UTStarcom's 3G and IPTV Plans

From Forbes: UTStarcom Grasps For New Growth

" (...) , faced with a 50% PAS (Personal Access System equipment) slowdown, UTStarcom has to look elsewhere for growth. UTStarcom already started diversifying its business mid-2004. To diversify its risk, UTStarcom started the process of turning itself into a global player instead of a company primarily aimed at the Chinese market."

"It took some big steps. The company licensed Code Division Multiple Access and Wideband CDMA technology from Qualcomm. Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm granted UTStarcom a patent license to develop, manufacture and sell subscriber and infrastructure equipment for use in CDMA2000, WCDMA (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and TD-SCDMA systems--the standard that is being used in China. UTStarcom has been positioning itself for a big stake in China's 3G wireless future. Smart move."

"With the opportunity to sell CDMA equipment, the company started to acquire handset and infrastructure companies that could help it generate revenue. It acquired the CDMA intellectual property portfolio of Hyundai Syscomm, a Korean infrastructure provider for a price between $12 to $15 million in cash. For that, UTStarcom got the product portfolio, intellectual property--including approximately 2,900 Korean, U.S. and other foreign issued or pending patents--selected research and design assets and selected employees."

"(...) One area where he (CEO, Hong Lu) sees promise is Internet Protocol Television. Here, UTStarcom already offers a system it calls "mvision," which is designed to let telecommunications operators and broadband service providers deliver broadcast quality TV and on-demand entertainment service programming over IP networks. Lu says that UTStarcom is the leading supplier of such systems and has existing contracts in China worth more than $100 million. He also says that there are more than 42 trials taking place, and that he expects the company to capture more than 50% of the Chinese IPTV market in the long term. UTStarcom has also signed a contract with Yahoo! Broadband in Japan to provide IPTV services to 5 million users. Meanwhile, UTStarcom will install IPTV equipment for 100,000 users in Florida."