Verizon, Qualcomm plan strategic partnership

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile service and Qualcomm Inc, the No. 1 maker of wireless chips, said they would announce a strategic business relationship on Tuesday morning, but did no give further details in a statement released late on Monday.

A top executive for Verizon Communications Inc, co-owner of Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group Plc, had said during Verizon's quarterly earnings conference call earlier in on Monday the company would announce a partnership.

"We will also be announcing tomorrow an innovative partnership to provide some advanced services and tap into some significant market opportunities ahead of us in the Wireless business," the executive had told analysts on the call.

Verizon Wireless declined a request for more information on the agreement, while a Qualcomm representative did not immediately respond to an emailed question.

Qualcomm developed the CDMA technology that powers Verizon Wireless network. It has also said in the past that it would develop chips supporting a new high speed wireless technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE). Verizon plans to use LTE for its next network upgrade.

Qualcomm's MediaFlo network also delivers a television broadcast service to some cellphones sold by Verizon Wireless and its biggest rival AT&T Inc.

The MediaFlo service has been relatively slow to take off as Qualcomm has been working to expand its coverage.

Qualcomm shares rose 0.47 percent to $46.70 in late trading after closing at $46.48 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Andre Grenon)