Report: European operators mulling common mobile OS

European operators Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone are slated to meet next month in Paris to discuss the possible development of a common mobile platform designed to fend off mounting threats from rival operating systems like Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's Android. French newspaper Le Figaro reports France Telecom-Orange CEO Stephane Richard has invited the heads of the three competing operators to meet Oct. 8 to explore the creation of their own common OS--the report states the talks are motivated by a belief that iOS and Android are "Trojan horses" enabling Apple and Google to establish their own relationships with consumers, effectively minimizing the carrier's role in the mobile services value chain. Le Figaro notes the operators are still determining what form an alliance might take, with options including the formation of a joint venture or the construction of a common application development platform. Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone boast a combined subscriber base totaling around 1 billion.

All four operators involved in the discussions are also members of the Wholesale Applications Community, a GSM Association-organized industry initiative created to simplify mobile software development and distribution. Formally announced in February 2010, the WAC encourages open standardized technologies, driving scaled deployment of those technologies and providing complementary commercial models in an effort to enable developers to efficiently deploy apps across a host of devices and carrier networks--the organization also will facilitate developer payments for content sold through an associated application store.

For more on the common OS negotiations:
- read this GSMA Mobile Business Briefing article

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