Industry News

DDI to spend 400 bln yen in next few years on CDMA

TOKYO, Nov. 13, 1997 -- DDI Corp said on Thursday that it plans to spend 400 billion yen over the next few years on its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular phone business.

Sprint PCS To Launch Communications Services In New England

BOSTON -- Sprint PCS announced Tuesday it will launch personal communication services throughout New England on Wednesday.

Sprint PCS said Lucent Technologies Inc. provided the Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, network infrastructure equipment for the New England network.

SK Telecom Announces Successful Completion Of Imt-2000 Technology Tests, The Mobile Telecommunications System Of The Future -- Service to be launched for commercial use in 2002

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Nov. 1997 – SK Telecom announces the successful completion of IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications) test trials, establishing the company as a leader in this cutting edge technology. Commercial applications of IMT-2000 are expected to be available to the public in 2002 at the World Cup in Seoul.

IMT-2000 technology overcomes current limitations on cellular bandwidth capacity to provide mobile video conferencing capabilities and allow users to see one another while speaking over the system. IMT-2000 will offer users global roaming capabilities, which enables customers to use their handset for cellular service all around the world. IMT-2000’s customers will also be able to surf the World Wide Web and check their email at high speeds, as well as watch live television broadcasts through the device’s built in screen.

"SK Telecom is proud to have completed a successful test of IMT-2000 using our CDMA technology," said Dr. Jung Uck Seo, President of SK Telecom. "We are now one step closer to a truly global communications technology which will allow people around the world to interact with one another face to face."

Currently, IMT-2000 handsets can transmit and receive multimedia data and information at the rate of 128Kbps over SK Telecom’s CDMA cellular network, but SK Telecom plans to triple that speed to 384Kbps by the end of this year. SK Telecom expects to further increase that speed to 2Mbps by the end of 1998.

In 1994, SK Telecom began its research and development of IMT-2000 technology. In September 1996, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications allocated the 20MHz frequency for SK Telecom’s testing and development of the IMT-2000 program. In October 1996, SK Telecom and NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile telecommunications service provider in Japan, signed an agreement to co-develop IMT-2000 technology, and by late 1998 the two companies hope to develop a shared IMT standard between Korea and Japan.

SK Telecom is the leader in the field of mobile communications in Korea with 2.54 million digital subscribers and 1.77 million customers on its analog network. SK Telecom was the first company in the world to offer commercial CDMA (code division multiple access) cellular service and is the third largest paging service provider in the world.

Clearnet's PCS cdmaOne Digital Network First to Integrate with Existing Analogue AMPS Networks

TORONTO, Ont., Nov. 3, 1997 -- Clearnet Communications Inc. has successfully demonstrated the ability to hand off calls from its PCS *cdmaOne™ network at 1.9 GHz to an existing analogue AMPS infrastructure which utilized another vendor's equipment. Clearnet debuted this major breakthrough on PCS network equipment provided exclusively by Lucent Technologies.

cdmaOne is a universal term for IS-95 based CDMA (code division multiple access) specifications established by the CDMA Development Group (CDG). With its choice of cdmaOne, Clearnet was able to employ the true advantages of adhering to North American standards, launching with a seamless nationwide footprint on day one. "Our phones will work from Victoria to St. John's, covering more than 90 per cent of the Canadian population. Our clients can depend on their phones to work when they travel across Canada, both now and in the future," said George Cope, President and CEO of Clearnet.

"This breakthrough represents real time to market advantages for service providers choosing cdmaOne. It provides new PCS network operators the coverage benefits of existing wireless incumbents. By eliminating the need to physically construct a nationwide network, cdmaOne service providers can market nationwide capabilities to their customers from day one," said Scott Erickson, Lucent's Vice President of Marketing for Wireless Systems. "In addition, this new capability helps protect the operator's investment in existing AMPS networks by providing a natural migration path to cdmaOne services."

Clearnet has launched pure digital PCS service in the greater metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, but Clearnet PCS phones actually work everywhere traditional analogue phones work in Canada. The company's network operates in a seamless manner to its clients' base. Calls are transferred from digital to analogue automatically and clients pay the same low Clearnet rate, no matter where they use their phone in Canada.

Clearnet is in the midst of a $550 million capital buildout program for PCS, which will add more metropolitan areas to its digital PCS service area across Canada over the next few years.

