China Unicom Selects QUALCOMM's BREW(TM) Solution as Its Platform to Launch Wireless Data Applications-- Companies Sign Definitive Agreement That will Allow China Unicom to Quickly Showcase the Advantages of Its CDMA Technology by Offering Over-the-Air Download of Games, Position Location, Business Applications and More -
PR NEWSWIRE, 8/26/2002 7:30:00 AM
SAN DIEGO, Aug 26, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- China Unicom, a major wireless service provider in China, and QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which China Unicom will commercially launch over its CDMA network a new wireless application service based on QUALCOMM's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless(TM) (BREW) solution by the end of 2002. China Unicom's wireless customers will be able to personalize their BREW-enabled mobile phones by downloading the applications they want and need using the BREW platform. Separately, China Unicom and QUALCOMM have also made plans to establish a joint venture in China to foster a domestic BREW developer community and manage the BREW applications produced by this development community.
China Unicom strives to offer its customers the most innovative and value- added services available in the market and has selected QUALCOMM's BREW solution as the service of choice for delivering these exciting new capabilities and for increasing the competitive advantage of its CDMA network. China Unicom customers will appreciate the useful and entertaining data applications they will soon be able to download wirelessly to their handsets. QUALCOMM and China Unicom share mutual congratulations and best wishes for their joint commitment to CDMA technology and the BREW solution.
China Unicom is planning to introduce the service to some customers by the fourth quarter of 2002, enabling the company to clearly demonstrate to Chinese mobile consumers the advantages of its CDMA services. Customers will be able to choose from numerous categories of wireless data applications, such as games and entertainment, business applications and navigation services, weather and news, chat and e-commerce.
"QUALCOMM developed the BREW solution to open the wireless economy and to create a dynamic and useful mobile data experience for consumers worldwide," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, group president, QUALCOMM Wireless & Internet Group. "China Unicom's leadership will give Chinese mobile consumers an unprecedented opportunity to tap into the power of wireless data and it will enhance business opportunities worldwide for the rapidly growing community of BREW developers and content providers in China."
Deployments of the BREW solution continue as carriers throughout the world join KTF in South Korea, KDDI in Japan and Verizon Wireless in the United States in commercializing BREW-based services. Telesp Celular, the largest mobile phone operator in Brazil, has launched a BREW user trial. ALLTEL, with more than 10 million customers in the United States, has also launched its BREW-based service in three U.S. cities. Globally, 16 carriers to-date have indicated support for the BREW solution and developers and handset manufacturers continue to embrace the platform.
QUALCOMM's BREW platform is a thin application execution environment that provides an open, standard platform for wireless devices. The BREW platform is part of a complete, end-to-end solution for wireless applications development, device configuration, application distribution, and billing and payment. The complete BREW solution includes the BREW SDK(TM) (software development kit) for developers, the BREW applications platform and porting tools for device manufacturers, and the BREW Distribution System (BDS) that is controlled and managed by carriers -- enabling them to easily get applications from developers to market and coordinate the billing and payment process. Carriers' BREW-based services will enable consumers to customize their handsets by downloading applications over the air from a carrier's application download server. The BREW platform is a product of QUALCOMM Internet Services (QIS), a division within the QUALCOMM Wireless & Internet (QWI) Group of QUALCOMM Incorporated.
_________
This could be a water-shed event. Stock rose in pre-open trading.
Ibexx |
