EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Mobile operators involved in the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) – which recently announced version 1.0 of its spec for developers and a raft of new members – face a challenge and understand the initiative must move quickly if it is to succeed, according to high-profile carrier representatives interviewed on video for Mobile World Live. WAC is in competition with the likes of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market, which lead in the apps market.

Asked about WAC’s significance, Vivek Dev, Telefonica’s director of innovation, responded: “I think it’s important in terms of one of the things that shows the operators can work together, which is a challenge.” Secondly, the community addresses the issue of scale, which is key with apps, he said. Questioned whether WAC will succeed, Daniel Gurrola, Orange’s VP of strategy and business development, answered: “What I see today is a sense of urgency in operators, a real sense of urgency to make it happen and to make it work.” He pointed out that WAC was only announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress last February but had already made some significant decisions. Others see handsets as key. “Ideally the success of WAC is very dependent on the fast introduction of WAC devices”, said Hyun-Myung Pyo, KT Group’s president of personal customer group and a member of its board of directors. Pyo predicted that the Korean mobile industry will be the fastest adopter of WAC-based services. “I strongly believe that WAC is not just a matter of choice but a matter of necessity for mobile services globally,” he said. View the full video here.