Fri, Feb 10 2012

Qualcomm offers to buy Mobikom

Thu, Sep 20 2001 15:00 CET

byIvan Vatahov

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Bulgaria's analogue mobile phone operator Mobikom announced that Inquam, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc., was interested in buying a majority stake in the company. Mobikom's Finance Director Richard Loweth reported the news at a press conference on Wednesday.

Mobikom's former Internet director and newly appointed co-manager, Tim Buisseret, said that Inquam planned to use Mobikom's infrastructure to develop a CDMA-standard network and exploit the existing frequency band. It is based on technology that is decades old and has U.S. military origins. CDMA was developed for mobile phones by Qualcomm and saw its first commercial launch in 1995.

Backers of CDMA (code division multiple access) say it offers a cheaper, faster upgrade to high-speed Internet-capable third generation (3G) networks than its GSM rival. It also provides more efficient use of the mobile phone spectrum.

Inquam is currently investing in Romania to develop the CDMA standard, said Buisseret. Mobikom officials did not say from whom Inquam planned to buy the majority stake. Britain's Cable & Wireless has a 49 per cent stake in Mobikom, the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company has 39 percent and 12 percent is held by the Defence Ministry's Radio Electronic Systems.

BTC had agreed to buy C&W's stake for $25 million earlier this year but the deal was put on hold because of the new government's plan to privatize the company, said Buisseret.

Mobikom's net profit for 2000 was two million leva, he announced. "Mobikom's financial state is stable. We are in the position we wanted to be in and the company is making a profit," he said.

Mobikom will respond to the September 17 launch of the country's second GSM operator, GloBul, but a decision on price reductions will not be taken until after the other domestic GSM operator, MobilTel, has adjusted its prices.

Mobikom has 180,000 mobile phone subscribers and 20,000 pager subscribers. The company also operates 6,000 phones with prepaid cards around the country and sells 5,000 prepaid cards for the Internet on a monthly basis.

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