With plans to roll out CDMA EVDO service sometime this year, Cox Communications is now turning its attention to applications as it signed an agreement with Qualcomm to incorporate its Brew platform into Cox's wireless service. This agreement with Qualcomm will enable Cox wireless subscribers that have Brew-enabled handsets to download a number of games, tools, lifestyle, location, messaging and ringtone applications.
Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm will host the Brew service for Cox. "The overall customer experience is a key factor in choosing operating systems to support our wireless service," said Dane Dickie, executive director of product operations at Cox. "Qualcomm's Brew will enable our customers to enjoy a personalized experience with our wireless service."
Cox is no stranger to wireless. In addition to once running its own wireless operations in California and Las Vegas in the late 1990s, the cable MSO, along with cable brethren Advance/Newhouse, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and wireless partner Sprint/Nextel, was part of the failed Pivot wireless venture. Last fall, the MSO announced it would launch wireless services this year after it won $300 million worth of 700 MHz spectrum at an auction.
Despite the initial setback with Pivot, Kristine Faulkner, vice president of product development for Cox Business, recently said in an interview with Fierce Telecom that Cox could be a viable wireless alternative to small businesses. "Wireless will be part of our bundle," she said. "I would add that the SMB market feels very unserved in that space today."
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