Today at the annual meeting of the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum, Microsoft Corp. announced its endorsement, full sponsorship status and board of directors representation in the newly formed Open Mobile Alliance, ratified by the full WAP Forum membership on Monday. The Open Mobile Alliance includes the previous WAP Forum membership, the supporters of the Open Mobile Architecture initiative (OMA) and standards fora, which have announced their intent to consolidate.

"This new alliance is a significant step to consolidate the multiple and overlapping standards bodies and specifications forums into one industry body, and break down the barriers to building a thriving market for mass adoption of wireless voice and data communications. Although there are many challenges ahead, Microsoft hopes that we as an industry can tear down those barriers together and proceed toward building an Internet that connects all types of devices, from mobile phones to personal computers," said Juha Christensen, corporate vice president of the Mobility Group at Microsoft.