"We congratulate Clearnet on its monumental achievement," commented Bob Sellinger, PCS Marketing Director for Lucent. "Proving that the most flexible and robust market entry strategy for new PCS carriers is one which exploits all of the interoperability virtues of North American standards, they have helped secure cdmaOne's place in the big leagues."

*The term cdmaOne serves as an umbrella for the worldwide family of products that are based on the IS-95 air interface including wireless local loop, Personal communications Systems (PCS) and cellular technology. It is a registered trademark of the CDMA Development Group.

Vendor News

Motorola Installs Network in China

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Nov. 25, 1997 - Motorola Inc said Tuesday its Cellular Infrastructure Group has completed installation of a new Code Division Multiple Access system for Beijing Telecom Greatwall Mobile Communications Co Ltd, China's first CDMA operator.

CDMA is a second-generation digital cellular technology that uses radio spectrum. The initial installation of the Beijing Greatwall CDMA network, which began in March and consists of more than 30 base stations, has been put into service with subscribers on a trial basis.

Motorola CIG is the only system supplier for this CDMA network, which has initial capacity for 43,000 subscribers and is the first and largest CDMA system installed in China.

BTG, a joint venture between China's Ministry Posts and Telecommunications and China Electronic System Engineering Company, became a certified CDMA commercial operator in China on November 3.

Motorola CIG To Open New Manufacturing Facility in Brazil

SAN PAULO, Brazil, Nov. 24, 1997 -- Motorola, Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG) has begun production of analog and digital Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular base stations at its newly constructed state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Brazil.

The new 50,000 square-foot manufacturing facility located in Jaguariuna in the state of Sao Paulo, is the first facility completed in Motorola do Brasil's multi-phased, 200-acre campus project. Once the campus project is completed, Motorola do Brasil will house other Motorola business units in addition to the CIG facility.

The new Motorola CIG facility will create approximately 200 high-quality jobs and will produce the SC™ family of base stations for both analog and CDMA digital cellular network deployments in Brazil.

Motorola, Inc. and Motorola CIG have had a presence in Brazil since 1971 and 1993, respectively. Motorola CIG has had a presence in Brazil since 1993. In the past 14 months, Motorola CIG has announced more than $300 miilion worth of cellular infrastructure equipment awards from Brazilian cellular operators.

QUALCOMM Wins Contract with PT&T for Wireless Local Loop System in Philippines

First 1900 MHz CDMA System in the Philippines will Serve 50,000 Subscribers in Southern Luzon

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 21, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated today announced a signed contract with Philippines Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (PT&T), an established wireline operator in the Republic of Philippines, to deploy a 50,000 subscriber, 1900 MHz cdmaOne™ (IS-95 Code Division Multiple Access) wireless local loop (WLL) system in Southern Luzon. Under the terms of the agreement, QUALCOMM will supply a turnkey system to PT&T, including infrastructure equipment, subscriber terminals and deployment services.

"We're pleased with our decision to implement QUALCOMM's CDMA wireless local loop system," said Jose Luis Santiago, president and chief executive officer of PT&T. "Together, we have the right combination of resources to offer the most advanced features and functionality to the people of Southern Luzon, as well as expert engineering and deployment services to ensure a rapid network deployment and quick provision of service to our customers."

In conjunction with the government's goal of increasing teledensity in the Republic of Philippines, PT&T is embarking on an ambitious project to significantly expand residential and business telephone service via QUALCOMM's advanced digital wireless technology, CDMA. Already the owner and operator of a large wireline network, PT&T's CDMA WLL system will be deployed in service area Region IV-A, comprised of six provinces in Southern Luzon, namely Rizal, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque, Romblon and Aurora.

"With their selection of QUALCOMM's CDMA products and services, PT&T is one step closer to realizing their goal to quickly and effectively expand access to high-quality telecommunications in the Philippines," commented Marshall Towe, regional vice president of Asian operations for QUALCOMM's Wireless Infrastructure Products Division. "We are proud to be working with PT&T to deploy a high-performance CDMA wireless local loop system that will deliver advanced telephone service to residents and businesses in the Southern Luzon region. We have formed a strong, long-term relationship with PT&T, and we hope to expand their CDMA network even further as demand increases for additional capacity and more advanced features."

