Qualcomm Wins Contract with PT&T for Wireless Local Loop System in Philippines
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced a signed contract with Philippines Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (PT&T), an established wireline operator in the Republic of Philippines, to deploy a 50,000 subscriber, 1900 MHz cdmaOne™ (IS-95 CodeDivision Multiple Access) wireless local loop (WLL) system in Southern Luzon. Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm will supply a turnkey system to PT&T, including infrastructure equipment, subscriber terminals and deployment services.
"We're pleased with our decision to implement Qualcomm's CDMA wireless local loop system," said Jose Luis Santiago, president and chief executive officer of PT&T. "Together, we have the right combination of resources to offer the most advanced features and functionality to the people of Southern Luzon, as well as expert engineering and deployment services to ensure a rapid network deployment and quick provision of service to our customers."
In conjunction with the government's goal of increasing teledensity in the Republic of Philippines, PT&T is embarking on an ambitious project to significantly expand residential and business telephone service via Qualcomm's advanced digital wireless technology, CDMA. Already the owner and operator of a large wireline network, PT&T's CDMA WLL system will be deployed in service area Region IV-A, comprised of six provinces in Southern Luzon, namely Rizal, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque, Romblon and Aurora.
"With their selection of Qualcomm's CDMA products and services, PT&T is one step closer to realizing their goal to quickly and effectively expand access to high-quality telecommunications in the Philippines," commented Marshall Towe, regional vice president of Asian operations for Qualcomm's Wireless Infrastructure Products Division. "We are proud to be working with PT&T to deploy a high-performance CDMA wireless local loop system that will deliver advanced telephone service to residents and businesses in the Southern Luzon region. We have formed a strong, long-term relationship with PT&T, and we hope to expand their CDMA network even further as demand increases for additional capacity and more advanced features."
PT&T and Qualcomm are expected to begin deployment in December 1997 utilizing Qualcomm's 1900 MHz QCell™ 3519i Base station Transceiver Subsystems (BTS), QCore™ 22X Integrated Base Station Controllers (IBSC) and wireless local loop telephones. Qualcomm's QCore 22X IBSC integrates the functionality of a mobile switch and a base station controller, and is fully scaleable for simple and cost-effective capacity expansion. In addition, Qualcomm's CDMA product platform supports both fixed and mobile users, allowing PT&T to migrate their system to offer both fixed and mobile PCS service in the future. Qualcomm will supply all other equipment required for operation of the nationwide system, as well as a full menu of services, including training, program management, installation, commissioning and network planning using the industry's leading QEDesign® network planning software.
The Republic of Philippines, home to over 68 million people, is actively working to meet aggressive telecommunications goals to substantially raise teledensity from the approximate four telephones per 100 people that are currently installed. The geography and demography of the Republic of Philippines is well suited to wireless telephony due to the large number of islands, rough terrain and large rural populations which are difficult to serve with wireline infrastructure. These factors make the Republic of Philippines one of the largest potential deployers of CDMA WLL in the world, as CDMA networks are an ideal solution for rapid and cost-effective installations in diverse environments. In addition, CDMA WLL provides voice quality that is competitive to wireline with the added benefits of increased reliability and security. Qualcomm is a leader in CDMA wireless local loop deployments with commercial systems in Russia and India. Qualcomm's CDMA products enhance the performance of CDMA systems by providing higher capacity, greater coverage and lower operating costs to service providers.
Headquartered in San Diego, Qualcomm develops, manufactures, markets, licenses and operates advanced communications systems and products based on its proprietary digital wireless technologies. The Company's primary product areas are the OmniTRACS® system (a geostationary satellite-based, mobile communications system providing two-way data and position reporting services), CDMA wireless communications systems and products and, in conjunction with others, the development of the Globalstar™ low-earth-orbit(LEO) satellite communications system. Other Company products include the Eudora Pro™ electronic mail software, ASIC products, and communications equipment and systems for government and commercial customers worldwide. For more information on Qualcomm products and technologies, please visit the Company's web site at http://www.qualcomm.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including timely product development and commercial implementation of the Company's technology, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 1997 and most recent Form 10-Qs.
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