Telcos move into the apps space
The world’s largest telcos have combined to launch an open mobile applications platform, challenging Apple, Nokia and other handset makers for a slice of the burgeoning apps market.
The announcement was made at the first day of the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, where the CEOs of major players such as Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent and Vodafone Group gather to tout their new products and services.
The alliance of 24 telcos serves about 3 billion customers across the globe, and is backed by industry association GSMA, as is supported by handset vendors including LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. In a press statement issued by Congress organisers it says the move is a direct challenge to mobile apps stores run by Apple, which are linked to a specific device platform.
The operators plan to use common open standards that will enable developers to create applications across multiple platforms. They will initially use both JIL and OMTP BONDI requirements, evolving these standards into a common standard within the next 12 months.
“Operators are also eyeing the revenue-generating potential of getting into the apps business. Although Apple has not disclosed how much profit it makes from App Store, the firm takes a 30 percent slice of revenue from every app it sells via its platform. It is likely that operators will use a similar model; Vodafone, for example, also takes a 30 percent revenue share on its Vodafone 360 apps platform,” the statement reads.
Members of the alliance are America Movil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT, mobilkom Austria, MTN Group, NTT Docomo, Orange, Orascom Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, SingTel, SK Telecom, Sprint, VimpelCom and WIND. The four operators in the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) mobile apps initiative – Vodafone, China Mobile, SoftBank and Verizon Wireless – are also included.