PT&T and QUALCOMM are expected to begin deployment in December 1997 utilizing QUALCOMM's 1900 MHz QCell™ 3519i Base station Transceiver Subsystems (BTS), QCore™ 22X Integrated Base Station Controllers (IBSC) and wireless local loop telephones. QUALCOMM's QCore 22X IBSC integrates the functionality of a mobile switch and a base station controller, and is fully scaleable for simple and cost-effective capacity expansion. In addition, QUALCOMM's CDMA product platform supports both fixed and mobile users, allowing PT&T to migrate their system to offer both fixed and mobile PCS service in the future. QUALCOMM will supply all other equipment required for operation of the nationwide system, as well as a full menu of services, including training, program management, installation, commissioning and network planning using the industry's leading QEDesign(R) network planning software.

The Republic of Philippines, home to over 68 million people, is actively working to meet aggressive telecommunications goals to substantially raise teledensity from the approximate four telephones per 100 people that are currently installed. The geography and demography of the Republic of Philippines is well suited to wireless telephony due to the large number of islands, rough terrain and large rural populations which are difficult to
serve with wireline infrastructure. These factors make the Republic of Philippines one of the largest potential deployers of CDMA WLL in the world, as CDMA networks are an ideal solution for rapid and cost-effective installations in diverse environments. In addition, CDMA WLL provides voice quality that is competitive to wireline with the added benefits of increased reliability and security. QUALCOMM is a leader in CDMA wireless local loop deployments with commercial systems in Russia and India. QUALCOMM's CDMA products enhance the performance of CDMA systems by providing higher capacity, greater coverage and lower operating costs to service providers.

Digital Mobile Radio Transmitter Tester From Anritsu Measures CDMA Signals in Less Than Two Seconds

Seattle, WA (CDMA Development Group Test Forum 1997) — Anritsu Company introduces the MS8606A Digital Mobile Radio Transmitter Tester, an easy-to-use menu-driven instrument which performs highly accurate CDMA measurements in less than two seconds. Covering the 300 kHz to 3 GHz frequency range, the MS8606A combines a transmitter tester, spectrum analyzer, power meter, and software to analyze signals in CDMA systems.

The MS8606A conducts high-speed, highly accurate transmission measurements complying with the IS-95/-97/-98 standards. The instrument’s speed, accuracy, and measurement capability make it well suited for testing cellular phone R&D, manufacturing, and service.

A unique asynchronous mode allows the MS8606A to make measurements using only an antenna port connection, if rho is ³ 0.9. It is the first instrument to be able to make such measurements with only one connection, and measurements can be done in less than two seconds while in this mode. The MS8606A also has an external trigger mode and short code search mode which conduct analysis in less than four seconds.

When in any mode, the Tester can take waveform quality measurements, particularly important for CDMA device and terminal evaluation. The MS8606A can measure frequency, timing error, code domain power, transmitter power, occupied bandwidth, and spurious emission.

In addition to making extremely fast measurements, the MS8606A is very easy-to-use. The menu-driven display allows the user to control the transmitter tester, spectrum analyzer, or power meter by pressing just a few keys.

Various transmission characteristics measurement functions that support CDMA can be performed using the transmitter tester. An audio measurement option can be used for TACS, J-TACS, and AMPS transmission measurements. The power meter has a built-in highly accurate thermocouple to measure power in the 300 kHz to 3 GHz frequency range and 0 to +40 dBm level range.

QUALCOMM Announces Agreement to Supply CDMA Wireless Local Loop Infrastructure and Phones to Telesystems of Ukraine Valued In Excess of $200 Million -- CDMA System Will Deliver Wireless Local Loop Service Nationwide

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 10, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated today announced a signed agreement with Telesystems of Ukraine Ltd. to supply and finance a turnkey Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless local loop (WLL) network to Ukraine. QUALCOMM expects to supply in excess of $200 million of equipment and services in the initial phase of system deployment. Installation is already underway in Kiev with the commercial launch scheduled for early 1998. Expansion of the system will soon follow in other regions and the network is expected to serve over 1.5 million subscribers throughout Ukraine.

The agreement includes a substantial equity investment and ownership interest in Telesystems of Ukraine which has a nationwide license to deploy a cdmaOneª (IS-95 CDMA) 800 MHz wireless local loop basic telephony system.

