Spanish telecom Telefónica (TEF 1.61%) said today that it will encourage a more diverse mobile operating system landscape by launching a one-year marketing blitz for the Windows Phone platform in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. The company hopes the new initiative will boost sales of Windows Phone devices.
"The Microsoft business culture is based on a model of value creation through its partners associates, which fits in perfectly with our culture and also with our way of doing business," José María Álvarez Pallete, COO of Telefónica, said in a statement.
The company said in a press release that it wants to offer consumers an additional option to the "duopoly" of Android and iOS. Although Telefónica didn't mention specific details of the new plan in its press release, it said that it plans to offer Microsoft (MSFT 1.65%) products such as Office 365, Sharepoint, Skydrive, and a mobile Xbox environment in order to "increase distribution of Windows Phone 8."
Terry Myerson, corporate vice president, Windows Phone division at Microsoft, said in the release, "We are excited to work with Telefónica to market Windows Phone 8 devices to more customers in the UK, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, bringing them a more personal smartphone experience with the speed of Telefónica's network."
