We hope that the information on this website answers any questions about the organisation that you may have. However, listed below are a number of the questions we get asked most regularly.
If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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 What is the Wholesale Applications Community?
The Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) is an open, global alliance formed from the world’s leading telecoms operators. WAC will unite a
fragmented applications marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits the entire ecosystem, including applications developers, handset manufacturers, OS
owners, network operators and end users.
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What does the Wholesale Applications Community aim to do?
The Wholesale Applications Community will:
• Accelerate and expand the market for applications – Simplify application development by enabling developers to write an application once and deploy it everywhere, regardless of device or OS, and address a global market of more than 3 billion users.
• Create more compelling applications – Enable developers to utilise both device and network capabilities to create the next generation of applications.
• Provide greater choice for users – Enable portability of applications across devices, operating systems and network operators.
> WAC will achieve these goals through the use of industry-standard web technologies.
> WAC will develop business models that provide revenue opportunities across the ecosystem.
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Who are the members of the Wholesale Applications Community?
Many operators including América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT, mobilkom austria group, MTN Group, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, Orascom Telecom, Softbank Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor Group, TeliaSonera, SingTel, SK Telecom, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, VimpelCom, Vodafone and Wind are supporting the WAC initiative. In addition, device manufacturers Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson and industry body the GSMA have also committed to support WAC.
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What are the membership criteria for the Wholesale Applications Community?
Any operator, device manufacturer, Internet company or interested party will have the opportunity to engage in the Wholesale Applications
Community through various membership levels.
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What does the Wholesale Applications Community bring to end users?
Benefits to end users include:
• More applications – WAC will stimulate the flow of innovative and exciting applications that will be delivered through participating app stores across multiple devices and OSs.
• Better applications – WAC applications can use both device and network APIs to create richer, more complex applications for consumer and business users.
• More choice – Users can freely choose their preferred device and application store knowing there will be a wide range of compelling WAC applications available to them.
• Application portability – Users will be able to retain applications if they change device, OS or network operator within the WAC community.
• Simplified purchasing – WAC will enable users to purchase their applications securely through existing operator billing relationships.
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What does the Wholesale Applications Community bring to developers?
Benefits to developers include:
• Greater reach – WAC will provide a single gateway for developers to access a vast potential customer base (over 3 billion) through member application stores.
• Better applications - access to high-value telecoms network enablers allow developers to create more compelling applications
• Write once, deploy everywhere - WAC will offer a unique approach to support the developer ecosystem by providing enablers which allow developers to address users irrespective of device or OS.
• Submit once, sell everywhere – WAC will create an environment that simplifies the developer’s approach to operators, enabling them to sign one agreement that addresses all member operators.
• Use of industry standard technologies - WAC will use existing technical standards, rather than create new ones, simplifying the development process.
• Bringing the Web to mobile – WAC will use web values and technology tuned for the special needs of mobile.
What does the Wholesale Applications Community bring to telecoms operators?
Benefits to end users include:
• More customers – WAC will help operators attract and retain customers by offering a wide range of compelling applications across multiple devices and OSs
• Differentiated applications – Operator application stores can carry WAC applications that use both device and their network APIs to provide differentiation for their consumer and business users.
• Participation in the application value chain – WAC enables operators to generate revenues for applications running on their networks.
• Simplified Application Support – WAC enabling technology across OSs and devices will simplify application support for operators.
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What does the Wholesale Applications Community bring to handset manufacturers and OS owners?
Benefits to handset makers and OS owners include:
• Consistent and cost-effective approach – WAC will enable device manufacturers and OS owners to benefit from a consistent set of operator requirements, specifications and roadmaps.
• More applications - WAC will provide a flow of innovative and exciting applications that will enable handset manufacturers and OS owners to better compete in their market
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What is the Wholesale Applications Community business model?
The Wholesale Applications Community is establishing a business model that will provide a revenue share for participants in the applications value chain from the application store owner through to the application developer. This model will enable application and service monetisation, and will also enable revenue to be generated from the use of telecoms operator assets.
The Wholesale Applications Community does not intend to be a profit-making operation and will only generate revenues as necessary to cover its operational costs.
More information on the business model will be made available in July 2010.
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What devices and platforms will be supported by the Wholesale Applications Community?
The Wholesale Applications Community is committed to creating an ecosystem for the development and distribution of mobile and internet applications, irrespective of device or technology, with a focus on widgets and Web applications.
WAC is taking a unique support to support the developer ecosystem by providing APIs that enable developers to benefit from the “write once, deploy everywhere” philosophy, so that one version of their application can be used across different devices and different operating systems.
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What technologies will the Wholesale Applications Community use?
The Wholesale Application Community is creating a solution that uses existing technical standards, building initially on the work from JIL (Joint Innovation Lab), OMTP BONDI and the GSMA OneAPI and evolving these into a common specification.
The Wholesale Applications Community intends to work with W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), the standards body relevant to web runtime applications, to establish the “best of breed” converged solution/device APIs, which will then be standardised.
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What are the key milestones for the Wholesale Applications Community?
We announced the following timelines for the Wholesale Applications Community:
> February 2010: 24 of the world’s leading operators announce the Wholesale Applications Community
> July 2010: The WAC Company will be formed and the Board elected. Business models for the participating companies will also be announced.
> September 2010: The Wholesale Applications Community publishes materials/documents for developers.
> November 2010: The Wholesale Applications Community holds its first developer events.
> February 2011: The Wholesale Applications Community launches commercial activity at Mobile World Congress 2011.
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How can I get more information on the Wholesale Applications Community?
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