[Chapter 471: Dividing the Cake]
The GSM standard competition wrapped up. The U.S. didn't achieve a complete victory, but it still reaped significant benefits.
To be honest, they didn't realize how substantial these interests were. If they had known, allies wouldn't have mattered to them at all.
The advantage for the U.S. here was quite clear; in the wireless communication pie, Motorola emerged as the biggest winner. In digital communications, they fell behind. Clearly, much of their energy was devoted to the Iridium project.
Fortunately, Bell Labs had no interest in satellite phones and was focused on competing in digital communications. As for Europe, although they started a bit late, they successfully rallied most of the Asian countries to their side.
Qualcomm's emergence shattered the balance between the two sides. The so-called CDMA they proposed was actually a military system that could be modified to bypass the Europeans and work independently.
The French had no choice but to stop being pretentious. Bell Labs believed that CDMA had a larger bandwidth and better security, with the only concern being cost.
If Europe continued to refuse, Bell Labs planned to take the lead on CDMA. As for whether Qualcomm would agree, no one worried about that. A newly established company should be thankful just to have a seat at the table.
Despite their reluctance, the French had to accept it. Although they still held a considerable market share, they lost the dominant position. U.S. companies led by Motorola took control.
At this point, external negotiations were completed; what remained was how to carve out the profits.
...
"Damn it, let them play by themselves. Filson, go have a chat with Irwin Jacobs. I'm inviting him to help restructure Bell Labs. As for Qualcomm, let them make an offer; I won't bargain," William White said.
Seeing his boss getting angry, Filson didn't know what to say. A share of less than 5% was unacceptable to him, let alone William White.
"Alright, sir. Irwin Jacobs is a Ph.D. I'm sure he'd like a bigger stage."
"Yeah, tell those bloodsuckers we're backing out. Those patents will become free patents that anyone worldwide can use."
Faced with his boss's stubbornness, Filson could only smile wryly. At this point, attempting to dissuade him would only put him at cross purposes with the boss.
William White was so tough for a reason. If the Europeans caught wind of this, they'd probably be overjoyed.
The future communications landscape was already taking shape. The current brick-sized phones hovered around the $2,000 mark; if prices dropped further, the so-called mobile phones could genuinely see widespread adoption.
...
Confronted with a stubborn guy, Morgan Stanley could only shake their heads and chuckle. They didn't believe William White would go this far, but they truly didn't dare to gamble on it.
As shareholders in Motorola, they surely knew what the next version of the phone would entail. Better call quality, longer standby time, all for just $999.
Clearly, this crazy guy intended to deliver a hard blow to his competitors right from the get-go. They were confident that Motorola would decimate most rivals.
Of course, Morgan Stanley could find a way to kick him out. The problem was that if William White became a competitor, the price of mobile devices could plummet to the $500 range.
"Sir, Bell Labs is setting up a branch in Silicon Valley, with Irwin Jacobs in charge of operations. Qualcomm has also been fully acquired by William White. The specific transaction price is unclear," one analyst reported.
"Damn, that guy really moves fast."
"Yes, sir, our people arrived just in time for them to sign the agreement."
"This means that even if we push him out this time, one day he will come storming back."
"That seems to be the case."
"Sir, there's another problem."
"Go ahead; today's troubles are enough already." The old man had a dark scowl; he hated losing control of things.
"Sir, Motorola lacks the capability to finish the R&D alone; they're too scattered."
"Still that damned Iridium project?"
"Indeed."
"I have a feeling that the project looks good but is hard to realize. It's clear from William White's actions that he's more focused on digital mobile communications."
...
Aside from Morgan Stanley's tangled reflections, Motorola also faced their own dilemmas. Although government aid was available, they didn't plan to fill the pit alone. Their research direction was completely misguided, and the risks of starting over were just too great.
To put it bluntly, the Galvin family had a decent relationship with William White. Although he had extracted plenty of benefits from them, let's face it, neither CPUs nor phones were high on their list of priorities.
Their collaboration with William White was more of a win-win situation. No matter how great Intel was, they were not the most profitable chip company.
How many units of 80386 have they sold? At most, one million a month. But Motorola sold in tens of millions. As production costs continued to fall, the company's profit margins reached alarming levels.
Turn tail and confront William White directly?
Don't joke; that wouldn't be funny at all. Those greedy pests were intolerable.
...
In response to this situation, the boss at Washington was furious. "You guys can't help put us in a good light? Throwing tantrums is fine, but have you never heard of any peaceful resolutions?"
After much coordination, a group of big shots ended their infighting. At least at the signing ceremony, everyone was quite harmonious.
"Buddy, Morgan Stanley took a hit this time; you've got to be careful," Bush Jr. remarked with a smirk, seemingly eager to watch his friend fight with others.
"Ha, every good thing starts with a tussle. If someone likes war, then I'll give it to them," William White said, unfazed. Their positions were never aligned; disputes were simply inevitable.
*****
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