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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 (33164)	3/6/2003 7:06:24 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196693

No 3G (wCDMA) Future Until 2006 - Orange (06/03/2003, BWCS Staff) French-based mobile operator Orange said yesterday it still believes that 3G success is at least three years away. Deputy CEO, Graham Howe, who is on his way out of the company, confirmed that the mobile wing of France Telecom will launch test services later this year. A commercial launch will not take place until 2004. According to Howe, a number of issues still need to be addressed before 3G can become a mass-market service. He targeted handsets as the chief culprit. These need to be cheaper, more reliable and house longer-lasting batteries, he claimed. Until these glitches are taken care of, the deputy CEO said he saw no need to push ahead full steam on 3G. Asked if he had lost faith in 3G, Howe replied: “No, but its time has not yet arrived.” Meanwhile, the new CEO of Orange, Solomon Trujillo, who took up his post on Monday, hinted that the group is looking at ways of better integrating fixed and mobile telecoms services. Trujillo plans to focus on improving the company’s financial position, but is also keen to expand integrated services such as allowing customers to have one number for their fixed and mobile phones. Orange recently reported a loss of €4.54 billion, after exceptional items, for the financial year ended 31 December 2002. This was marginally higher than the €4.5 billion loss in 2001. However, sales rose to €17.1 billion, from €15.3 billion twelve months previously. Orange said it took a charge of €5.2 billion in 2002 to cover exceptional items including write-downs in the value of its 26.6% share in Italian telecoms company Wind. Once these charges are stripped out, however, the company made its first annual profit of €633 million, compared to a net loss of €885 million in 2001. bwcs.com