China Mobile has joined The Linux Foundation as a ‘gold member,’ which the Foundation somewhat dramatically claimed “could represent a seismic step toward a realignment of OSs in China and the telecommunications industry.”  The company is the first operator to support the body at either platinum or gold levels, and joins a roster of tier-one technology companies including Fujitsu, IBM, NEC, Cisco, Google, HP and Motorola. It is also the first Chinese player to join the Foundation.

According to The Linux Foundation, China Mobile has recently been investing in the open-source OS, using it in its Android-based Ophone mobile device platform and to power a cloud computing system. While The Linux Foundation has a number of programmes active, it is also a driver of the MeeGo device platform that is being backed by Nokia and Intel. According to the Wall Street Journal, China Mobile’s knowledge of the mobile industry and subscriber behavior will be “rolled into Linux specifications,” including for MeeGo. It was also noted that the presence of China Mobile may also attract other players in the country to support the Foundation – hardware companies Huawei and Lenovo are shipping Linux-based routers, servers, notebooks, mobile phones, and other products.