Due to its strong patent position, it also collects fees from 195 licensees, spanning most of the cell-phone industry for code-division, multiple-access technology, which is the standard communications technology in cellular networks.

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It signed a deal earlier this year to source phones from an undisclosed Asian contractor that will work with the carrier's chosen technology, code-division multiple access (CDMA).

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But Samsung Electronics, an affiliate of the Samsung chaebol, did have one thing going for it: The firm was totally committed to the up-and-coming phone standard of the time, known as CDMA technology (or code division multiple access), adopted by Sprint.

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Seybold is still bullish on the long-term prospects of Qualcomm (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ), which has made progress penetrating the European mobile phone market with its code division multiple access wireless technology.

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