The GSMA is looking to ‘extend its role’ in the mobile industry beyond Mobile World Congress by getting itself properly involved in the commercial to’ing and fro’ing in the global mobile industry.  It’s announced the launch of Marketplace, which it's calling the world's first online commercial platform dedicated to the global mobile industry.

It’s certainly in the right position to act as a sort of third party in infrastructure and product commerce. That role is already undertaken in the ‘real’ world with Mobile World Congress, of course, which brings together buyers and sellers in a very obvious way. The GSMA sees itself extending that meeting and greeting role to the other 11.5 months of the year by forming a neutral, online Marketplace.

The GSMA says the Marketplace is an online portal that connects buyers and sellers. “We currently have over 120 buyers committed to joining and 1,000+ sellers already onboard the Marketplace,” says the blurb.  While the Marketplace is free for buyers, it will cost sellers  $1,500 annually, for which they can set up their own, personalized storefronts in the manner, I suppose, of eBay.