Twenty four mobile phone operators have set up an alliance to
build a technology platform that will deliver applications to all
mobile phone users.
In a press release issued at the Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona, the operators said their Wholesale Applications
Community aims to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open
industry platform that benefits everybody--from applications
developers and network operators to mobile phone users
themselves.
The move is apparently an attempt to compete with Apple Inc.,
which currently dominates in application download offerings.
The 24 operators are América Móvil S.A.B. de C.V. (AMOV),
AT&T Inc. (T), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY), China Mobile
Ltd. (0941.HK), China Unicom Ltd. (0762.HK), Deutsche Telekom AG
(DT), KT Corp. (KT), mobilkom austria group, MTN Group Ltd.
(MTN.JO), NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437.TO), Orange, Orascom Telecom
Holding (ORTE.CI), Softbank Corp. (9984.TO), Telecom Italia Media
S.p.A (TME.MI), Telefónica S.A. (TEF), Telenor ASA (TEL.OS),
TeliaSonera AB (TLSN), Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (Z74.SG),
SK Telecom Co. (SKM), Sprint, Verizon Wireless (VRZ.XX), Vimpel
Communications (VIMP.RS), Vodafone Group (VOD.LN) and Wind.
Handset makers LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE), Samsung
Electronics Co. (005930.SE) and Sony Ericsson are supporting this
initiative, the statement said.