QUALCOMM offers future wireless telecommunications today

QUALCOMM offers future wireless telecommunications today

JAKARTA (JP): United States-based QUALCOMM Incorporated knew
what the world needed when it ventured into the
telecommunications business in 1985: an efficient, effective and
cost-friendly technology that could yield crisp, clear
communications.

This is what gives the company, at a relatively young age, the
reputation it deserves as the pioneer of one of the latest
wireless telecommunications technologies.

In an age where choices of telecommunications systems are
becoming vast and more sophisticated, the very thing that can be
an obstacle to smooth communications is sometimes the technology
itself.

In cellular telephone terms, this simply takes the form of
frustration when a call cannot produce a clear sound, or the fact
that the service providers cannot pick up a signal in certain
areas.

One of the systems that can now eliminate this cellular burden
is QUALCOMM's IS-95 CDMA system, a new generation of wireless
technology based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
technology.

The system offers the most added value both to customers and
wireless service operators, as it provides a higher capacity than
any other existing technology today.

Imagine a cellular telephone conversation so clear that even
background noises cannot be heard; a mobile telephone service so
wide that you can even use it in basements and in areas normally
unreachable by other cellular providers.

QUALCOMM, the founder of CDMA

Founded in 1985, the company now employs more than 10,000
people in its San Diego, California, headquarters and other
offices around the world. QUALCOMM stock has been publicly traded
since 1991 on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, with the symbol QCOM.

The company started out with its OmniTRACS system, a two-way
mobile satellite messaging and tracking system, which soon became
the world's leading system in its field. It is used primarily by
commercial trucking fleets, providing data transmissions,
position reporting services and information management systems to
transportation companies and other customers in 33 countries.

QUALCOMM also offers its technology embedded in a full line of
Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chips which are
used in cellular, Personal Communication System (PCS) and Fixed
Wireless systems. QUALCOMM has shipped more than 10 million
mobile handsets and one million infrastructure chips to CDMA
equipment manufacturers worldwide.

QUALCOMM is the world's leading provider of CDMA handsets and
subscriber terminals, offering the widest choice of models for
consumers. In addition, QUALCOMM's infrastructure is being
deployed in North America, South America, the Commonwealth of
Independent States and throughout Asia.

QUALCOMM has emerged as a leader in the supply of CDMA fixed
wireless systems, allowing fixed telephone services for homes and
businesses to be provided via a wireless link. Commercial systems
have already been launched in India and Russia, and additional
deployments are planned or underway in the Philippines,
Bangladesh, the Ukraine, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of
Congo.

Another of QUALCOMM's features is Eudora e-mail, a premier
name in electronic messaging software. About 18 million people
worldwide now rely on Eudora products for electronic
communications over the Internet and corporate intranets.

The company booked US$2.09 billion in revenues last year, up
from $814 million in 1996. Its revenues came from both the sales
of its products and royalty fees from companies licensing CDMA
technology.

QUALCOMM has developed into a strong telecommunications
manufacturer and technology provider. At the close of the 1997
fiscal year, total backlog and contracts were $2.3 billion, up 35
percent over the previous year.

IS-95 CDMA

Current trends show that QUALCOMM's IS-95 CDMA system is on
the right path to becoming the future's digital wireless
technology. It is the platform for a third generation of products
and services, and the basis of the industry's cdmaOne family of
systems.

This system allows a large number of users to share the same
radio frequency. To compare the system with other cellular
systems, simply imagine a CDMA cocktail party, where all
subscribers are talking at the same time, together, in the same
room.

Each conversation is being carried out in a different
language, so that the intended receiver recognizes "the code" or
language and is the only one who understands the communication.
This "spread spectrum" technique allows many users to be
supported in a small amount of radio frequency, which is
generally expensive and limited in quantity.

This unique coding scheme also eliminates interference from
other sources and eavesdroppers. It also reduces the great risk
of mobile phone cloning.

The system also applies a "soft handoff" technique that allows
a user to seamlessly travel between base stations with a great
reduction in dropped calls.

A base station can pass a phone conversation from one radio
frequency in one cell to another radio frequency in another cell,
without "dropping" the conversation during the handoff.

IS-95 CDMA also provides improved battery life and outstanding
voice quality, with greatly reduced static, cross-talk and
background noise.

Utilizing this technology, QUALCOMM supplies the industry's
most advanced line of CDMA subscriber products, wireless
infrastructure products and semiconductors.

QUALCOMM has licensed the IS-95 CDMA technology to over 70
leading telecommunications manufacturers worldwide.

Hundreds of CDMA networks have now been fielded in over 40
countries, and commercial CDMA-based cellular and Personal
Communications Services (PCS) have added nearly 12 million
subscribers to date.

