Mozilla
today confirmed plans to launch a new open mobile operating system based on HTML5 and it has
the support of some big names in the industry, including Sprint, Telefonica and
Deutsche Telekom.  

The
operating system will power the launch of smartphones built entirely to open
Web standards, where all of the device’s capabilities can be developed as HTML5
applications. 

Mapping
to key Firefox footprints around the globe, leading operators Deutsche Telekom,
Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Telenor are backing the
open Firefox OS. 

Fared
Adib, product chief at Sprint, said in a statement that the new platform increases
choice for both developers and consumers. 

“Firefox Mobile OS can help us drive
an HTML 5-based platform for creating lower cost smartphone options for
prepaid, postpaid and wholesale customers,” he said. 

Device
manufacturers TCL Communication Technology (under the Alcatel One Touch brand)
and ZTE have announced their intentions to manufacture the first devices to
feature the new Firefox OS. The devices will run on Snapdragon processors from
Qualcomm. 

“The
large number of operators and manufacturers now supporting this effort will
bring additional resources and diversity to our global offerings,” Mozilla CEO Gary
Kovacs said.

The
project is built on Mozilla’s “Boot to Gecko” project, which allows HTML5
applications to access phone features that had previously only been available
to native applications.  

The platform has been optimized for entry-level smartphones
that target developing markets and the low end of the smartphone price range, Mozilla said in a press release.

If
Mozilla can make good on a mobile platform entirely based on HTML5 it will have
achieved something that until now has largely been pie in the sky. A
browser-based smartphone environment would rely heavily on connectivity and the
cloud, but it would also allow Web developers to write an application once and
distribute it across any device, regardless of platform. Such a scenario would
eliminate some of the fragmentation that has plagued Android since its
inception.   

The
first Firefox-powered devices are expected to launch commercially in Brazil in
early 2013 through Telefónica’s commercial brand, Vivo.