we call it subsidies—certainly the right incentives to get to the target by the end of the year. *Does top-line growth in ’03 include India—the Reliance deal?* Reliance has been signing up subscribers very rapidly—apparently around 2 million or so. They have not launched commercial service yet. They are actually delivering phones to these new subscribers and at the end of March or thereabouts they intend to start charging for that service; and at that point they are hoping to have many more than 2 million. They’ve announced that they expect to break even on an EBITDA basis.. for 2003. They are very serious. There’s no doubt to me that they are going to get a lot of subscribers because they are so aggressive in terms of pricing their service.