wireless, deals, Communications

Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless Form Joint Venture

Susanna Hamner 7/28/09

Verizon Wireless and chipmaker Qualcomm announced today that they are teaming up to offer machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless services to companies in industries ranging from healthcare to utilities to manufacturing. Their still-unnamed joint venture is designed to encourage corporations to use Verizon’s cellular network for more than phone services. For example, a utility could monitor and interact with circuit breakers, transformers, and other equipment to manage networks more efficiently and reliably. Just yesterday, Verizon Communications, which owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, announced it plans to cut a whopping 8,000 jobs by the end of 2009.