Mobile operators meeting to discuss joint OS

A meeting initiated by France Telecom-Orange chief Stephane Richard to discuss the possibility of a joint operating system is set to take place next month with representatives from a number of other mobile operators, according to French-language newspaper Le Figaro.

According to the report, Richard is calling the meeting with Vodafone, Telefonica — which owns O2 — and Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile, in order to discuss the possibility of combining forces in producing a joint operating system for their nearly one billion combined customer base.

Reportedly, Richards told the publication that mobile operating systems were the Trojan horse used by Apple and Google to establish a loyal customer base.

He also said that the scheme could take many forms, such as joint-venture or a common apps development unit, adding that "We aim to retake the reigns of innovation, rather than be followers," according to Le Figaro.

On 2 September, ZDNet UK learned that Orange was planning to become the third operator to join Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL) scheme. Initially, MBNL was formed as a joint-venture between T-Mobile and Three in Britain, pooling 3G network masts and infrastructure to achieve wide-reaching HSDPA connectivity.