Alliance Aims for Apps Market
A global alliance of telecom operators said Tuesday it will establish a corporate entity as part of its plans to set up an open platform for mobile applications, hoping to broaden the market and emulate the success of Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) App Store and Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android Market.
The Wholesale Applications Community, or WAC, was launched in February as a joint venture between 24 operators, including U.S.-based AT&T Inc. (T), Norway’s Telenor ASA and China Mobile Ltd.
The community will act as a wholesaler, it said Tuesday, testing and certifying applications from third-party developers and sending them on to the participating operators’ application stores where consumers can buy them. The nonprofit organization said it will charge a small transaction fee to cover its costs.
