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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: engineer who wrote (7576)1/26/1998 11:18:00 AM
From: Jim Lurgio  Respond to of 152472
 
A View on the WLL


Wireless Local Loop Infrastructure Market Approaches Cellular/PCS Infrastructure Market
by 2002

OYSTER BAY, N.Y., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- All the world is wireless. The
full arrival of PCS has completed the consumer voice chapter of wireless
communications, and the next chapter is just as exciting. Other new wireless
technologies are quickly coming to fruition to offer competition in voice and
data. Wireless is also now moving from anytime, anywhere communications to
replacing wireline functionality.
The market for WLL infrastructure will be $16.1 billion in 2002 compared
to $20.2 billion for cellular and PCS infrastructure during the like period.
Allied Business Intelligence, Inc. (ABI), an Oyster Bay, NY consulting
firm, studies all segments of the wireless communications industry. The
study, Wireless Systems Outlook 98: The Evolving Landscape, is a rigorous
analysis of Cellular/PCS, WLL, Wireless LAN (WLAN), Very Small Aperture
Terminal (VSAT), Direct To Home Satellite (DTH), Global Positioning Satellite
(GPS), and Satphone markets.
ABI's annual Wireless Systems Outlook 98 report is the third in a series
of five wireless industry reports being released by ABI in February, 1998.
The growth of Cellular Telephony has been complicated by the maturation of
PCS. We are now seeing how two markets will coexist as a network of merged
technologies. In these networks, purchasing decisions are based on the logic
of convenience, not the logic of engineering. ABI's study lays bare the
market forces at work from all perspectives.
Purchasers of DBS services are no longer looked on as part of a fringe
market of dissatisfied cable TV viewers. With prospects of 20 million
households sprouting mini-dishes within the next five years, the cable
industry is nervously looking over its shoulder. Although ABI sees the
service provider market as self-limiting, the receiver/decoder market will
expand rapidly, helped by sharply declining prices in home equipment.
With the likelihood that the DOD will discontinue selective availability
adulteration of GPS signals in the near future, new GPS applications will
flourish. Component suppliers are already combining Cellular/PCS applications
with GPS while auto makers have embraced GPS navigation capability and view
GPS as standard equipment on many models. ABI looks to these two applications
as springboards for explosive growth.
The report also covers VSAT, Wireless LANs and Wireless PBXs. Emerging
Satphone Markets are also explored in detail. Within each section are
profiles of significant players in the industry. More than 150 tables and
charts support the text.
For further information, contact ABI, 516-624-3113; Fax: 516-624-3115
( Web Site: alliedworld.com ). The report is also available on CD-ROM.




To: engineer who wrote (7576)1/26/1998 12:46:00 PM
From: Greg B.  Respond to of 152472
 
Engineer: Did not see ad in our market (Boston) area. Saw Cellular One. Did not notice Q phone.

Caxton & qdog: I agree with your comments:

"High end commercial, high end product, appealing to high end customers. The q phone is not going to be bought by the masses. Q is marketing itself as the high end of digital wireless."

"It isn't necessarily for the average consumer. Being a road warrior and in the industry; the business traveler has up to now been at the mercy of the hotels/airports for connectivity."

Just have an issue with press release excerpt:

"They'll be able to interact with our Q(TM) phone and experience wireless Internet access, as well as the phone's unique features and benefits that can be tailored to best serve any lifestyle -- from the general consumer to the on-the-go professional."

A lack of target consumer focus will diminish advertising effectiveness. If Q intends to compete for general cell phone users, then first make the usage cost structure more affordable. (And how many shareholders are ready to ante up for that challenge?)

Mike: It's appropriate for technology guys to talk about strategic management and marketing. I also don't want to belittle the work it takes to first develop a sound strategic plan, and then design and deliver an effective marketing campaign. As an undergrad EE major who concentrated on digital systems design, IMHO, this work is more prone to failure than building a production capability for the chips that support the CDMA standard.

Raj: I share your enthusiasm to help QCOM improve their advertising approach. I think QCOM has big opportunity to get it right first. Just think that this thread is not the forum to do so, especially because competitors can benefit from the same insights. And it takes a lot of information we don't have.

I disagree with your approach with starting to build brand recognition. That was the way the CPG industry used to operate ten years ago. Now, the focus is on defining a category of products as a business unit, and applying traditional strategic management principles. There is a business case for doing so. In fact, the U.S. and European grocery industries adopted this approach as "Best Practices", which were defined by the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) committees. Now it's catching on in alternative formats, such as hardlines and housewares. The principles can definitely be applied successfully by QCOM's management.

To create the strategic linkages and create a marketing plan, it would require about 3 months of intensive effort over a 6-month period, with access to sensitive QCOM and general market information. Neither you or I have the time, or the access.