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Qualcomm Gives Up On UMB, Switches to LTE

Article Comments  26  

Nov 13, 2008, 3:01 PM   by Eric M. Zeman
updated Nov 13, 2008, 3:17 PM

Today Qualcomm announced that it is halting any further development of its CDMA-based ultra mobile broadband technology and will focus instead on Long Term Evolution. UMB would have been the foundation of the next generation of EV-DO-based high-speed wireless networks. The move comes after Qulacomm posted its quarterly earnings. Verizon Wireless, Alltel, AT&T and others have chosen LTE to be their next-generation networking technology, effectively giving Qualcomm no one to sell UMB to. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs told investors that Qualcomm hopes to sell LTE chips to phone makers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson. Qualcomm also hopes to expand its MediaFLO-based mobile TV service into other markets around the world, and connect more consumer electronics devices to the mobile Internet via its SnapDragon chips.

Reuters / Yahoo News »

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Rich Brome

Nov 13, 2008, 4:54 PM

no comment? this is huge!

I'm shocked no one has commented yet. This is huge. Not a huge surprise, but still huge. Qualcomm - the CDMA company - has essentially given up on CDMA.

This is way bigger than when they gave up on EVDV, and that was a big deal.

Now it's basically done; there will be one global standard for all phones: LTE.

Of course, LTE incorporates many CDMA technologies, and Qualcomm will do just fine making LTE chips... but the era of two major, incompatible technology "camps" competing against each other seems to be drawing to a close.
the market has spoken
I'd have commented sooner myself, but I'm just now catching a break to look at phonescoop.

I have 3 questions about this article...


So who is going to be making UMB chips, if anyone, now?

What does this mean for the future of CDMA based tec...
(continues)
...
My first thought was to say something that could have easily been interpreted as "Haw haw - CDMA is teh suXXX0rz", but decided against it, because there was no point. Being an employee of AT&T doesn't mean I support LTE or believe it's a superior tec...
(continues)
There was a time long ago when analog reigned supreme and dinosaurs roamed the earth 🤣 .

The choices were so simple then..this carrier or that carrier. We could always count on our outrageously priced "brick phones" to work on any carrier out t...
(continues)
...
Has T-Mobile USA mentioned if/when they will go to LTE?
...
Yeah Rich... looks like gsm won. I know that LTE isnt "gsm" but it's definitely in the family. I wonder how all those people who argued endlessly about how cdma was this and that feel about finally being proven wrong...

How many people got banned o...
(continues)
...
japhy

Nov 14, 2008, 4:28 PM

And that's that.

UMB is dead in the water, and 21 comments later, all that need be said has been said.

Let's all pause contemplatively, and move on. 🙂
eric_cartman

Nov 13, 2008, 9:05 PM

COULD this also lead to fewer choices?

If there is a single standard in the US, would the bigger companies be more jumpy to get into mergers and such?

AT&T (ma bell) buys a lot of small carriers which are GSM. Verizon has just purchased Alltel (which is CDMA).

If that ends up being true, that would be very bad.
I doubt it. Sprint was happy to buy Nextel (not that it was smart, but they did.) CDMA carriers have purchased GSM carriers and vice-versa. The majors have never been all that shy about mergers.

The DoJ hasn't been shy about its antitrust duties, e...
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vzw-csr21

Nov 13, 2008, 10:48 PM

What do you think of this Rich

Do you think in a few years when a company releases a phone we will see these options:

maybe a Samsung with LTE

Then a LG with 1xrtt/ EVDO Rev A/B

Or eventually it will just be LTE for voice and data?

Thanks
There's a lot of pressure now on Sprint to go LTE. If they go LTE, then that's that.

If Sprint doesn't go LTE... I have no idea.

But this is all fairly long-term. Even when Verizon does launch LTE, it will take them a while to get it deployed na...
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