Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is set to launch its own music and applications storefront in collaboration with a number of other European operators, according to a report by Financial Times Deutschland. The report, which cites company sources, says the platform is being positioned as an alternative to Apple’s market-leading iTunes and App Store offerings and could launch by year-end. According to a Reuters report, the platform will be built on existing German media platforms Mediaload, Videoload and Gamesload, and will be able to offer ‘all content to all devices.’ Content will include music, video and even newspaper articles, while applications are expected to be made available that will work across several handset brands.

Deutsche Telekom – which owns the T-Mobile brand across Europe and elsewhere – was one of 24 global operators to sign-up to the ‘Wholesale Applications Community’ initiative announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress last month. The alliance aims to create a wholesale platform for mobile apps that provides a single point-of-entry for developers. The move is seen as the operator community’s challenge to the mobile application stores currently offered by the likes of Apple, which are typically linked to a specific device platform. However, it is unclear at this stage if the reported Deutsche Telekom-backed European apps store will form part of this initiative.