Qualcomm's Globe-Trotting Phone Chip

Wireless

One of the great advantages of GSM over CDMA is the well established roaming partnerships between GSM carriers. CDMA subscribers have few options if they want to use their existing number outside of their home country. Qualcomm is addressing global roaming with with its new MSM6300 CDMA/GSM chip. There is a niche market of global execs who will find handsets with this chip useful. However this doesn’t really help handset makers or carriers. Multi-band GSM world phones are great for carriers and handset makers because they let both take advantage of economies of scale achieved by having a broader choice of devices that can work in multiple markets.