Verizon to Launch BREW Applications
By Amy Johnson Conner, Contributing Web Editor
Thursday, 07 February 2002
SAN DIEGO -- Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless service provider, will
develop and launch applications based on Qualcomm’s BREW platform, the
companies announced this morning.
Qualcomm’s BREW, or Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, allows
customers to wirelessly download a variety of entertainment and productivity
applications for their mobile phones. Verizon will begin rolling out BREW
applications in a portion of its nationwide area as early as this spring. It will be
the first carrier in North America to launch BREW-enabled applications.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Edward Snyder, a JP Morgan analysts who covers Qualcomm, says the deal is a
step in the right direction for these companies, but it will not change Qualcomm’s
financial situation materially.
Qualcomm and Verizon -- which has more than 29.4 million customers and
launched its high-speed wireless data service late last month -- are already
linked because Qualcomm owns the necessary intellectual property on which
Verizon has developed its network, Snyder adds.
The challenge for the two companies will not be in developing or deploying BREW
applications, but in getting cell phone users excited about them, he says.
"People who use cell phones don’t have time [for applications]. It’s only
modestly valuable. Coming up with a killer application that everyone wants" will
be the brass ring, Snyder says. "There will be a lot of incremental applications
[people will use] while they’re sitting around waiting."
Wall Street wasn't swayed by the news; investors sent Qualcomm stock (Nasdaq:
QCOM) down $1.49, or 3.7 percent, to $39.11 today.
AI
