February 15, 2010 – Twenty-four leading telco operators launch the Wholesale Applications Community, an alliance to create a single platform for application developers. The alliance includes all Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) operators, as well as handset manufacturers Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG Electronics.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on the launch of the Wholesale Applications Community, as this brings both OneAPI and JIL advocates under a single roof once again, essentially recementing the fragmentation threatened by the recent diversification of these two separate initiatives. This is a united appeal for developer attention from the service provider community.

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to European operators, as any united front on mobile applications will help offset the key challengers in this market – notably Nokia with Ovi, Google with Android and Apple. This announcement also implies a de facto standardisation on the BONDI spec which both JIL and the OneAPI initiative have been working towards for some time.

• Market Impact: Low on the European mobile media market in the short term, because mobile applications represent a negligible revenue stream for operators today – the vast majority of mobile applications downloaded are free. This announcement will encourage developers to develop for service providers, but they´re still a long way away from making real money from apps.

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