Telefonica is certainly putting its money where its mouth is, in terms of cultivating operator-friendly alternatives to Android and iOS. It is the biggest backer of Mozilla’s upcoming mobile Firefox OS, with handset launches planned in multiple countries this fall; it has lent more muted support to Ubuntu’s forthcoming mobile Linux offering; and now it is stepping up its activities to promote Windows Phone.
Microsoft has courted cellcos assiduously, presenting its mobile OS as a platform with a genuinely differentiated user experience; and a way for carriers to dilute the dominance of the big two systems. AT&T has been the most vocal supporter of this line of argument, but generally operators have, when it comes to high profile launches, bowed to consumer preference for Android and left Windows Phone further down the shelves.
But the Spanish giant is to ramp up marketing efforts behind WP8 after signing a support agreement with Microsoft, which will see it offering new functionality on the platform and promoting it more heavily. The pact, initially for one year, will focus on the UK, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile.
Telefonica said it wanted to encourage alternative operating systems to give customers more choice, and it will work with Microsoft to add to the services available with WP8 ‘ for instance, Office365 and SharePoint for business users, and Skydrive and Xbox for consumers. There were no details of which devices or vendors it might work with on the program.