IfWorld to Develop Technology for Qualcomm

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 72 views 

IfWorld Inc. of Fayetteville, the holding company for Interface Computer Center, has been asked by digital wireless leader Qualcomm Inc. to develop new software solutions for its wireless platform. IfWorld is the only Arkansas company, and one of only about 15 worldwide, to receive Qualcomm’s invitation.

The development means a small, privately held Fayetteville firm will be in on the ground level of developing tomorrow’s wireless phenomenon. Translation: If this were the NFL draft, Qualcomm just made IfWorld a first-round pick.

(And we thought IfWorld co-owners Jeremy Webb, Matthew Romine and Scott Mills were just really into Galaga).

The deal is IfWorld and the other software developers will be creating solutions that may be used with Qualcomm’s Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW, platform. BREW is Qualcomm’s proprietary operating system designed to standardize wireless technology. It’s the industry leader, since Qualcomm’s Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) chips are put into about 85 percent of the cell phones in the world.

CDMA-formatted devices are expected to power the world’s next wave of wireless technology. One application might be helping companies access former satellite applications via Internet-driven wireless devices.

Webb, Romine and Mills spent May 8-10 attending Qualcomm’s BREW 2001: Development & 3G Technology Conference in San Diego. The talented trio, which started Interface in 1994, are all 28-year-old graduates of the University of Arkansas.