In 1997, CDMA was dominant in the U.S., Canada and South Korea
but systems were also launched in Hong Kong, India, Peru and
Russia, to name a few. Recently, CDMA has made a strong entrance
into the Asian market, with the development of fixed wireless and
mobile telecommunications systems in a number of countries.

This year, CDMA will make its debut in Japan, the world's
second-largest wireless market, and the population of CDMA
subscribers in Asia will continue to grow significantly, with
systems being launched in China, Bangladesh, Singapore, the
Philippines, Thailand and other Asian countries.

Now, the total number of CDMA subscribers in Asia exceeds
seven million out of the 12 million subscribers of the technology
worldwide.

On Sep. 23, the PCS Show in Orlando, Florida, QUALCOMM
demonstrated one of the fastest, most efficient wireless data
technologies to date. The new, highly efficient High Data rate
(HDR) wireless technology has been designed specifically to work
with existing cdmaOne network and allow the service provider to
offer evolved, high speed data services with peak data rates
greater than 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps).

For a low incremental cost, existing cdmaOne networks can
support HDR capabilities using existing infrastructure equipment
and network plans. "The era of high-speed wireless multimedia
services has arrived and QUALCOMM is offering a significantly
cost-effective solution with high backward compatibility to the
existing system," said Mateus D. Lesmana, QUALCOMM's Country
Business Development Manager.

Telecommunications companies are aware that CDMA technology
offers significant economic benefits: lower capital expense,
lower operating expense, a faster break-even point and lower
financing requirements than most of the existing system. Those
parameters are becoming more and more critical, especially when
we are faced with the current challenging economic situation,"
said Mateus.

QUALCOMM enters Indonesia

QUALCOMM set up its office in Indonesia in October, 1997,
consisting of a team made up of a businesses development group, a
technical support group and an engineering group. The in-country
team is now actively working on opportunities with wireline
operators, including the state-owned PT Telkom and its joint-
operation (KSO) projects.

QUALCOMM's Country/Regional Manager Bintang Juliarso said the
company wanted to take part in the development of
telecommunications infrastructure in Indonesia, especially now,
during the current economic turmoil.

"We realize we are new in the country, and we are concerned
with the current situation," Bintang said, referring to the
ongoing financial crisis.

But, Bintang said, the company had faith and trusts in the
future development of the telecommunications industry in
Indonesia, and, therefore, QUALCOMM is committed to establishing
long-term business relationships with the telecommunications
players in Indonesia.

The Jakarta office will provide support for business
development and deployment in the Southeast Asia Region,
including Malaysia, he said.

In Indonesia, fixed wireless systems based on IS-95 CDMA
technology are becoming an attractive alternate solution to
traditional wireline networks. The benefits for the
telecommunications operators are significant, including a lower
investment than wireline, ease of deployment and rapid provision
of service. In addition, CDMA systems provide crystal clear voice
quality and much more capacity than any other technology. The
challenge for PT Telkom and the KSOs is to improve the image of
wireless versus wireline solutions to the public.

The current situation dictates that investment in U.S. dollars
has become much more expensive, making the operators' investment
decisions even more important and critical to long-term success.
Operators must be sure that their investments are made in the
right technology, a technology that is proven, cost-effective,
reliable and that allows the operators to generate a profitable
return on assets.

In order to evaluate the practical applications and future
prospects of this technology, QUALCOMM and PT Telkom have signed
a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a CDMA Pilot Project
under a Joint Research Scheme.

Under this MOU, QUALCOMM is committed to deliver, install and
test the IS-95 CDMA for various applications, as well as to train
PT Telkom's engineers in this technology. This will ensure that
by the time the IS-95 CDMA network for PT Telkom is deployed
nationwide, they will be well-prepared for a successful
installation.

On Sept. 2, QUALCOMM received its cdmaOne type approval and
quality certification in Bandung. It is the first vendor in
Indonesia to have receive both certification from DivRisTi-Telkom
and the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunications.

"This acknowledgement of IS-95 CDMA technology by QUALCOMM and
its capabilities means a lot to us. We have demonstrated a wide
range of wireless telephony services together with their features
such as call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling, data
(Internet/intranet access), pay-phone and fax. Everything is run
through the installed hybrid wireless network serving both mobile
and fixed line at the same time," said Bintang.

The project is a result of a joint research program between
QUALCOMM and PT Telkom's Research and Development Division,
DivRisTi. As the developer of CDMA technology, QUALCOMM continues
to lead the industry in research and development as well as
standardization of new CDMA features toward third-generation
digital wireless services.