"CDMA wireless local loop technology is an optimal solution to rapidly provide high-quality, reliable telephone service to the population of Ukraine, where over two million people are on a waiting list for telephone service," said Chris Simpson, senior vice president of strategic marketing, Wireless Infrastructure Products Division. "QUALCOMM is proud to be the equipment supplier and a partner in this venture, which will enable Telesystems of Ukraine to leapfrog older technologies to quickly and effectively meet demand for telecommunications service." Under the terms of the agreement, QUALCOMM will provide Telesystems of Ukraine with its 800 MHz QCellª Base station Transceiver Subsystems, QCoreª 22X Integrated Base Station Controllers and wireless local loop telephones, as well as all other equipment required for operation of the nationwide system. QUALCOMM will also supply training and deployment services, and network planning services using QUALCOMM's QEDesignª network planning software.

QUALCOMM is a leader in commercial CDMA wireless local loop deployments with systems in Chelyabinsk and Rostov, Russia and New Delhi, India. CDMA WLL networks provide voice quality that is competitive to wireline, and can be rapidly and economically deployed in diverse terrain. QUALCOMM's CDMA products enhance the performance of CDMA systems by providing higher capacity, greater coverage and lower operating costs to operators.

Motorola Wins $30 Million Deal to Replace Analog Cellular Network in Nebraska

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Nov. 10, 1997 -– Motorola, Inc.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG) announced today it has won a contract valued at more than $30 million to replace Aliant Cellular Inc.'s existing analog cellular network and will deploy its Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone Service (NAMPS) and digital Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular infrastructure equipment in Aliant's Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska markets.

"We are pleased that Aliant Cellular selected Motorola CIG's NAMPS and digital CDMA cellular solutions," said Jack Finlayson, corporate vice president and general manager of Motorola's Americas Cellular Infrastructure Group. "By deploying NAMPS and CDMA in these markets, Aliant Cellular will immediately realize an increase in subscriber capacity and cellular subscribers in Omaha and Lincoln will have access to the latest wireless technology delivering quality analog and digital connections as well as enhanced services such as cellular digital messaging."

As part of the agreement, Motorola CIG will install its state-of-the-art SC ™ 9600 base station equipment. Motorola CIG's SC9600 family of base stations supports multiple analog and digital radio frequency interfaces including AMPs (Advanced Mobile Phone Service), NAMOS and CDMA. Motorola's new high-capacity EMX ® (Electronic Mobile Exchange) 5000 switch will also be utilized in the networks.

QUALCOMM Successfully Defends Patent Infringment Case Against BTG USA, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 4, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated today announced that is has successfully defended itself against the patent infringment case brought against QUALCOMM by BTG USA, Inc., and that BTG has voluntarily dismissed its case against QUALCOMM and agreed to never again assert the patent in issue versus QUALCOMM and its licensees.

"QUALCOMM, as the holder of an extensive patent portfolio of its own, respects the legitimate patent rights of others," said Steve Atlman, senior vice president and general counsel for QUALCOMM. "At the same time, however, QUALCOMM vigorously contests meritless patent claims when asserted against QUALCOMM, its licensees, or industry standards that QUALCOMM has worked hard to create and promote."

BTG had filed the lawsuit in August 1996 alleging that QUALCOMM's CDMA and OmniTRACS(R) products infringed U.S. Patent RE 34.004, a patent that BTG acquired from ITT. In the lawsuit, BTG claimed, among other things, that the ITT patent was a "pioneering" patent that was essential to practice the CDMA IS-95 standard, and that QUALCOMM owed BTG tens of millions of dollarrds in damages. QUALCOMM argued in the lawsuit that BTG's interpretation of the ITT patent was too broad and that QUALCOMM was not infringing the claims of the patent.

After hearing QUALCOMM's and BTG's arguments on claims construction, the court found in favor of QUALCOMM by declining to find that the patent was a "pioneering" patent and by interpreting the patent claims to have a far narrower scope than BTG has alleged. Within one month after the court's ruling, BTG voluntarily offered to dismiss its case against QUALCOMM and grant a complete release to QULACOMM of all claims under the patent without any payment from QUALCOMM to BTG. QUALCOMM accepted BTG's offer only after BTG also agreed never to sue suppliers, licensees or customers designated by QUALCOMM with respect to the ITT patent.

Lucent Technologies Provides Speech-Coding Chip To Korean Companies For Cellular Equipment

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., Nov. 3, 1997 -- Three Korean wireless communications equipment manufacturers are now including Lucent Technologies’ digital signal processor (DSP)-based compression and decompression (codec) technology in their code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless phones and base stations.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd., and LG Information & Communications, Ltd. (LGIC)--the three major vendors of CDMA equipment in Korea--are manufacturing their new CDMA phones with Lucent’s DSP1627 chip and Enhanced Variable Rate Codec (EVRC) software. LGIC and Hyundai are also using Lucent’s EVRC chip in their CDMA wireless base stations. EVRC is a new global standard for compressing and decompressing voice signals.

