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.