SAN DIEGO, CA AND BASKINGRIDGE, NJ QUALCOMM, Inc. and Verizon Wireless have agreed to form a joint venture to provide machineto- machine (M2M) wireless communications and smart-services offerings across a variety of market segments. Those segments include healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, distribution, and consumer products. Capitalizing on the growth of M2M and smart services, the joint ventureyet unnamedwill be equally owned by QUALCOMM and Verizon Wireless.
Smart services are the new services and business models enabled by M2M capabilities. For example, smart-grid technology enables utilities to wirelessly connect to their grid assets, such as circuit breakers, transformers, and other substation equipment. This wireless-monitoring capability allows them to develop interactive utility networks that are more intelligent, resilient, reliable, and self-balancing.
"The Verizon Wireless vision for bringing the benefits of everything connected' to the marketplace started with the introduction of the open development business and the selection of LTE technology for our 4G network," says Anthony Lewis, Vice President of Open Development at Verizon Wireless. "We understand that no single company will be able to provide every aspect of the new M2M ecosystem on its own. This distinctive partnership with QUALCOMM allows us to swiftly build on the strengths of each company's M2M strategy."
The joint venture will be led by M2M industry leader Steve Pazol, who previously served as Vice President of Global Smart Services at QUALCOMM. According to Pazol, "M2M is a rapidly growing market projected by some analysts to reach more than 85 million connections globally by 2012. The next five years will be a significant period of innovation in M2M." .