QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies Announces On-Time Sample Shipment of World's First 3G 1x Solution with Advanced Position Location Capabilities and Support for Data Rates of up to 307 Kbps; MSM5100 Integrated Circuit, System Software and SURF Development Pla.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2001

QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced the on-time sample shipment of the MSM5100(TM) Mobile Station Modem (MSM(TM)) integrated circuit, including the initial release of the QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT) Dual-Mode Subscriber Software (DMSS(TM)) technology and Subscriber Unit Reference (SURF(TM)) development platform. The MSM5100 integrated circuit and system software, along with key components of QCT's Wireless Internet Launchpad(TM) suite of advanced technologies, provide handset manufacturers and third-generation (3G) 1x system operators with the ability to deliver the highest level of integration for 3G handsets and quickly roll out new 3G services to their subscribers.

"The MSM5100 integrated circuit and system software, together with the accompanying SURF development platform, delivers our second generation of 3G multimedia solutions, complementing the MSM5105 device that sampled in January 2001," said Don Schrock, president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "The MSM5100 solution will enable manufacturers to roll out cost-effective 1x handsets and offers the key technologies of QCT's Wireless Internet Launchpad portfolio, including exciting new services such as streaming video and wireless video conferencing, as well as support for E9-1-1 and high-accuracy position location capabilities."

The MSM5100 integrated circuit and system software solution supports data rates of up to 307 kilobits per second (kbps) in the forward link. Capable of providing up to a 50 percent increase in standby times, and up to twice the overall capacity for voice of IS-95A/B systems, the MSM5100 solution will allow manufacturers to develop state-of-the-art 3G handsets that feature the most complete set of positioning, multimedia and other advanced features available in the wireless industry.

The MSM5100 solution incorporates QCT's Wireless Internet Launchpad suite, enabling a broad range of new terminal products, applications and Internet services, including gpsOne(TM) position location solution and Bluetooth(TM), as well as multimedia features such as Qtunes(TM) Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG-1) Layer-3 (MP3) player software and Compact Media Extension (CMX(TM)) Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)-based multimedia software. The MSM5100 device also supports the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless(TM) (BREW(TM)) applications platform.

The gpsOne solution, which integrates SnapTrack(TM) technology with Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite and network information, provides a high-availability solution that offers industry-leading accuracy and performance. The gpsOne solution provides the world's most available and cost-effective solution for wireless position location technology in a mobile handset for CDMA cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) networks, and will meet the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate requiring wireless operators to provide the location of 911 calls (E9-1-1). The MSM5100 solution also enables a broad range of future 3G GPS-related software and services, including navigation information, area-specific weather forecasts, traffic reports and commercial tracking services, as well as a broad range of entertainment applications, including online chat and bulletin boards.

The MSM5100 integrated circuit also provides the most efficient solution to integrate Bluetooth digital baseband processing into a comprehensive 3G CDMA integrated circuit and system software solution. Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology that eliminates the need for wired connections between digital devices, and is becoming an industry standard to ensure that computing and telecommunications equipment can communicate easily. Bluetooth provides a universal bridge to existing data networks, a peripheral interface, and a mechanism to form small, private ad hoc groupings of connected devices away from fixed network infrastructures.

Optional software from QUALCOMM for the MSM5100 solution enables advanced audio features such as Qtunes MP3 player software and CMX MIDI-based multimedia software. MP3 is a standard audio file format for compressing a sound sequence into about one-twelfth the size of the original file with very little loss in sound quality. These enhancements will allow a wide variety of future wireless music applications, including karaoke phones, MP3 player phones and more.

The MSM5100 solution also integrates a mass storage device controller, such as a Multimedia Card (MMC) interface, which will provide an effective interconnection to much larger memory space to store MP3 music data or mapping data from a geographical navigation service.

The MSM5100 solution is available in a 208-ball Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA) production package, and is pin-compatible with the MSM3300(TM) IS-95A/B integrated circuit, which will enable handset manufacturers to reduce the time-to-market for highly integrated and feature rich 3G CDMA2000 handsets as 3G networks and services are being rolled out.

QCT, a division of QUALCOMM Incorporated, is a developer and supplier of CDMA integrated circuits, hardware and software solutions, and tools, with more than 133 million cumulative shipments of MSM chips worldwide. QCT offers wireless position location technology by SnapTrack, a wholly owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM. QCT supplies chipsets to the world's leading CDMA handset and infrastructure manufacturers including: Acer Peripherals, Inc., ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.; CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.; FUJITSU LIMITED; Hitachi, Ltd.; Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.; KYOCERA CORPORATION; LG Information and Communications, Ltd.; Samsung Electronics Ltd.; SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.; and Toshiba Corporation, among others.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. The Company's business areas include CDMA integrated circuits and system software; technology licensing; the BREW applications platform; Eudora(R) e-mail software; digital cinema systems; and satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar(TM) system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS(R) and OmniExpress(TM). QUALCOMM owns patents that are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 100 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500(R) company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the Company's ability to successfully design and have manufactured significant quantities of CDMA components on a timely and profitable basis, the extent and speed to which CDMA is deployed, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2000, and most recent Form 10-Q.

QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. MSM5100, Wireless Internet Launchpad, MSM, DMSS, SURF, MSM3300, MSM5105, gpsOne, SnapTrack, Qtunes, CMX, OmniExpress and BREW are trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services, Incorporated. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson, Sweden. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.