Q'Com Reveals GSM1xQ'Com Reveals GSM1x

Qualcomm announces first commercial trial of GSM1x with China Unicom, scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2003

February 19, 2003

2 Min Read

SAN DIEGO -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that it will conduct the world's first GSM1x technology trial with China Unicom, the second largest wireless service provider in China. The trial will enable China Unicom's GSM subscribers to access the high-speed data services of China Unicom's CDMA2000 1X wireless network and accelerate the commercial availability of GSM/CDMA dual-mode handsets. China Unicom has an installed base of over eight million CDMA users and 60 million GSM users. The GSM1x trial will illustrate the technical feasibility of GSM1x technology as an option to allow China Unicom's existing GSM subscribers to take advantage of the benefits of enhanced CDMA2000 1X services, while preserving the existing GSM service layer and SIM-based subscription. To fully explore the capabilities of the technology and to prove the technical feasibility of deploying GSM1x in an existing GSM network, the trial will be conducted in several stages. The initial stage will demonstrate CDMA2000 1X data service with a GSM core network and provide an environment to perform testing of dual-mode GSM/CDMA2000 1X handsets. The following stage will have an expanded scope, including various roaming scenarios between CDMA and GSM networks. "QUALCOMM is working closely with China Unicom to evaluate the commercial opportunities of combining CDMA performance enhancements with existing GSM networks," said Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO of QUALCOMM. "This trial is a significant step in the progression to the next generation of wireless services and demonstrates a cost and spectrum efficient means of providing current GSM subscribers with the benefits of CDMA2000 1X." The GSM1x trial is being conducted in the city of Suzhou in the Chinese province of Jiangsu and is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of calendar year 2003. Qualcomm Inc. China Unicom Ltd.

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