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

To: Harvey Rosenkrantz who wrote (23393)	2/25/1999 1:10:00 PM
From: Robert Sheldon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

I am please to hear your only concern regarding the Japanese market opportunity is that “their cellular frequencies are different than ours” (I'll assume that you meant that their spectrum utilization is at a different frequency rather that different altogether). The handset manufacturer merely has to adjust the VCO (voltage controlled oscillator – VCOs isolate and hold a wireless signal) to acquire & accommodate almost any frequency. Since this is a standard process in the component manufacturing anyway, I do not see your concerns as an insurmountable hurdle. Of note you do make an important point regarding manufacturing. In this case, who makes the VCOs that go into the handsets. There are three major players in this area with a company by the name of VARL leading for this type of intensive application. In 1998 it was estimated by several of the infrastructure providers (NOKA, MOT, ERICY) that VARL provides ~95% of the VCOs for base stations. Why is this important? The VCOs VARL produces have had a high market penetration due to their RELIABILITY. Their two JAPANESE competitors have cheaper VCOs but less reliable. This was fine when all we needed to do was talk with one another. HOWEVER, with the advent of data transfer applications and the like including wireless Internet, folks like the Q! need to know that the signal is properly acquired so that their clientele will not become disenchanted (this includes signals on both ends - the base stations as well as the handset). It will be interesting to see how the Japanese VCO manufactures react to the changing technological needs of the handset manufacturers as well as the demands of the end users.