Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 489 We need Motorola too!
dong dong!

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Mr. Tang, we just received a message from Europe."

"Are you trying to rush the order? Tell them not to rush it. Our factory will continue production as scheduled. If we have to work overtime, those damn unions will cause us trouble..."

"It's not about urging orders."

"What is this? A price reduction? Tell them a mobile phone at four thousand dollars is absolutely not expensive. A lower price wouldn't reflect the elite status of our customers..."

"Not at all."

"what is that?"

"They...want to return the goods."

"what?"

Don Linda jumped up from her seat.

What a joke!
Motorola mobile phones, with their exorbitant prices, were destined to be tools for only a select few business elites. Simply put, aside from the American market, the European market was the only option. Now, the Europeans no longer wanted them?
How does this work?
"We've already licensed the technology; as long as they pay the patent fees, they can manufacture it themselves. Isn't that enough? What are they trying to do?"

"They have introduced a new generation of mobile communication technology from Northwestern Polytechnical University."

Northwestern Polytechnical University? Aren't they computer manufacturers? When did they start making mobile phones?

"I don't know, but they've registered the patents, for CDMA."

Don Linda then remembered that one of her engineers had mentioned it, but... how could that be!

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is so technically challenging that even a telecommunications giant like Motorola is frowning. How could Northwestern Polytechnical University possibly possess such advanced technology?
"Book me a plane ticket to Europe right now!"

"Yes."

85, April 1.

After disembarking from the plane, Don Linda first went to the Nokia company.

According to the previous agreement, Nokia obtained a technology license from Motorola and wanted to develop the same mobile phone, so contacting them to understand the situation would be the most appropriate course of action.

“Mr. Don Linda, please wait a moment. Mr. Naruen is busy.”

"What are you busy with?" Tang Linda looked at the pretty female secretary with some curiosity.

"Busy developing new mobile phones."

"What does it look like?"

"I'm sorry, this is a company secret."

Don Linda waited in the conference room for a full half hour before Naruen finally arrived.

"Sorry, I was just studying technical documents."

"What technical documentation? You can just ask us directly, we have Motorola's technical documentation..."

"Sorry, it's not yours, it's from Northwestern Polytechnical University."

Don Linda's expression turned serious: "Narunen, your Nokia company is one of the top companies in Europe. How could you import technology from the East? What advanced technology does the East have? Thirty years ago, they were still an agricultural country!"

"Yes, even though their technology was very backward 78 years ago, it's different now."

"Hmph, what advanced technology do they have? I don't believe it."

Narunen hesitated for a moment, then pulled a black object from his waist: "Take a look at this."

What?
Don Linda took it.

There's a small antenna on top, below the antenna is the earpiece, below the earpiece is the display screen, and further down... it looks like a cover.

He gently opened the lid and saw the number keys inside.

"You can't believe it, something this small can make a phone call!"

Beep beep, beep beep beep...

Just then, the device in my hand made a sound, the screen lit up, and a line of numbers appeared on it.

Looking at this number, could it be... caller ID?
Narunen took the phone, glanced at the number, and then pressed the answer button.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll be back in ten minutes."

After hanging up the phone, he said somewhat apologetically, "The R&D department has encountered a new technical problem. I only have ten minutes at most. Please tell me what you need to say quickly."

"This phone..."

and many more!

Tang Linda suddenly realized: "This thing can be used indoors too?"

Motorola bricks are notoriously bad at signal strength! Not to mention indoors, even outdoors you have to find an open space, otherwise, the call quality will drop significantly if there are buildings or other obstructions.

In their view, it doesn't matter, after all, mobile phones are meant to be used while on the move, and the need is only present when you're out and about.

just now……

"Yes, we have built a base station inside the company for testing. In the future, there will be base stations in various cities to meet the call demand."

"Just use our Motorola technology. Can that technology be better than ours?" Don Linda regained his outward confidence, but inwardly he was filled with anxiety.

“One channel can accommodate two hundred users, and a base station can install at least three channels, and up to ten. However, after research, we believe that a city can build four base stations, each with three channels, which can simultaneously meet the call needs of more than two thousand users. As the number of users increases in the future, more channels can be added to the base stations.”

Don Linda was stunned.

Two hundred users per channel!

and many more!

Are there that many users?

If a city needs to support more than 2,000 users at the same time, it means that there must be at least 20,000 users, or even 200,000!
After all, it's impossible for all these people to be on the phone at the same time.

"Pretty much. After all, the current price is around one thousand US dollars. As production increases in the future, the price may drop. According to expectations, it can be reduced to five hundred US dollars within five years."

Click!

A bolt from the blue struck Don Linda's mind.

Motorola had poor signal, could only accommodate a small number of users at the same time, and was very expensive.

After all, Motorola wanted to make money from these mobile phones, as they were their most important source of profit.

