http://transcripts.businessday.co.za/cgi-bin/transcripts/t-showtranscript.pl?1109889442
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Posted: 2005-03-03 23:55 <--- LOL!
SNO looks at its technology options
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Presenter: Lindsay Williams Guest(s): Tom O'Neill
With the imminent appointment of all parties to the second telephone network operator (SNO) questions are being raised about the technology that might be used. Qualcomm vice president of new business Tom O’Neill
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: The imminent appointment of the SNO provides an opportunity to adopt CDMA 3G technology - this is where I start to lose interest, because I don’t understand it! Please tell us about CDMA 3G technology?
TOM O’NEILL: This has already been seen in South Africa in a different variant - both Vodacom and MTN are using a variant of CDMA 3G known as UMTS or wide band CDMA.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: What does it mean for the second network operator? What I really want to know is when the second network operator comes in - when it eventually happens - what are they going to offer, that the existing operator doesn’t?
TOM O’NEILL: All versions of CDMA, currently, are 3G. There are differences in the fundamental technology, that results in different bit rates (data rates) being supported between the different variants. The current maximum bit rate offered by Vodacom, and by MTN, is in the area of 384 kilobits per second. The second national operator would have the opportunity to elect to use a different variant of CDMA technology - where that bid rate might be increased to 2.4 megabits per second.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: It sounds as though this is all in terms of efficiency, and improved quality of service - does it actually mean anything, in terms of price, to the consumer?
TOM O’NEILL: It can. CDMA 3G technology has been adopted in India, and in India we’ve been seeing a reduction in prices to consumers. The lowest tariff in the world, right now, is at eight tenths of a US cent per minute for voice calls - I think that’s about 5 South African cents - and that’s being supported by CDMA 3G technology in India.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: Apart from India - where else has it been applied?
TOM O’NEILL: There are about 235-million subscribers of CDMA in the world now - predominantly China, India, the United States, Japan and Korea.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: Where does Qualcomm fit into this whole picture?
TOM O’NEILL: Qualcomm is a technology organisation, an engineering organization - we’re located in California, and our hallmark is this CDMA technology, which we’ve been working on for 15 years. We don’t produce any consumer devices - we produce chip sets that go into CDMA phones. Like on a PC you see “Intel inside” you’d see “Qualcomm inside” on a CDMA phone.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: And you’re working closely with the second network operator in this country? When it eventually does happen - you’ll be there with them?
TOM O’NEILL: Certainly, we’re supportive of any adopters of CDMA. The second national operator is evaluating this technology - we’re trying to make sure that they best understand what it can do, and hopefully utilise its optimal performance.
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Posted: 2005-03-03 23:55 <--- LOL!
SNO looks at its technology options
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presenter: Lindsay Williams Guest(s): Tom O'Neill
With the imminent appointment of all parties to the second telephone network operator (SNO) questions are being raised about the technology that might be used. Qualcomm vice president of new business Tom O’Neill
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: The imminent appointment of the SNO provides an opportunity to adopt CDMA 3G technology - this is where I start to lose interest, because I don’t understand it! Please tell us about CDMA 3G technology?
TOM O’NEILL: This has already been seen in South Africa in a different variant - both Vodacom and MTN are using a variant of CDMA 3G known as UMTS or wide band CDMA.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: What does it mean for the second network operator? What I really want to know is when the second network operator comes in - when it eventually happens - what are they going to offer, that the existing operator doesn’t?
TOM O’NEILL: All versions of CDMA, currently, are 3G. There are differences in the fundamental technology, that results in different bit rates (data rates) being supported between the different variants. The current maximum bit rate offered by Vodacom, and by MTN, is in the area of 384 kilobits per second. The second national operator would have the opportunity to elect to use a different variant of CDMA technology - where that bid rate might be increased to 2.4 megabits per second.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: It sounds as though this is all in terms of efficiency, and improved quality of service - does it actually mean anything, in terms of price, to the consumer?
TOM O’NEILL: It can. CDMA 3G technology has been adopted in India, and in India we’ve been seeing a reduction in prices to consumers. The lowest tariff in the world, right now, is at eight tenths of a US cent per minute for voice calls - I think that’s about 5 South African cents - and that’s being supported by CDMA 3G technology in India.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: Apart from India - where else has it been applied?
TOM O’NEILL: There are about 235-million subscribers of CDMA in the world now - predominantly China, India, the United States, Japan and Korea.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: Where does Qualcomm fit into this whole picture?
TOM O’NEILL: Qualcomm is a technology organisation, an engineering organization - we’re located in California, and our hallmark is this CDMA technology, which we’ve been working on for 15 years. We don’t produce any consumer devices - we produce chip sets that go into CDMA phones. Like on a PC you see “Intel inside” you’d see “Qualcomm inside” on a CDMA phone.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS: And you’re working closely with the second network operator in this country? When it eventually does happen - you’ll be there with them?
TOM O’NEILL: Certainly, we’re supportive of any adopters of CDMA. The second national operator is evaluating this technology - we’re trying to make sure that they best understand what it can do, and hopefully utilise its optimal performance.
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