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

To: quartersawyer who wrote (76129)	4/5/2008 1:47:41 PM
From: waitwatchwander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197208

It's sure looking like it was more than fitting that this one came down April 1st ... CHINA ECONOMIC REVIEW sampled some TD-SCDMA phones and services at the China Mobile "Experience Center" in Shanghai with mixed results. The handset models were nothing to write home about in terms of design. A mobile television service offered a wide variety of live television shows, though the reception was choppy at times. It was possible to make a video phone call to one of the center's employees on the other side of the building—and the quality was surprisingly good. However, as there is no TD-SCDMA network available in Shanghai—all services had to be run through an internet connection, which meant that the phones used were mounted to computers. In this sense, the "Experience Center" highlights the real problem with a commercial launch of TD-SCDMA: While the technology may work well in a controlled environment, nothing can prepare it for the real deal—millions of users with different phone models and software all attempting to access the network. China Mobile recently announced that it would participate in 4G trials being carried out by Vodafone and Verizon Wireless. The trials will focus on LTE (Long Term Evolution) in both the FDD and TDD band. Given that TD-SCDMA already uses TDD, the theory is that the Chinese standard might harmonize with LTE in this band. ---------------------------------------------- Could this be the realistic face saving going forward scenario? ... "TD-SCDMA is a technical achievement that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand," said David Wolf, president of media, tech and telecom consultancy Wolf Group Asia. "But from a commercial standpoint, all it represents is that when 4G comes, China has a place at the table that it never would have had without TD-SCDMA. It makes China a player in 4G, but it won't make it a player in 3G." News of the 4G trials, together with statements from the National Development and Reform Commission that it has allocated an unspecified amount of funding for 4G development, has even led to speculation that China could skip 3G entirely. Marbridge's Natkin says this fits in with talk among mobile operators and telecom officials in Beijing that China is too far behind the pack on 3G but has a shot at being competitive in 4G. [More at:] businessweek.com

To: quartersawyer who wrote (76129)	4/8/2008 3:13:41 AM
From: scratchmyback	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 197208

GSM royalties... There has been a lot of speculation about the huge GSM royalties that Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson & Co have been collecting over the years. Quartersayer got 6 recommendations for his post, which at least gives the impression that GSM phone manufacturers in China and some other countries had paid NO royalties for GSM until 2004. And we do not know whether they have started paying after 2004, at least I haven't seen any comments on the success of the 2004 negotiations. Quartersayer's post had comments like ...holders of GSM patents may propose a 5% charge..., ...time of free use of patents is over for Chinese companies... and ...the major owners of GSM IPR are beginning to charge patent fees... I am kind of surprised that quartersayer got no replies to his post!