BARCELONA – Mozilla is previewing the first commercial build of its Firefox OS open mobile ecosystem at the Mobile World Congress and announced new operator rollout plans at a press conference. The first wave of Firefox OS devices will be available to consumers in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. Additional markets will be announced soon.
To date, 17 operators spanning the globe have committed to the open web device initiative: America Movil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Three Group, KDDI, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia Group, Telefonica, Telenor, TMN and VimpelCom. Telstra is welcoming the Mozilla initiative as an opportunity to deliver an innovative mobile web experience to their customers.
Firefox OS smartphones are the first built entirely to open web standards, enabling every feature to be developed as an HTML5 application. Web apps access every underlying capability of the device, bypassing the typical hindrances of HTML5 on mobile to deliver substantial performance. The platform's flexibility allows carriers to easily tailor the interface and develop localized services that match the unique needs of their customer base.
Mozilla says it’s working with manufacturers Alcatel (TCL), LG and ZTE to build the first Firefox OS devices, with Huawei to follow later in the year, all powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processors. In addition, Mozilla has signed strategic relationships with key content and service partners It adds that consumers will get a “dynamic, rich and open smartphone experience that provides easy access to everything they love on the web,” including Facebook and Twitter integration, with a simple, fast interface and built-in cost controls.
"Firefox OS brings the freedom and unbounded innovation of the open Web to mobile users everywhere," said Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla. "With the support of our vibrant community and dedicated partners, our goal is to level the playing field and usher in an explosion of content and services that will meet the diverse needs of the next two billion people online."
Initial, "first wave" launch plans were announced by America Movil, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Telenor, most seeing starts mid-year.
Rollout plans for individual operators:
America Movil
"America Movil supports the launch of the new operating system by Mozilla since it represents an excellent alternative to its customers, especially in emerging markets. An open platform based on Web standards provides a favorable ecosystem for the development of innumerable applications," said Marco Quatorze, CMO of America Movil. "The company is committed to launch Firefox OS phones in Mexico and all possible markets during 2013."
Deutsche Telekom
"Partnerships are an important method in paving the way for innovations. We rely on open platforms because we want to create freedom of choice on behalf of our customers," said Rene Obermann, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Telekom at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "That's why we support Mozilla in developing an innovative and open standard for mobile terminals. The launch of the first smartphone in Europe with the new Firefox operating system is an important step on the way to more competition between the different ecosystems."
Etisalat
Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Chief Executive Officer at the Etisalat Group said: "We are happy to be part of this innovation and to support Mozilla in the launch of this new operating system. Firefox OS smartphones will make a valuable addition to our portfolio and grant our customers a rich and personalized experience. We welcome this development and congratulate Mozilla on their progress."
Hutchison Three Group
"Hutchison Three Group is supportive of the Mozilla initiative to provide an open approach to services for operators and to provide devices for entry-level smartphone users at a more affordable price," said Christian Salbaing, Deputy Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Europe. "We believe the introduction of Firefox to mobile devices will increase competition in operating systems, improve consumer choice and hopefully lower overall device costs, bringing smartphones and advanced services within the reach of more of our customers."
KDDI
"We are pleased to announce the introduction of Firefox OS smartphones into the Japan market in one or two years' time," said Takashi Tanaka, CEO of KDDI. "It is expected to provide better experience and diverse choice to our customers, since an open standard Web platform will bring sustainable innovation and fair competition to its ecosystem. The idea totally fits to our strategy. To support the achievement of it, KDDI group is working closely with Mozilla for the sake of contribution to Firefox OS development, especially on network and security parts."
KT
Dr. Suk-Chae Lee, CEO of KT, stated that "with the transformation of existing network to All-IP, all kinds of information and services such as voice, data, and media will be provided through the All-IP network. Firefox OS includes HTML5, which enables much easier and simpler support for All-IP based services via multiple devices and platforms. KT fully supports the Firefox OS initiative which will accelerate the distribution of virtual goods – the future growth engine of our global economy."
MegaFon
"We see a positive sign for the whole industry when it comes to a new player guided by the principles of openness, cross-platform possibility and supported by market players," said Vitaly Starodubov, COO of MegaLabs.
SingTel
Paul O'Sullivan, CEO Group Consumer, SingTel, said: "SingTel is a firm believer in giving our customers choice and encouraging innovation and so are excited about the capabilities that can arise from an open mobile ecosystem using HTML5."
Smart
Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of Smart said, "We're excited to see Firefox OS in the market because this will help bridge the digital divide. Its HTML5-based technology will make available affordable mobile devices with an open mobile ecosystem. This is aligned with our inclusive vision of putting mobile Internet in the hands of every customer."
Sprint
"Sprint supports an open mobile ecosystem that enables freedom and creativity for developers," said Fared Adib, senior vice president, product development and operations for Sprint. "Firefox OS provides a new level of flexibility for developers to create innovative apps our customers can enjoy."
Telefonica
"2013 marks the start of a new phase in our industry, one that will be characterized by open standards," said Cesar Alierta, Chairman & CEO of Telefonica. "For Telefonica and the telco sector as a whole, Firefox OS is a hugely important strategic initiative to change the prevailing value chain in the digital world. It is a major step to bring balance back to the telco sector, an initiative with strong cross-industry support. I am very pleased that our customers in Brazil, Colombia, Spain and Venezuela will be amongst the first in the world to experience Firefox OS and I look forward to making it available to all Telefonica customers globally."
Telenor
"Telenor is pleased to partner with Mozilla and other major players in developing the Firefox mobile operating system. Through this initiative we aim to provide an even larger part of our customers with more choice and a great mobile Internet experience, as well as help connect the next billions of customers to the Web," said Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
TMN
"TMN is constantly searching for the best available options in the market, continuously focusing on future proof bets, which can provide new ways to achieve higher customer satisfaction and seamless integration of services. TMN´s association with Mozilla to launch the new Firefox OS is of great importance to the Portuguese telecom market, as it increases the number of platforms, user interfaces and ecosystems available to mobile equipment users," said Luis Avelar, CMO from Portugal Telecom Group.
VimpelCom
"The majority of our customers live in emerging markets and their demand for mobile Internet access and OTT applications is rapidly accelerating," said Jo Lunder, CEO of Vimpelcom. "At VimpelCom we want to drive seamless integration between OTT and our core mobile services. We support the development of open standards and it is only natural that we support the development of the Firefox OS – one of the most economical alternative smartphone operating systems."
Qualcomm
"Qualcomm has been working closely with Mozilla to optimize Firefox OS to our Snapdragon processors," said Cristiano Amon, Executive Vice President, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Co-President, Qualcomm Mobile and Computing. "This tight integration of software and hardware has allowed us to provide a rich HTML5 Web experience never seen before on a mobile device."
