Microsoft and Qualcomm have formed a joint venture aimed at expanding the availability of information over wireless devices including telephones, handheld appliances, and computer modems.
Executives said the new company, called WirelessKnowledge, will offer a backend network operating center to cellular telephone-service providers, including nine of the nation's largest who are already on board.
Carriers could begin offering wireless access to data such as email as early as next April.
The companies did not reveal their investments, but a Qualcomm executive told analysts that Microsoft (MSFT) and Qualcomm (QCOM) each put US$25 million into the venture, according to Pete Peterson of Volpe Brown Whelan & Co.
John Major, who was named chief executive officer of WirelessKnowledge, told Reuters he hopes to bring the venture public in early 2000 after getting additional investments from telecommunications companies.
"The timing, we think, is just right," said Irwin Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Qualcomm. "It is time for wireless and the Internet to really merge together."
"This is the next bastion of growth for the wireless communication companies," Peterson said. "But this is just the start. It's only the second inning for wireless data."
Microsoft and Qualcomm hope to promote expanded use of digital wireless data, beginning with corporate customers, by offering a centralized clearinghouse to transmit data based on Internet protocols.
Initially the service will be focused on companies using Microsoft backend software for their corporate networks, executives said.
While the primary market is for mobile business users who need access to electronic mail and other information off their corporate networks, the service also will be marketed to consumers, officials said.
WirelessKnowledge will offer the service on a wholesale basis, charging the carriers a monthly fee for each subscriber, according to executives and analysts.
Pricing will vary depending on the carrier but could be based on amount of data sent, rather than on time of connection, allowing users to maintain a connection to their network wirelessly.