Now, Motorola's good days are over!
A $1,000 phone with good signal and no busy lines – isn't that great?
"By the way, this technology also has network provisioning capabilities. Currently, the theoretical downlink speed can reach about 2.8 Mbps and the uplink speed is about 384 KB/s, but it will be improved in the future."

network!

Motorola, that old-fashioned analog-era device, could only make phone calls; it couldn't even send text messages!
CDMA technology is fundamental for sending and receiving text messages; the key is providing network access.

Since the 3G era, mobile networks have developed rapidly and gradually become an integral part of people's lives!

Motorola is completely outdated!
"Alright, that's all I have to say. I have to go back now. By the way, is there anything else you need to do here?"

Other things? What do you mean?
If you're trying to sell Motorola technology, forget it! Compared to Northwestern Polytechnical University's technology, it's utter garbage!
Tang Linda's gaze was fixed on the phone: "Could you... give me a sample unit?"

"Okay, I'll have my secretary get it for you."

Tang Linda was in a state of utter confusion. He returned to his car and stared at his small phone. How had the other person managed to do that?
So, I couldn't resist and took it apart in the car.

A circuit board, a few chips, some surface-mount resistors and capacitors—so simple, yet so…high-tech!

Motorola is completely outdated! What's next? This is Motorola's most important source of profit! The Motorola mobile phones they've invested heavily in developing will become complete bricks!
Once I get back, I need to find Martin Cooper and invite him to rejoin the company and develop new technologies!
After getting off the plane, his secretary informed him that Martin Cooper was at MIT, so he went directly to MIT again.

As soon as he got off the bus, he was drawn to the tall iron tower in the center of the college.

"Excuse me, what's this?"

"This? A mobile base station."

Click!

Another thunderclap!
MIT is actually testing Northwestern Polytechnical University's technology.

I was so stupid. The president of MIT is the father-in-law of the president of Northwestern Polytechnical University. Do I even need to ask why they would cooperate?
They must be extremely close!
Now... Northwestern Polytechnical University's technology has also entered the US market, which means it's going to penetrate Motorola's home turf!

Wait, Martin Cooper is here too. Does that mean he's also researching the technology from Northwestern Polytechnical University?
With her last glimmer of hope, Don Linda entered university.

Department of Electronic Engineering, Laboratory.

Don Linda pushed open the door and saw a large group of elderly professors busy at work, with all sorts of parts and disassembled cell phones on their workbenches.

"Hey, Tang, what brings you here?" Martin Cooper looked at him, full of curiosity.

"Yes, I heard you were here, so I came to see you. What brings you here...?"

"CDMA technology is the most advanced in the world! In comparison, the analog mobile phones I developed before were simply garbage."

Even the father of mobile phones says his own research and development products are garbage!

Don Linda's feelings were incredibly complicated.

"So what are you doing now?"

“We all believe that this mobile phone should be more integrated. If it can be combined with the BeiDou satellite system, it will have more functions.”

Beidou, still belonging to the East!
"In this way, where there are base stations, communication is conducted using those base stations; where there are no base stations, communication is conducted using the BeiDou satellite system. There will be a signal no matter where you are, and it also has positioning capabilities..."

This is a brilliant idea, and as it turns out, both the United States and Europe have had a group of top scientists in this era.

"This... Martin, what should Motorola do?"

"You can also develop CDMA phones. As long as you use Northwestern Polytechnical University's chips, you won't have to pay patent fees..."

"Martin, whose side are you on?" Evan Jacob's dissatisfied voice rang out.

“Evan, the mobile communications market is huge. Our company alone can’t handle it all. Other companies will definitely join us to expand the market together. Only through cooperation can we achieve a win-win situation.”

Evan Jacobs still looked terrible; why couldn't he eat?
Only we can dominate the entire US market. Motorola is a giant in this field. If we bring them in, will we still have a market?

We had to step on Motorola's shoulders to get to where we are today!
"Mr. Tang, we have a lot of our confidential technology here. You... can leave now!"

Evan Jacob waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.

So Tang Linda had no choice but to come out again and look at the iron tower once more, her feelings complicated.

What should Motorola do next?
Previous mobile phones will quickly become obsolete. Driven by MIT, CDMA mobile phones, much like video game consoles were in the past, will become a hit throughout the United States and even North America.

Since they can't beat Motorola, then... they have no choice but to join?
However, this would turn the industry leader into one that follows, with the world now led by the East!

When he returned to Motorola headquarters, it was already midnight. The days of travel had left him exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot. However, Don Linda didn't have time to rest and called a meeting with all the technical staff.

"We absolutely cannot let Asians become the leaders in this race; we must surpass them!"

"Beyond? That's CDMA technology, the most difficult of all mobile communication technologies. Besides, since they've already commercialized this technology, can you guarantee they're not developing even more advanced technologies?"

"Then what do we do? Are we just going to quit this industry? This is the core of our company's profits for the next ten years!"

