Everything Everywhere (parent company to Orange and T-Mobile in the UK), Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK have announced plans to create a standalone mCommerce joint venture to enable the rapid development and delivery of new mobile marketing and payment services. The companies aim to create a single ecosystem for m-commerce, helping advertisers, retailers and banks to reach consumers through their mobile phones.

They say the JV will provide a single point of contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks. This will include enabling them to book advertising space and create campaigns, as well as providing offers, coupons and loyalty cards which can be stored on the phone and redeemed in shops. The JV will be open and available to all industry participants, and, subject to competition clearance, the plan is for it to launch before the end of the year.

But there’s no place in the JV for 3UK. In a statement issued to us, 3 chief executive Kevin Russell said:

“Directionally, this is a good move on taking mCommerce forward.  As the leader in the adoption of mobile internet services in the UK, we would want and expect to be at the heart of a cross-industry development like this and are more than a little concerned that – as a core competitor – we have been excluded from this joint venture.  The crucial test of the openness of this initiative will be our ability to launch services for all UK mobile consumers simultaneously.” (For more on this, see separate story, due up next.)

While they will collaborate on the JV, Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK will continue to develop their own competing products and services tailored to their own customers, which will be based on the open platform infrastructure provided by the JV.

The operators say the JV will deliver the technology required for the speedy adoption of mobile wallet and payments, enabling consumers to transfer their entire physical wallet into a new secure, SIM-based wallet, regardless of which NFC-enabled mobile device or mobile network they are using.

Companies and organisations that provide anything from credit, debit and loyalty cards to membership cards and transport tickets will be able to create secure mobile versions of their products. Consumers will be able to use their mobiles to pay for goods, services and travel using contactless technology (NFC) with one touch of their phone, or online via mobile or PC.

“We are seeing an explosion in the mCommerce market,” says Telefónica UK CEO, Ronan Dunne. “Mobile advertising spend alone has more than doubled in two years as consumers embrace marketing on their handsets because it is now relevant to them and provides a great customer experience.

“The mobile marketing and payments market is extremely fragmented. By creating this new business we will underpin this nascent market, providing real size and scale, allowing consumers to benefit from new and innovative services, like the mobile wallet, and giving them more of the things they value, through offers and deals that are truly relevant to them. At the same time, business customers will reach a vastly increased audience, utilising a single platform for sales, delivery and payment.”

Dunne adds that other countries around the world could follow the model created by the JV.

For an exclusive interview with Everything Everywheres director of mCommerce, Tony Moretta, about the Joint Venture, click here.