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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
QUALCOMM Acquires U.K.-based Mobile Content Delivery Leader ELATA
SAN DIEGO, -- QUALCOMM Incorporated
(Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, today announced it has
acquired ELATA, a global leader in mobile content delivery software, based in
the United Kingdom. ELATA's software products provide operators with
innovative solutions for managing, delivering and marketing rich wireless
content. By combining ELATA's wireless content delivery system, the senses
product, with QUALCOMM's BREW(R) solution, operators have access to an
extensive and modular offering of wireless data solutions and services. This
new unified delivery system also allows operators with existing wireless data
solutions to improve and expand upon management, delivery and marketing of
wireless content, while maintaining backwards compatibility with their current
devices through open standards interfaces. QUALCOMM paid approximately
$57 million in cash for ELATA.
The new unified delivery system is platform-agnostic, allowing operators
to consolidate all of their content services with support for all device
platforms. Under a single service delivery framework, a broad array of
content can be unified and managed, including ringtones, wallpapers, and BREW,
Java(R), streaming and OMA-compliant content -- for the full range of feature
phones and smartphones on operators' WCDMA (UMTS(R)), GSM and CDMA2000(R)
networks. For example, an operator may offer applications and services to its
subscribers that have been developed in multiple programming languages and are
delivered via many different systems to the handset. With a unified system,
the delivery of all content is streamlined and, in addition to creating a more
seamless, standardized user experience, an operator's costs are reduced and
the operator is in a better position to bring new content and services to
market much more rapidly.
"QUALCOMM's acquisition of ELATA is a further demonstration of the
Company's commitment to offering operators in Europe and around the world an
innovative and flexible set of solutions for managing and delivering wireless
content," said Peggy Johnson, president of QUALCOMM Internet Services. "The
benefits of this acquisition are threefold -- supporting the overall delivery
of content while maintaining backwards compatibility with operators' current
devices through open standards; strengthening our commitment to meeting the
needs of operators worldwide; and quickly bringing new value-added services to
market without additional hardware requirements."
"Both QUALCOMM and ELATA share a common vision of helping operators and
service providers to advance the proliferation of feature-rich mobile content
in Europe and beyond," said Stephen Dunford, CEO of ELATA. "We will be able
to bring the benefits of our joint technologies to worldwide markets, either
by strengthening an operator's existing service delivery offering or by
helping to quickly establish a solution that increases the choice, uptake and
revenues from wireless content."
ELATA has been a pioneer in the development of over-the-air (OTA) delivery
technology for wireless applications and content since 2000 and today leads
the market with its ELATA senses media content delivery system. Nomura
International acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of ELATA.
QUALCOMM's BREW solution is an established offering of products and
services for wireless operators, handset manufacturers, publishers and
developers around the world. The BREW solution includes an extensible client
platform for supporting personalized and branded user interfaces via
uiOne(TM), the deliveryOne(TM) suite of products which features scalable
J2EE(TM) environments for delivering and monetizing wireless content and a
dedicated professional services team that supports customized implementations
for wireless data services.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and
delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services
based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego,
Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2005 FORTUNE 500(R)
company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.
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