Please find below two announcements from the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). Key points from this release include:
- Today sees the beta launch of WAC’s new cross platform API designed to enable in-application payments
- The In App Billing Platform allows developers to easily monetise their applications and see near real-time feedback on pricing changes
- WAC has also announced a series of HTML5-focused global hackathons with partners such as AT&T, Telefonica, Facebook and Orange
If you’d like to speak to a WAC spokesperson or have any follow-up questions feel free to drop me a line.
Warmest,
Karel
WAC unveils new mobile direct billing solution for virtual goods
Mobile alliance releases cross operator, cross platform API to enable in-application payments
Barcelona, Spain – 28 February 2012. The Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) has today announced the beta launch of its in-application billing Network API with 9 operators: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KT, LG U+, Telefonica Group, Telenor Group, Telekom Austria Group, SKT and SMART Communications at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona, Spain. This solution is an operator billing service that enables customers to pay for digital goods via their operator bill.
WAC’s In App Billing Platform offers developers an easy way to monetise their applications across a range of platforms and technologies, using a cross operator, reliable billing service. This benefits the merchant, who requires just a single contract to enable operator billing for digital goods across many operators. Another benefit of the WAC developed application is near real-time reporting; a WAC developer can implement a pricing change and get almost instant feedback on the impact of the change across operators.
WAC’s In App Billing Platform supports the growing merchant demand for a cross-platform simplified, reliable operator billing solution and offers merchants a more flexible pricing model, with fewer transaction discrepancies when compared to other solutions. For consumers, the WAC In App Billing Platform offers a trusted and easy ‘one-click’ method to pay for digital goods.
Peters Suh, WAC CEO, commented “Today’s announcement is an example of the great work being done by WAC. The nine operators’ integration with the WAC Billing API is an important milestone for collaboration across the industry and we look forward to building on this announcement with other operator and API launches throughout this year.”
John Donovan, Senior Executive Vice President – AT&T Technology and Network Operations and chairman of the WAC’s network API project said “We’re very happy to be working with WAC on the beta trial of this platform. We adamantly believe that our industry needs a cross-operator solution for authentication, billing and other APIs. This is an imperative to our industry which requires a focus on speed and execution to enable the benefits of the mobile Internet for more customers.”
WHOLESALE APPLICATIONS COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL OPERATORS TO DRIVE HTML5 ADOPTION THROUGH 2012 HACKATHON SERIES
WAC members to sponsor Global Hackathon Events Throughout 2012
Barcelona, Spain– February 28, 2012 – The Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), announced today a series of HTML5-focused hackathons to occur across the world in 2012. Hosted by global operators and designed for wireless applications developers to learn and share knowledge about creating HTML5-based mobile apps and using the new WAC Billing API, the hackathons will teach new skill sets and educate developers about the efficiency of writing once for many devices.
Beginning in America during May, the first hackathon in the series will be hosted by AT&T and Facebook, taking place at AT&T’s Palo Alto, Calif. facility for innovation, the AT&T Foundry. AT&T will offer a $20,000 prize for the best application developed during the day-long event and Facebook will offer an additional prize for the best social application built that day. Both winning apps will be featured on AT&T’s new HTML5 AppCenter. AT&T and Facebook developer support teams will be on site to provide expert guidance in developing applications in HTML5. Developers interested in the hackathon series can learn more and register by visiting the AT&T Developer Program website http://developer.att.com/.
The May hackathon at the AT&T Foundry will be quickly followed by similar events across Europe and Asia; Orange will hold an event in Paris in June, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica will jointly host an event in Germany focusing on the HTML5 web-based standard and the WAC Payment API. SKT and KT will hold same events in Seoul in June and October 2012 respectively to encourage HTML5 developers in Korea. Full details for all events will be posted on www.wacapps.net/developer-
WAC is a significant proponent of HTML5 which carries the potential to create an open industry app platform. With more and more browsers containing HTML5 support, developers will be able to utilise HTML5 to publish apps across operating systems and with the new WAC Billing API developers will be able to monetize their content by charging direct to the mobile bill.
AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KT, Orange, SKT, Telefonica Group and other WAC memberoperators are of the opinion that HTML5 has the potential to deliver best choice of apps and services for customers. Enabling these new apps and services are two key drivers; the attractive monetization method for developers provided by the WAC Payment API, and the arrival of the advanced HTML5 standard and its subsequent capabilities.
Quotes:
“WAC is committed to supporting and enabling developer communities, so they can deliver their innovative s and games across a wide range of devices and mobile networks,” said Peters Suh, CEO of Wholesale Applications Community. “These events will expose our new open APIs to the global mobile developer communities, resulting in more WAC applications for you and I to use. We’re keen to get developers of more native-app ecosystems to see how easy it is to use our environment, whether they’re based in Palo Alto, Berlin, or Seoul.”
“There is a new, exciting community of HTML5 developers that is poised to grow exponentially in the coming years as more devices ship with HTML5 browsers and HTML5 standards are solidified,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices and Developer Services, AT&T Mobility. “AT&T is deliberately pushing the cutting edge to support these developers and drive HTML5 forward so our customers can enjoy more and better apps no matter what device they carry.”
“As many kinds of devices come in many different interfaces and screen sizes on the market, it is widely accepted that HTML5 is a promising technology to handle the screen resolution problem.” said Hoojong Kim, SVP, Global Tech. Research Institute, SKT. “SKT is also focusing on the HTML5 developer ecosystem to support developers to develop HTML5 based web app more efficiently.
Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Core Telco Products at Deutsche Telekom adds: “We want to abandon borders and barriers for developers. With the launch of WAC in-app billing, developers will be empowered to utilise an easy, secure and profitable monetisation method, regardless of the underlying operating system and HTML5. We at DT are committed to provide open, horizontal enablers to developers which will drive new innovative ideas.”
“With the pioneering leadership in the WAC run-time based on HTML5, KT would like to step up its support of the developers in leveraging the extendibility of web technology.” said Dr. Terry Ahn, Executive Vice President of Mobile Business Group of KT, “With HTML5, we believe our developers can easily adapt from one platform to another and provide our customers with the greater usage of applications in multiple devices and multiple screens.”
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