Front Porch Receives $5 Million in Funding From Qualcomm

Qualcomm Inc. (San Diego, CA) has invested $5 million to support continued development, production, and market expansion of Front Porch Communications' (Sonora, CA) dial-up, broadband, and high-speed wireless data PorchLight technology. Front Porch's technology delivers a package of tools and services enabling ISPs to improve customer satisfaction by delivering customized service messages to subscribers, generating revenue by creating greater subscriber exposure to targeted Internet advertising, and providing value to subscribers by directing them to pre-determined Web sites. The company now plans to apply its technology to the wireless environment so that global operators can enable high-speed, third-generation wireless applications in the near future.

Front Porch's PorchLight technology alleviates bandwidth bottlenecks, offering opportunities for the digital wireless communications industry that will complement Qualcomm's High Data Rate (HDR) technology solutions.

The company also plans to open two new facilities. The new office in Walnut Creek, CA, will serve as the center for marketing and finance operations, and the San Diego facility will house the company's international operations. The company's headquarters and R&D operations will remain based in Sonora.

Edited by Ellen Jensen