OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having failed to attract European third-generation (3G) license holders to use its alternative cdma2000 technology, Qualcomm now appears to have revised its strategy and is looking to tempt Far Eastern GSM operators away from General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to Qualcomm’s GSM 1x high-speed data technology.
The company, which claims that its high-speed wireless data technology is used by more subscribers than rival GPRS technology, confirmed that one operator, speculated to be China-based, is preparing to test GSM 1x early next year as a real alternative to GPRS. Also, a company executive stated that due to the success of Japanese operators currently using Qualcomm technology, some of Europe’s major cell-phone operators continue to have internal study groups dedicated to keeping pace with cdma2000 technology.
While admitting that W-CDMA technology is the natural technology path for European GSM operators, Qualcomm is keen to state that its cdma2000 infrastructure is cheaper than comparable W-CDMA equipment.
“Our only chance within Europe is if W-CDMA deployments take longer than is presently planned,” said Donald Schrock, president of Qualcomm CDMA technologies. “But there are many technical issues yet to be fixed with W-CDMA, particularly with base station technology.”
Never a company to concede without a fight, Qualcomm said it is also looking to enable different cellular technologies-GSM and CDMA-to work together better and is also pleased to see its GSM/W-CDMA chipset being used in Samsung handsets destined for use by Vodafone’s Spanish subsidiary.
