Qualcomm Announces $5.8 Million Agreement for CDMA Fixed Wireless LocalLoop System to Russia

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) today announced signing of an agreement with Rostov Electrosviaz of Rostov, Russia, to supply $5.8 million in 800 MHz Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) fixed wireless local loop infrastructure equipment and services. Qualcomm's CDMA system will be deployed in the Russian region of Rostov-on-Don and surrounding cities and provide advanced wireless telecommunications service to over 20,000 subscribers.gsm fwt fixed wireless terminal

"By choosing Qualcomm to supply its CDMA system, Rostov Electrosviaz has joined other Russian operators in choosing Qualcomm, the developer of CDMA technology, to deploy their CDMA systems. Qualcomm's advanced system architecture coupled with our new, in-country office and support team will prove to be a successful combination as the system begins commercial service later this year," said John Major, president of Qualcomm's Infrastructure Products Division.

Under the terms of the contract announced at the Asia Telecom Exhibition, Qualcomm will provide Rostov Electrosviaz with $5.8 million in 800 MHz base station and base station controller equipment and network planning services. With the signing of this contract, Rostov Electrosviaz has agreed to purchase from Qualcomm all CDMA infrastructure equipment and services required for their expanding network over the next five years. The system is scheduled to be deployed immediately, and will begin providing commercial service by October 1997, with features such as call forwarding, call transfer, call waiting and voice mail service.

Qualcomm's CDMA wireless local loop systems, which provide voice quality similar to that of wireline, can be rapidly deployed and easily expanded, even in diverse terrain and weather conditions. In addition to this new agreement, Qualcomm also has contracts to deploy CDMA wireless local loop systems in Chelyabinsk and the Moscow region, supporting over 300,000 subscribers.

Currently, the Rostov region has over four million people, of which more than 100,000 are waiting for fixed phone service. The waiting list for customers interested in telephone service is eight years.