WASHINGTON-The Bush administration today said it settled a major wireless trade disagreement with South Korea that could have locked Qualcomm Inc.’s BREW technology out of a key Asian market.
“We believe freedom for each operator to select a preferred wireless Internet platform to meet its customers’ needs will maintain a high level of competition and creativity in the South Korean wireless market,” said Irwin Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Qualcomm. “Indeed, this is welcome news for all parties in the mobile applications marketplace. Subscribers of BREW-enabled services, for example, can continue to access and enjoy BREW-based applications. Korean developers can continue to benefit by delivering their locally developed BREW-based applications to the worldwide marketplace.”
The deal comes on the heels of China’s agreement yesterday to indefinitely suspend the planned June 1 implementation of a home-grown Wi-Fi encryption standard that U.S. government and industry officials claimed discriminated against American high-tech firms.
“This week marks a number of key trade successes for the United States high-tech industry,” said Robert Zoellick, the U.S. trade representative. “China took a significant step in embracing technology neutrality in its telecom policy. Based on the deal we reached with Korea, American telecommunications companies can now be assured of unimpeded access to this important market. American businesses and workers will continue to provide cutting-edge products and services to the growing Asian market.”
