About Us
We are a modern company developing and marketing new technology, including: apps, wearables and Internet of Things devices.
The WAC company ceased to exist in 2012, below you will find some historical data on WAC.
WAC History
The WAC – Wholesale Applications Community was established by a group of 24 mobile network operators. The community was first announced at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the responsibility of addressing device disintegration by providing “open standard” web technologies.
Through the course of 2011, more companies increasingly expressed their dedication to the common cause, raising the number of WAC members to 60, including software development companies, handset manufacturers, and mobile network operators from across the globe.
The release of the first WAC 1.0 mobile web run time specification occurred in September 2010, six months after the first announcement, signalling the company’s intent to support developers with an open web-based platform capable of running applications across multiple operating systems and devices.
With the support of its 40+ members, WAC appointed Peters Suh, the former Vodafone executive, as SEO while Michel Combes and Jean Philippe Vanot assumed the roles of Chairman and Deputy Chair. As soon as word got out that the GSMA’s OneAPI would be the standard implemented by WAC’s network operator members as a way to expose the network, an additional nine members joined the organisation, including new OEM’s. This increased the membership to 50+ companies.
By the 2011 Mobile World Congress, WAC officially confirmed its status as a “non profit” organisation. At the same time, it announced that its membership had now reached over 60 full members. At a Barcelona press conference, Peters Suh (WAC CEO) was joined on stage by several executives from the organisation’s member companies as he unveiled several WAC powered storefronts. He also demonstrated web applications with plenty of features running on a variety of WAC compliant handsets from members, including Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Huawei, and ZTE.
The Wholesale Application Community had continued to support developers trying to reduce development costs while driving innovation and revenues. In the fourth quarter of 2011, WAC launched a closed “live” Beta with selected carrier partners and content – as part of its dedication to assisting distributors and developers maximise long-term revenues – to showcase the capabilities of its API for in-application billing across multiple platforms.
WAC leadership
The Wholesale Application Community was under the management of a Board of Directors from the WAC Operator community, as well as a GSM Association representative. The board comprised 16 voting Operator Members led by CEO, Peters Suh, as well as six non-voting observers.
Leadership team
Michel Combes, Chairman, WAC
He was appointed at Chairman of WAC in June 2010, and is the incumbent CEO of Vodafone Europe. He started his career at France Telecom in 1986 – serving in the External Networks Division, before his transfer to the Industrial and International Affairs Division.
Jean-Philippe Vanot, Deputy Chair, WAC
He was appointed Deputy Chair of WAC in June 2010 and is also the incumbent Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Quality, Corporate Social Responsibility at Orange. Before that he was Executive Vice President and head of Innovation and Marketing, having worked with the group since 1977.
Peters Suh, CEO, WAC
He was the CEO of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). Before that, Peters was CEO of the Joint Innovation Lab – JIL – a multiparty venture with China Mobile, Vodafone, Softbank Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. Peters is also a director at Aspire Technologies, Vodafone Americas Foundation, and the DRAA.
Aref Matin, CTO, WAC
He was the CTO of WAC. Before that he worked at TomTom and has an extensive background in technology & infrastructure operations where he was the CTO at the TeleAtlas Mapping division, as well as SVP of Services and Delivery for TomTom’s Global navigation services.
