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

To: John Stichnoth who wrote (23375)	2/24/1999 4:13:00 PM
From: straight life	Respond to of 152472

02/24 11:32 Qualcomm [QCOM-news] says set for Ukraine CDMA launch By Christina Ling KIEV, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S.-based communications company Qualcomm Inc [QCOM-news] said it and Ukrainian partner Telesystems of Ukraine (ToU) had finished a CDMA (code division multiple access) wireless communications network in Kiev and were working towards a commercial launch. "The network is providing good quality service throughout the city of Kiev," Qualcomm spokeswoman Michelle French told Reuters late on Tuesday from the U.S., saying Telesystems was testing the system. "ToU is in soft launch now and continues to work towards the full commercial launch. The network is already operational." However, a spokesman for ToU said the launch had already been delayed because the Ukrainian partner had some concerns about the equipment involved, which he said did not meet specifications nor correspond to the terms of the agreement. Qualcomm, the patent holder of CDMA wireless communications technology, took a 49 percent stake in Telesystems in 1997 as part of a project to introduce the technology in Ukraine. Qualcomm said the firm had invested about $8.8 million for the 49 percent ownership and in 1998 had invested $2 million more and provided a working capital loan of $8.9 million. Maxim Myakenkiy, head of public relations for ToU, said the Ukrainian firm had drawn the attention of Qualcomm to its concerns about the equipment but had not yet received a reply. He gave no details of the alleged problems but added that the State Communications Committee was considering whether to revoke Qualcomm's temporary certificate, which allows it to sell its equipment for commercial operation. Committee officials were unavailable for comment, but French said Qualcomm was unaware of any such issue being discussed. "We are in regular communication with the certification board in Ukraine and we do not have any indication that our licence is being revoked," French said. "We have conditional certification of our equipment...We are working towards complete certification in accordance with the requirement of ToU's network and the certification board's guidelines," she added. "Certification in different countries typically requires a fair amount of equipment customisation. Qualcomm is working diligently with the customer and the certification board to customise the equipment to meet Ukrainian technical requirements."