LiMO looks for closer ties with new operator supergroup

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LiMO looks for closer ties with new operator supergroup

Foundation offers "practical assistance" to create common wholesale platform

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 2 March, 2010

READ MORE: App Store | Application Environment | OS | Handset | Linux

The most striking announcement at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was the formation of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) by 24 major operators, sounding a loud clarion call against the threat of Google and the bitpipe role. It was clear that this initiative tied in ideally with the LiMO mobile platform - both looking to create a white label software platform with a common developer base, to support operator branded apps and user experiences. The LiMO Foundation welcomed the move at the time, but is now seeking closer ties, which could build up a real head of carrier steam behind its Linux oriented efforts.

The Foundation's executive director, Morgan Gillis, has sent an open letter to WAC, expressing support and offering "immediate practical assistance". He said he has received a "warm response" and expects a more specific response later this week. This could outline how the two groups could work together, and of course there is speculation that they would eventually merge altogether, given that they share many prominent members, notably Vodafone, DoCoMo, SKT and Telefonica (LiMO's carrier board members). They also tap into several of the same industry efforts and standards, such as the Open Mobile Terminal Platform's Bondi interfaces.

As Gillis puts it, "a complementary industry logic links LiMO to the new grouping. Together they provide a complete white label solution to distribute applications and media via a wholesale channel to operators and retailers, and a white label device platform."

There is sure to be skepticism around any initiative that involves as many large and egotistical organizations as WAC, in terms of whether they will succeed in cooperating long enough to deliver practical results. This is where Gillis thinks LiMO can provide its "practical assistance", having been through three years of sometimes painful experiences of establishing governance and bye-laws, and addressing the thorny issue of IPR sharing.

And it is very much in LiMO's interest that the WAC gets moving quickly and makes a real industry impact, before other systems like open Symbian and Android gain unstoppable momentum, along with their related ecosystems and app platforms. These are not just OS alternatives of course - they represent the models that threaten the LiMO/WAC approach of putting the cellco at the pivotal point of the value chain (the vertically integrated vendor branded device/experience; or the open web/bitpipe).

The letter reads: "I am very pleased to write this open letter to the initiators of the Wholesale Applications Community on behalf of the Board of LiMo Foundation offering a) our full support, b) our committed participation, and c) our immediate practical assistance in a spirit of whole-industry cooperation. It is clear to us that the highly complementary areas of focus, shared belief in true openness and common industry vision create an exceptional opportunity for deep and long term collaboration between LiMo Foundation and the Wholesale Applications Community to release unfettered innovation across the industry and fully ignite the mobile internet in a way that is compelling and life enhancing to consumers everywhere."

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