Alcatel-Lucent Acquires OpenPlug: Eying to tap the low cost mobile phone market

Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecommunications corporation has acquired OpenPlug, a software developer specializing in tools for mobile applications.  Through this acquisition, the company seeks to strengthen its presence in the mobile applications market by making their apps available for diverse Operating Systems and in more Service Provider Stores. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The acquisition of OnePlug will enable Alcatel-Lucent to intensify its role in the applications space by delivering, as part of its included group of developer tools, a platform where application developers can write an application once, which will then be translated to run on any of the five major mobile operating systems.

According to reports, this acquisition of OnePlug is going to strengthen Alatel-Lucent’s presence in the low cost mobile phone market. The acquisition will enable Alcatel-Lucent to extend OpenPlug’s functionality to service providers, enterprises and developers, who will now be able to create and deploy applications — in virtually record time and without sacrificing the unique customer experience — across multiple mobile devices and within service provider app stores.

Consequently, applications that had earlier only been available on more sophisticated devices such as smartphones, can now be enjoyed by consumers on any mobile device, which opens up opportunities in emerging markets, where low cost mobile phone usage is highest.