Orange, Vodafone and friends to make own OS move?

A grouping of some of the world's largest mobile operators, including Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, has admitted it is in the early stages of working on "mobile terminal platforms".

Seven operators hastily put out a statement today after reports broke that they are working on developing the SavaJe mobile operating system as an alternative to Symbian and Windows for future phones.

SavaJe is a Java-centric US start-up backed by VCs and the investment arms of Orange and Vodafone but it has yet to announce any contracts with handset makers. Most recently it announced it is working with Intel and Texas Instruments, which are providers of key building blocks for mobile phones.

SavaJe today offered no comment on whether it would be at the centre of any new mobile operator initiative.

The move is bound to draw comparisons with the way in which operators in Japan - long the envy of Western carriers - operate. In Europe, handset manufacturers - notably Nokia - have traditionally exerted a lot of influence on operators' handset choices.

In a joint statement, Orange, O2, Smart, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone said: "Through the initiative, mobile operators, manufacturers and other interested parties could identify mobile terminal platform requirements for the benefit of consumers and the industry."

It finished: "The initiative will not favour any particular operating system and is not intended as a mobile operator purchasing club."

One industry source discounted SavaJe as a long-term threat to the Symbian and Windows Mobile OSes, saying it is more of a tactical manoeuvre by large operators.

Many have backed Linux as a longer term option, though it has as yet failed to make any notable mobile advances.