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Orange is pinning its hopes of avoiding a bitpipe role on its ability to span the whole consumer content experience, delivering consistent interfaces and apps to the 'three screens' - the phone, television and PC. This has driven the French carrier to be the first operator to go public with support for the combined Nokia/Intel operating system, MeeGo.

MeeGo was announced at last month's Mobile World Congress and brings together the platforms, and developer communities, of two fledgling Linux-based operating systems, Nokia Maemo and Intel Moblin. Unlike the other mobile OSs, such as Nokia driven Symbian, MeeGo will extend from the phone to the PC from day one, with real implementations on both sides of the fence - Maemo in Nokia's N900 superphone, Moblin in various Intel-based netbooks. Android is also positioning for a broad reach, from netbooks down to embedded devices, and has appeared in a wide range of products, but so far, the Google-led R&D efforts and the developer ecosystem, are firmly wedded to the handset.

This could give MeeGo - if it can overcome some of the more obvious traps lurking for it - a headstart on Android and a different positioning, which would take advantage of the huge channel, supply chain and developer reach of its supporters, Intel in the PC world and Nokia in phones.

This is the bet that Orange appears to be taking. It has a history of supporting many operating systems, where it thinks it can steal a march over other carriers. It was the first major cellco to commit to Windows Mobile, which (ironically enough) was one of the only advanced platforms in those days that was targeted at white label operator branded phones. It is a member of the LiMO Foundation and offers handsets running all the main software choices. But MeeGo fits particularly well with its recent strategy of creating a unified content experience for TV, mobile and broadband subscribers, to increase ARPU and loyalty via a quad play that is delivered in software and apps, not just bundles of tariffs.

Orange cross-platform App Shop has been pioneered in France and will support applications for all the smartphones and operating systems in its portfolio, as well as Java phones and, in time, IPTV and PCs. App fees are added to subscribers' phone bills.

MeeGo devices could become key delivery vehicles for the premium end of this store plan. Like other carriers, Orange needs to strike a balance between supporting every OS, handset and app to gain reach, and differentiating itself with optimized user experiences and exclusive content. The latter elements will be important to enhancing the cellco's place in the value chain, but cannot realistically be delivered over every mobile platform - instead, key handset and OS partners will be drafted in to help make the carrier offering stand out.

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