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

To: EepOpp who wrote (26465)	4/8/1999 11:07:00 AM
From: CDMQ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

Ericsson deal affects Qualcomm job picture By Mike Drummond STAFF WRITER April 8, 1999 Qualcomm could be forced to transfer or lay off more than 100 employees once its deal with its Swedish rival, Ericsson, is consummated, an internal company document indicates. Ericsson is developing a "broad and comprehensive" plan for assimilating Qualcomm's infrastructure division, which Ericsson purchased as part of a royalties and patent settlement late last month. The joint posting by Qualcomm and Ericsson, on Qualcomm's intranet communications network, said employees would be presented the plan this week. That plan had not been unveiled as of yesterday. Ericsson anticipates it will need 1,100 to 1,500 employees from Qualcomm's infrastructure division, according to the posting. However, Ericsson officials have said there are more than 1,600 employees in that business unit, meaning Qualcomm will have to absorb 100 to 500 workers or again chop its payroll. Qualcomm laid off 700 mostly full-time employees in February in the largest round of layoffs in the company's 14-year history. "If an employee is not selected by Ericsson, Qualcomm will work with employees to identify positions for them within Qualcomm," the document stated. "If appropriate positions cannot be identified, supportive severance packages will be offered." Ericsson officials were unavailable for comment. Ake Persson, the Ericsson vice president who will lead the local infrastructure division, told the San Diego Union-Tribune last week that, "We have no plans to make any reductions." Asked if Qualcomm can absorb as many as 500 employees, a spokeswoman said that it's "too early in the process to tell at this point." Qualcomm's Web site does have job postings for engineers, accountants, financial analysts and database administrators and developers. Separately, both companies have agreed not to poach from each other's work force for three years, but an employee who quits either company can join the rival after six months, according to the agreement. If employees refuse offers by Ericsson, those will be considered voluntary resignations. Qualcomm and Ericsson ended a long-standing patent dispute March 25. Qualcomm will receive royalties on all sales of existing and future versions of code division multiple access, or CDMA, wireless phone technology that Qualcomm commercialized in 1989. Ericsson, which built its $22.3 billion fortune on an earlier technology known as global system for mobile communications, or GSM, also will receive a portion of royalties based on sales of its own breed of CDMA. Ericsson also agreed to buy Qualcomm's money-losing infrastructure division, which makes base stations. A station is a crucial and expensive closet-sized equipment that links mobile phones with central communications grids. Copyright 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

To: EepOpp who wrote (26465)	4/9/1999 12:06:00 AM
From: Drew Williams	Respond to of 152472

<< take this with a grain of salt but i believe i read an article a few years back that said you could hook up your car phone to your car alarm and that it would call you if it was in the progress of being stolen. >> Actually, this is not so far fetched, although I would do it differently. I'm in the electronic security business. We do sophisticated access control systems integrated with burglary and fire alarms and CCTV and HVAC control and other stuff. We have our own central station for monitoring the alarms. I've been pitching the idea of attaching a burglar alarm system to a GlobalStar phone. The concept is this: The car is stolen. You probably do not know this has happened, because you are in your house or office or in the mall or . . . But your car's alarm system knows, and it calls our central station. It says (in simple digital code) to our computer, I am a 1963 Burgundy Red Jaguar XK-E convertible, Florida license 123-4567, registered to Roy Roberts. The alarm system is in alarm because the car is moving without the alarm having been disabled through the car's hardwired GlobalStar handset keypad. Up onto the central station operator's computer screen comes a color photograph of the car, a copy of the owner's photo driver's license, and a live-action map showing exactly where the car is on a detailed map. The computer can show this, because the GlobalStar phone has a built-in GPS. The central station operator picks up a handset and says, "Hello, this is Central. This vehicle's alarm system has been activated. Please tell me your password." When the system was first activated, all authorized drivers of the car chose or had chosen a secret password. If the driver knows the password, the central station operator will instruct him as to how to silence the alarm noise. If the driver cannot answer the question, then the operator has to act as if the car was stolen and calls the appropriate police. The operator can tell the police what the car looks like, where it is, whether it is stationary or moving, and in which direction it is going. "It is a yellow 1993 Miata with a roll bar, going north on I-4, just passed mile marker 225. Then they could fax or e-mail the police a photograph of the car, the authorized drivers, and copy of the videotape. Once the police are notified, central can provide continuous updates on poisition and direction. They may choose to take other steps, because they can control the capsuoles already.