Oracle Corp., Motorola Form Internet Team
Oracle Corp., the world’s largest database-software maker, will form an independent company to develop wireless Internet-access technology and will unveil a partnership today with Motorola Inc., the companies said.
Motorola will be one of the companies making the cell phones and other devices that use the wireless technology, said Motorola spokesman David Rudd. The new company will use Oracle’s software with Motorola’s voice-command recognition technology, he said.
Redwood City-based Oracle will spin off its division developing the software, dubbed Portal-to-Go, that allows users to access the Internet from devices other than a computer, Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said last month.
The moves are part of Oracle’s effort to tap into the growing market for technology to access the Internet from cell phones and other devices. The market is expected to grow to $13.2 billion a year by 2003 from $1.8 billion now, according to Boston-based market researcher Yankee Group.
Oracle on Friday said it was joining Swedish telecommunications company Telia AB to create a company to develop and sell wireless Internet products outside the U.S.
“Following the trends that have evolved in mobile telephony and the Internet, the next phase is converging both areas in a mobile Internet environment,” Kenneth Karlberg, Telia’s head of business area mobile communications, said in a statement.
Oracle and Motorola last October agreed to combine Portal-to-Go with Motorola’ voice-based VoxML technology, which allows users to access information using voice commands. Oracle, Motorola and Telia demonstrated their jointly developed wireless Internet technology at Telecom ’99 in Geneva.
Leading U.S. mobile-phone companies are developing products to tap the wireless data market.
Sprint Corp.’s wireless unit uses technology developed by Phone.com Inc. that allows consumers to access the Internet from cell phones. Nextel Communications Inc. last May received $600 million from Microsoft Corp. to help develop online service.
