China Mobile is joining the Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux. The world’s largest telecom operator by both market value and number of subscribers became a Gold member, joining almost 100 companies on the list. The Foundation has three levels of membership – Platinum, Gold and Silver. There are seven Platinum members and now with the addition of China Mobile – 10 Gold members.
As we all know, the Chinese leading operator has already invested heavily in Linux in recent years, producing its flavor of Android – OPhone. This latest move definitely proves the company’s intention to keep spending resources on further advancements of Linux.
Commenting on the news, Jim Zemlin (executive director at The Linux Foundation) said: “China Mobile’s decision to join The Linux Foundation and their commitment to Linux could represent a seismic step toward a realignment of OSes in China and in the telecommunications industry. For The Linux Foundation, the opportunity to present Linux as a choice to 560 million users is a power-packed proposition.”