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Korea snubs Qualcomm
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July 7, 2000: 4:29 p.m. ET
Mobile firms favor Ericsson/Nokia for new wireless communications standard
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LONDON (CNNfn) - South Korea's three major mobile telephone operators indicated Friday that they plan to use next-generation wireless communications technology developed by Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericsson AB, rather than Qualcomm Inc.'s version.
Reports of the Korean firms' plans helped push down Qualcomm (QCOM: Research, Estimates) stock 5-1/16 to 57-3/4, an 8.2 percent decline on the day. In Europe, shares of Nokia finished the day up 4.5 percent on the Helsinki stock exchange, while Ericsson rose 6.6 percent in Stockholm.
Ericsson spokesman Mads Madsen confirmed that SK Telecom Co., Korea Telecom Corp. and LG Telecom Co. favor the wireless code division multiple access (W-CDMA) broadband technology created by Nokia and Ericsson for high-speed Web service.
However, he told CNNfn.com, the companies have not yet chosen a specific provider of the technology.
 The companies "have not chosen a supplier ... they've chosen which technology to use," he said.
An official decision on which standard will be adopted is expected to be disclosed Wednesday, when the Korean government announces the procedure for the selection of operators to be awarded licenses for third-generation mobile phone services.
"In a recent public hearing, three major telecom companies said they favored W-CDMA system over (Qualcomm's) CDMA-2000 for the third-generation mobile phone system," Shin Yong-chul, chief spokesman for SK Telecom, told Reuters.
San Diego-based Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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