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

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (33802)	4/1/2003 6:42:31 AM
From: John Biddle	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 196528

AT&T Faces Big Hit if AT&T Wireless Misses 3G Deadline Monday March 31, 4:34 pm ET By Shawn Young, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal Dow Jones Business News biz.yahoo.com NEW YORK -- AT&T Corp. could owe Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. $3.6 billion if its former wireless unit, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. , fails to offer third-generation wireless service in four cities by the end of next year as planned. The debt would occur only if AT&T Wireless wasn't able to pay the $3.6 billion itself, said the long-distance giant in its annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (News - Websites). AT&T Wireless, which is now independent of AT&T, has announced plans for 3G service and said it expects to meet the target without incurring any obligation to repay DoCoMo. The target had been 13 cities, but AT&T Wireless and DoCoMo agreed in November to cut it back. The higher-speed network would allow users to browse the Web, send e-mails and access other high-tech services at high speeds. The company plans to offer the service in San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Dallas, but could substitute other markets for San Diego or Dallas. AT&T's potential obligation stems from a deal it made with DoCoMo in 2000, when DoCoMo agreed to pay $9.8 billion for a 16% stake in AT&T Wireless and the U.S. carrier agreed to use the same 3G technology as the Japanese company. AT&T kept $3.6 billion of the proceeds, and the rest went to Redmond, Wash.-based AT& T Wireless. In 2000, AT&T Wireless was trading as a tracking stock of AT&T. It was fully split off from AT&T in 2001. Meanwhile, AT&T also disclosed it paid former Chairman and Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong a $2.5 million bonus upon completing the merger of the AT&T Broadband unit with Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) in November. He is now chairman of Philadelphia-based Comcast, the nation's largest cable-television company. AT&T went on to say it is paying President Betsy Bernard, who heads the business-services division, an $850,000 annual salary. She joined the company from Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q) in 2001 and was named to her current post last fall. Ms. Bernard is eligible for an annual bonus of 125% of her salary, and the company said it is paying about $621,000 in tax liabilities she incurred in the course of her move to AT&T. -By Shawn Young; The Wall Street Journal; 212-416-3627