Mobile operators Everything Everywhere, Telefonica and Vodafone, have won approval from the European Commission to move ahead with a planned mobile commerce joint venture in the UK.
News of the venture surfaced in March this year, when it was reported that the platform would provide brands and businesses with access to the companies’ 37 million mobile subscribers via a number of targeted services relating to marketing and payments.
With clearance from the European Commission, the plans can move ahead. A joint statement from the three companies today (emailed to press and not available online yet) notes:
At the heart of the JV is a desire to bring to the UK an easy and effective solution for businesses to create and for consumers to enjoy mobile marketing and wallet services. With EC clearance received, the job of getting the JV up and running as quickly as possible can begin, starting with the hiring of the necessary people and the creation of the new company.
The consortium says that the mobile marketing platform will be the first part of the venture to launch. It will provide a single point of contact for brands to market to customers of all supported networks. While the companies involved are responsible for the T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and Vodafone networks in the UK, they say that the platform is open to all: “The shareholders remain committed to making the JV services open to all, including all operators and MVNOs, 3rd party publishers, banks, advertising agencies, retailers and any company that wants to engage in this space. ”
Beyond this, the joint venture plans to offer unified mobile wallet services, including payment and loyalty cards.
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