"Lucent is the first integrated circuits manufacturer to ship an EVRC-equipped DSP to the Korean market, and Korea is the biggest CDMA market in the world," said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, a DSP market research firm.

In a CDMA phone, Lucent’s EVRC chip can serve as a coprocessor, interfacing with CDMA chip sets from other manufacturers. As a result, manufacturers can use the chip to add EVRC capability to their existing terminal designs with minimal re-engineering. The Lucent chip comes equipped with all of the necessary software to enable EVRC.

EVRC uses a lower bit rate (the number of bits sent per second) than existing CDMA speech coders, while providing significant improvements in voice quality. The lower bit rate (8 kilobits per second peak) translates to increased network capacity for wireless service providers.

The Korean manufacturers will be supplying their EVRC-based products to Korean wireless service providers such as SK Telecom, the country’s top wireless service provider.

"Typically, decreasing the bit rate at which voice signals are compressed and decompressed dramatically lowers the quality of the voice signals on cellular phones," said Joosik Lee, general manager of SK Telecom’s Digital Cellular Business Division. "But that’s not the case with Lucent’s new EVRC software. This technology enables us to provide superb voice quality while benefiting from the ability to process more cellular voice calls using less bandwidth than the voice codecs in CDMA networks today."

"Lucent EVRC software yields the best voice quality of any that we have tested," said Sang-hyun Lee, senior managing director of the Domestic Sales Division of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

"The Bell Labs name and its reputation for innovation figured heavily in our decision to embrace Lucent’s EVRC software," said Byung K. Lim, senior research engineer with LGIC’s Mobile Communication Division. "Bell Labs helped spearhead the standardization of EVRC, as it has so many standards, so we were not surprised that Lucent was first to bring this important differentiating technology to market. Our customers are excited about the benefits of EVRC."

"CDMA is starting to make a big splash in the wireless arena," said M.S. Paek, senior researcher with Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. "Hyundai believes Lucent’s EVRC software and DSP chips position us extremely favorably. Lucent’s EVRC implementation delivers higher network capacity without sacrificing high-quality voice transmission."

"Lucent is extremely pleased with these new relationships we have established with Korean companies, and we look forward to broadening such business arrangements around the world," said Aaron Fisher, general manager of wireless applications for Lucent’s Microelectronics Group.

Korea is a global hotbed of CDMA technology. According to SK Telecom, the country surpassed the million-CDMA-subscriber mark in March, just 15 months after introducing the service. The most recent figures indicate that new subscriptions are increasing by about 6,500 a day. At this rate it is predicted that by October the number of digital subscribers will amount to more than 3.45 million, surpassing the number of analog customers.

The deployment of Lucent EVRC software in Korea marks the first of several deployments of the technology around the world.

Use of EVRC technology for CDMA applications is expected to expand in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, Peru, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

QUALCOMM CDMA Phone Used in Beijing Telecom's Commercial Deployment of CDMA Network

BEIJING, Nov. 3, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated today announced that Beijing Telecom Great Wall Mobile Communications Company Limited utilized QUALCOMM Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) handsets in the launch of China's first commercial CDMA digital wireless network.

In April 1997, QUALCOMM announced a four-year agreement with the Telecom Great Wall Development Company. The agreement, valued at over $300 million, is for the purchase of QUALCOMM's QCP-820™ dual-mode CDMA phones for distribution in China. The agreement remains one of the largest international sales of CDMA subscriber equipment to date.

"The launch of the first CDMA network in Beijing is a clear indication of the explosive worldwide growth in the wireless market and the increased demand for QUALCOMM CDMA products in China," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, president of QUALCOMM's Subscriber Products Division. "As the leading CDMA digital phone manufacturer, QUALCOMM is prepared to meet the current and future demand for CDMA products throughout the People's Republic of China."

"Partnering with QUALCOMM for the supply of CDMA handsets has been a crucial element in the launch of our new CDMA network," said Kang Jian, president of Telecom Great Wall Development Company, Beijing and the United States. "Now our customers in Beijing will experience the enhanced features of CDMA, including crystal clear voice quality, fewer dropped calls and enhanced security."