"I think we should follow the Easterners' requirements for now, use their chips to manufacture mobile phones, and seize the market first. Later, we can develop our own chips!"

"The patent fees..."

"Hmph, patent rights are meant to protect us. Our technology is advanced, so we collect patent fees globally. Now that we're behind, what right do we have to recognize these damn patents? We don't accept them!"

Everyone present was filled with waves of excitement.

"That's right, just like that!"

Below, Louis shook his head. He was the first to discover that Easterners were developing CDMA technology, and also the first to realize that Motorola was outdated.

Do these people really think they can surpass it?
Can Motorola outperform Intel in chip development? Intel lost, so how can we possibly win?
Even if they invest heavily in chip development, they will soon be suppressed by the East. After a few such incidents, Motorola will be severely weakened!

After that, it will be completely reduced to an assembly plant!
However... these people definitely wouldn't believe him if he said that now, so he wisely kept silent and let everyone be happy for a few days.

“Okay, that’s settled then!” Don Linda nodded. “I’ll report it to the company.”

At the beginning of 85, the global situation was excellent!
Northwestern Polytechnical University's mobile communication technology has quickly become a global sensation, with countless users eagerly awaiting a $1,000 mobile phone that can even connect to the internet!
Oil prices are still rising, but fortunately, Saudi Arabia is continuously increasing oil production to curb prices, and oil pipelines are being laid rapidly.

Langtuo has become like a stubborn plaster, difficult to defeat and impossible to shake off. US carrier strike groups and land-based air forces often go there to show off, and occasionally some conflicts break out, but the conflict has not escalated.

Meanwhile, Oman's oil pipeline is being laid rapidly, and once completed, it will completely bypass the Strait of Hormuz!

The congestion in the Suez Canal is being addressed day and night, and everyone believes that as long as they persevere, the light will come.

Unbeknownst to them, a crisis was brewing elsewhere.

Yemen, located in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Aden.

Before the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Yemen was insignificant. However, with the opening of the canal, the British Empire immediately seized the coastal areas of Yemen to ensure the safety of the shipping routes.

By the early 20th century, large swathes of Yemen's territory had been divided into directly controlled colonies. It wasn't until 1967 that power was handed over to the locals, and the Yemeni Democratic People's Front was thus established.

Meanwhile, in the north, those northern regions that were not annexed by Britain underwent several changes and eventually formed the Arab Republic of Yemen, thus giving both northern and southern Yemen their own governments.

To be fair, Yemen has good resources, with four billion barrels of crude oil reserves. If it can develop peacefully, it could become a wealthy country.

Unfortunately, Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 1968.

The president of North Yemen allied with Saudi Arabia and received weapons from them, while South Yemen immediately sought help from the Soviet Union. As a result, South Yemen received a large amount of Soviet equipment and military instructors from Egypt, Algeria, and other countries. Later, Cuba also got involved!

The civil war initially raged around the oil-rich Tarrouz Oasis, with both sides waging a major battle.

Over the years, both sides realized that it was difficult to eliminate the other, and the Soviet Union also realized that continuing to fight was not a solution and hoped for dialogue between the two sides.

The North Yemeni forces, blinded by rage, discovered that Soviet weapons were still the most effective. So, in 79, they actually asked Moscow for help, and Moscow actually agreed, giving them dozens of aircraft. Of course, these aircraft could not be used on the southern battlefield.

With the Soviet Union's impetus, the two sides finally signed a peace agreement in 1981. By this time, both North and South Yemen had entangled relationships with the Soviet Union.

North Yemen had a large number of Soviet advisors who controlled the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while the port of Aden in South Yemen was an important supply station for the Red Navy as it entered the Indian Ocean.

Now, in the eyes of the Russians, persuading Yemen should be easy.

North Yemen.

"Your Excellency Saleh, this is the conspiracy of the Western world. They are trying to cause a global oil price crash by increasing oil production. Although your oil wells are not currently in operation in Yemen, they will be in operation in the future. These actions by the West pose a serious threat to you."

Saleh's expression was complicated: "Yes, Mr. Nikolai, you are right. We are angry about the Western conspiracy, but... you said that we should be like Lang Tuo... I am really sorry. Doing so would offend all our Arab friends."

Nikolai frowned: "How could that be? The real attack wasn't launched by your army, but by South Yemen. All we need to do is shift the blame to South Yemen."

Saleh's brow furrowed even deeper.

Are they taking us for fools? Just because we say we're from South Yemen doesn't mean we are. What if the Westerners catch us red-handed? Wouldn't we be utterly disgraced?
"I'm sorry, we still don't want to do that kind of thing..."

"Then forget it. Since that's the case, let's go find South Yemen."

After Nikolai finished speaking, he stood up and strode out.

Just as he was about to reach the door, Saleh called out to him.

"Mr. Nikolai, please wait a moment. Please allow us one night to consider this. We will give you an answer tomorrow, is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)