WAC 2.0 spec announced, 8 operators connected to the platform

Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) has announced the launch of the new 2.0 spec, which supports HTML5 web applications with multimedia capability. The initiative promises in-app billing support and user identification in version 3 of the spec, available this coming September.

Eight major operators also announced they are now connected to the WAC platform. China Mobile, MTS, Orange, Smart, Telefonica, Telenor, Verizon and Vodafone are the carriers ready to offer services. “We are looking to add at least another eight operators to the platform this year,” WAC CEO Peters Suh told a press conference at Mobile World Congress.

At a press conference which featured representatives from Telefónica, Vodafone, AT&T, Ericsson, Orange, KT and Samsung – Telefónica’s COO Julio Linares was proud to counter any cynicism from the attending press. He said: “There was a lot of doubt a year ago that so many different companies in the industry could move at speed. We are all moving at the right speed.”

Vodafone Europe’s CEO Michel Combes said that its app offerings are now WAC compatible in all its countries, while Telefónica’s Linares noted that the operator has started implementing WAC in Spain and plans to roll out across all its operations in future.

The representatives were also keen to stress that the 12,000 apps currently available via WAC were focused on both the feature phone and smartphone markets. “We really want to extend apps to feature phones and unlock data usage in that space,” said Vodafone’s Combes.

Meanwhile WAC’s Suh stressed that the initiative has the support of the device community, including Huawei, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ZTE. In a statement, it was noted that both Samsung and LG “will be further driving uptake of WAC by ensuring that all devices produced by the two companies that are capable of supporting the WAC runtime will do so.”