- June 26, 2013 11:54am EST
VIEW ALL PHOTOS IN GALLERYSpanish carrier Telefónica is teaming up with Microsoft to make a big push for the company's Windows Phone 8 platform in Europe, South America, and Mexico.
For the next year, Telefónica has committed to an "enhanced marketing effort" in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile in order to boost sales of Windows Phone 8 devices.
The move, according to Telefónica, is intended to break up "the current duopoly of Android and iOS, and provide customers with a more personal smartphone experience like Windows Phone offers." Ultimately, this will lead to more competition in the smartphone space, the firm said.
Telefónica said it plans to talk up services like Office 365 and SharePoint to enterprise customers, as well as access to Skydrive and Xbox for consumers. The carrier also pledged to work with handset makers to ensure that their phones are available to those who want them.
Telefónica chose Microsoft because of "its operator-focused business approach," José María Álvarez Pallete, COO of Telefónica, said in a statement. "The Microsoft business culture is based on a model of value creation through its partners associates, which fits in perfectly with our culture and also with our way of doing business."
Windows Phone has been well received by those who use it - earning PCMag's Readers' Choice for mobile operating system this year. But the platform has struggled to compete against Android and iOS devices, which dominate more than 90 percent of global smartphone shipments, according to February data from IDC.
Still, there are signs that Windows Phone is starting to pick up steam. As noted by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech earlier this month, Windows Phone had 5.6 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the three months ending April 2013, a 1.8 percent jump from last year. By 2017, meanwhile, Microsoft is expected to catch up with Apple in terms of worldwide smartphone shipments, according to June data from Canalys.
For more, see PCMag's review of Windows Phone 8 and the slideshow above.
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