China Mobile joins Linux Foundation

China Mobile Communications Corp. has joined the Linux Foundation, making it the first Chinese company to join the nonprofit organization.
Having the world’s largest telecom provider join as gold member (second tier) will definitely boost the Linux Foundation’s clout as the operator continues to invest in Linux through its OPhone operating system. China Mobile has also developed a cloud computing system based on the open source software.
“China Mobile recognizes The Linux Foundation as the world’s foremost nonprofit Linux organization, the focal point for Linux technology, standardization and innovation. We see enormous value in the open architecture of the Linux system and look forward to contributing to Linux on a global scale,” said Bill Huang, GM of China Mobile Research Institute.
This comes on the heels of some significant inroads for Linux in China. Not only have developers contributed to Linux kernel development there, but the code is also gaining prominence in commerce and education. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are also shipping more Linux-based routers, servers, notebooks, mobile phones and other equipment.