Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: brian h who wrote (23414)	2/25/1999 10:16:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

War Over Part 1 Horselist> y: horselist_horseman 15254 of 15259 newsvest.com WAR IS OVER! QUALCOMM AND ERICSSON ON THE VERGE OF SETTLING PATENT DISPUTE; 3G RECONCILIATION COMES FROM UNEXPECTED QUARTER! <<Feb. 24, 1999 (PCS WEEK, Vol. 10, No. 8 via COMTEX) -- If we were a full-size daily paper, we'd run that headline in six inch tall letters. Just as it seemed the lights were about to go out all over the wireless world, and the industry was doomed to fall into a dark age of chaos, savagery and superstition, sudden intimations of peace began appearing. At the moment the battle lines are still drawn and fingers are still poised over buttons. However, the news from two different fronts is hopeful enough to have industry watchers running wildly through the streets and kissing passing nurses.>> <<One cause for hope is an apparent effort to settle the longstanding patent dispute between Qualcomm Inc. [QCOM] and LM Ericsson AB [ERICY]. The case over CDMA intellectual property-in which Ericsson claimed Qualcomm's CDMA technology violated its patents-has been wending its way through the legal system essentially forever, but was scheduled to actually go to trial in early April. Rumors are sweeping the industry of some sort of cross-licensing deal that would finally get Ericsson into the CDMA business, and would give Qualcomm access to GSM technology if it can think of something it wants to do with it.>> Posted: Feb 25 1999 7:25AM EST as a reply to: Msg 15226 by horselist_horseman Replies: View Replies to this Message

To: brian h who wrote (23414)	2/25/1999 10:19:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Part-3> WAR IS OVER : Q & E ( Part III ) by: horselist_horseman 15256 of 15259 newsvest.com WAR IS OVER! QUALCOMM AND ERICSSON ON THE VERGE OF SETTLING PATENT DISPUTE; 3G RECONCILIATION COMES FROM UNEXPECTED QUARTER! ...First Step Toward Full Harmonization In its own statement on the meeting, TABD's Electronics, Electrical Information Technology and Telecommunications (EETIS) sector said attendees agreed to support operators' needs for backward compatibility, global roaming, modular deployment to enable smooth transitioning to 3G, cooperative efforts to ensure timely deployment, and adherence to the ITU schedule. Given those constraints, EETIS reported that "there was broad consensus that a single global standard is not achievable for third generation wireless." However, EETIS did endorse an overall framework that would include two standards: UWC-136, the IS-136 TDMA-derived 3G standard, and a harmonized CDMA-based standard that would be backward compatible with both current generation GSM and CDMA systems. The standard would have three modes: a multicarrier mode that would support multiple bandwidths, a direct sequence mode and a TDD mode. Each would support both technologies' core network protocols, GSM-MAP and IS-41. Support for both network protocols has long been a key position of the CDMA community. At least one group in the thick of the battle was satisfied with the TABD agreement. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) said it is "very pleased" with the outcome of the meeting. "This is the first step in resolving the current 3G standards impasse, " said CDG Executive Director Perry LaForge. "We finally have everyone supporting convergence and stressing the need for commonality among the modes of the standard...We now need to move to the next step of resolving the parameter differences between the modes." One other hotly contested aspect of harmonization, the standard's chip rate (see PCS WEEK, Dec. 16, 1998), is not addressed in the agreement, for example.

To: brian h who wrote (23414)	2/25/1999 10:20:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Part 4> WAR IS OVER : Q & E ( Part VI ) by: horselist_horseman 15257 of 15259 WAR IS OVER! QUALCOMM AND ERICSSON ON THE VERGE OF SETTLING PATENT DISPUTE; 3G RECONCILIATION COMES FROM UNEXPECTED QUARTER! <<One other hotly contested aspect of harmonization, the standard's chip rate (see PCS WEEK, Dec. 16, 1998), is not addressed in the agreement, for example. ...Is This The Revenge Of The Carriers? While the TABD agreement sounds like a great step forward, there are some caveats. The biggest, of course, is that TABD has no actual authority, and does not select telecom standards. Founded in 1995, the group has no fixed membership or structure, and is intended as an informal method for industry to have direct input into governmental- level trade negotiations. However, given the widespread attendance at the Feb. 17 meeting by both carriers and vendors, and the apparent success at creating rough consensus, supporters of the process said the agreement has the potential to break loose the logjam as it is carried out by individual companies through more formal standards processes. The other large hurdle is that, as a process taking place between the United States and the European Union, the TABD consensus does not include the Japanese or Koreans. Asian carriers and vendors are a powerful force in the overall global process, and it remains to be seen whether they will find the TABD consensus agreeable. However, the same issues that have made carriers in Europe and the Americas nervous would presumably impact the Asians, and if Ericsson and Qualcomm can manage to agree on some of these points, it seems likely the Asians will go along. One reason is that, worldwide, carriers appear to be in revolt against a dispute that they have come to see as a direct threat to their financial performance and strategic plans. For months, sources within the industry have been telling us of increased pressure from upset carriers, and ultimately the customer is the one vendors listen to. The Times of London even reports that Qualcomm executives speaking to the London financial community said that the recent merger between Vodafone plc [VOD] and AirTouch Communications Inc. [ATI] will help resolve the 3G trade situation. The paper quoted Qualcomm Vice President of Government Affairs William Bold as saying that Qualcomm doesn't believe extensive litigation is necessary because "the carriers have taken control of the issue. We're confident that there will be a single standard for both networks." >>