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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (30207)	3/27/2003 12:13:12 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 74559

Maurice, this should be good news for you since you have QCOM? Lawmaker Wants Postwar Iraq To Use Qualcomm Technology By JESSE DRUCKER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL The battle over Iraq's postwar reconstruction has spread from the United Nations to the U.S. Congress, with a California lawmaker demanding that planners choose a wireless-phone technology developed by an American company. Rep. Darrell Issa sent letters to the Pentagon, the U.S. Agency for International Development and fellow lawmakers urging them to support the deployment of CDMA, a wireless technology developed commercially by Qualcomm Inc. "We have learned that planners at the Department of Defense and USAID are currently envisioning using federal appropriations to deploy a European-based wireless technology known as GSM ('Groupe Speciale Mobile' -- this standard was developed by the French) for this new Iraqi cellphone system," Mr. Issa wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Mr. Issa, a Republican, wrote that if GSM technology is deployed in Iraq, much of the equipment used to build that nation's cellphone system will be made in Western and Northern Europe. The "U.S. government will soon hand U.S. taxpayer dollars over to French, German, and other European cellphone equipment companies to build the new Iraqi cellphone system. This is not acceptable," he wrote. He plans to introduce legislation related to the matter on Thursday. Iraq's communications system trails the rest of the developed world. Iraq, North Korea and Afghanistan were the last three major countries without mobile-phone service as of 2001, according to the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union. GSM's use in Iraq wouldn't be surprising: This technology is used in the majority of the Middle East and in Europe, said Tim Luke, a wireless analyst at Lehman Brothers. Roughly 60% of the world's mobile phones use GSM technology. The two technologies aren't compatible -- meaning an Iraqi who traveled to a nearby country that has only a GSM network wouldn't be able to use a CDMA phone there. Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., and Nortel Networks Corp., Brampton, Ontario, are the world's biggest makers of CDMA infrastructure, Mr. Luke said. Qualcomm -- which is located in San Diego, two districts away from Mr. Issa's -- makes mobile-phone chips using CDMA technology and also receives royalties from other makers of CDMA equipment. Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble said the company supports Mr. Issa's efforts: "We're behind it. ... We are supportive of it." A Lucent spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of the letter. Although the biggest makers of GSM equipment are European, Motorola Inc., the largest U.S. cellphone maker, also makes GSM handsets and wireless infrastructure. Despite Mr. Issa's characterization of GSM as a "French developed standard," it was developed by a consortium of European companies, most prominently Finland's Nokia Corp. and Sweden's L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co., according to Mr. Luke. -- Dennis K. Berman contributed to this article. Write to Jesse Drucker at jesse.drucker@wsj.com ================== I say, China should boycotts QCOM if this happens<g>

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (30207)	3/28/2003 4:11:05 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

USIA Battle between GSM and CDMA for Iraq!!! washingtonpost.com Technical Issue Snags Wireless Plan for Iraq By Christopher Stern Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 28, 2003; Page E02 The U.S. government is planning to rebuild Iraq's national wireless network with a standard developed by a consortium of European companies, a move that has angered a California congressman who supports an American alternative. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced legislation yesterday that would effectively force the U.S. Agency for International Development to award a contract for the work to a U.S. company using the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. The project comes as the telecommunications industry has been hobbled by a sharp downturn in business. Qualcomm is locked in a country-by-country battle with telecommunications carriers that use a European wireless standard known as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). Issa's bill also calls on the aid agency to give preference to U.S. companies in all other contracts awarded for the reconstruction of Iraq.