Lifecomm is the newest brainchild of someone that was a little bit too short sighted to realize throwing away perfectly good company assets is a bad idea. Qualcomm has announced they will partially back a new MVNO (mobile Virtual Network Operator) called Lifecomm. Lifecomm will be focused on health management for baby boomers. There have been no announcements yet as to what features will be available, the phones they will use, or the health providers that they will be partnering with. Lifecomm is expected to release in September. Unless they have something really up their sleeve, I expect them to be filing for bankruptcy in Dec 2010. Qualcomm has had this idea in the works for several years, but put it on hold so it would not strain its relationship with existing carrier partners. Qualcomm did not want to be the primary source of funding for such a venture. Past experience has told us that this type of Niche in cellular does not last very long. Cellular Niche markets have only ever been good for watching a company slowly bleed profits until they can no longer pay their employees. Why on earth would you go after such a targeted Niche with an MVNO? Are you listening Qualcomm?
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