Qualcomm Prepares for Commercial Launch of LifeComm MVNO

LifeComm, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) company focused on the healthcare industry, will soon be commercially launched, Qualcomm (News - Alert) said this week. The new company is a collaboration between Qualcomm and several major players in the healthcare and medical equipment industries.

 

Although the LifeComm MVNO has a healthcare focus, it will also introduce applications and services designed to help consumers maintain their personal health as well as more specialized medical uses. An unnamed CEO has been picked to run the company, according to a Wireless Week (News - Alert) report. This person’s name will be revealed in September.

 

Services offered by LifeComm primarily target the roughly 70 million baby boomers who increasingly use medical services such as diabetes management, weight reduction and heart monitoring.

 

“Today, we primarily use our phones for communication, information gathering, and entertainment, but LifeComm wants to transform our phones into 'in-the-hand' toolsets that can help us maintain our good health or manage a condition we may already have,” said Paul Hedtke, Qualcomm's lead on LifeComm, in a statement.

According to analysts, MVNOs often have not been successful in the U.S. market. LifeComm may likewise struggle to establish itself. The Wireless Week report noted that  many major MVNO entrants, including Voce, ESPN (News - Alert) Mobile, Amp’d Mobile, and Disney Mobile, have failed to gain a foothold.

 

Virgin Mobile is one of the few MVNOs to succeed, Wireless News said. Its success likely can be credited to the company’s focus on younger demographics.

 

Virgin Mobile USA recently acquired MVNO Helio (News - Alert) for $39 million. The company also reached an agreement with Sprint to revise the terms of its existing network contract and expects to achieve a minimum of an eight percent reduction in its effective cost per minute in 2009, with further reductions over the next three years.