Britain’s main mobile operators have shunned overtures from Google to participate in the development of its own mobile operating system.

The internet search giant announced yesterday that it was developing new software for mobiles called Android, aimed at making it easier and smoother for subscribers to tap into the internet on the move.

The system, it claimed, would “unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world” by making it easier to do much more with a handset than just call and text.

Though T-Mobile and Telefonica, owner of O2, have signed up to the scheme, both Vodafone and Orange have declined involvement.'

Google hopes to seize a sizeable chunk of the multibillion-dollar mobile advertising market as it takes off.

The market for advertising on mobile phones is predicted to hit more than $11 billion annually in 2011 and Google can see the opportunity to replicate its runaway online success in the mobile sphere.

However, the arrival in the sector of big name players such as Google is a frightening prospect for some mobile operators, who are seeing their long- established business models completely disrupted, analysts said.

Apple has already shaken up the sector with its unprecedented deal with O2, its UK partner for the iPhone, under which 10 per cent of continuing customer revenues will go to the American group.

The move by Google, whose phones will not go on sale until late next year, marks part of a wider aggressive assault on the mobile phone sector by internet companies.

With mobile devices now so ubiquitous and their potential for targeted advertising so huge, all the internet giants are battling to get their brand involved.

Google’s announcement appeared deliberately timed to overshadow Apple’s launch this week of its much-hyped iPhone in the UK, which goes on sale on Friday.

Skype, the internet calls provider, also unveiled plans recently to move into mobile.

Existing mobile phones are powered by companies that have have licensing agreements with the mobile phone operators, including Symbian and Microsoft, through its mobile version of Windows.

Google will offer mobile operators its operating system free, which ultimately could see the cost of mobile services slashed for consumers.

And instead of seeking out exclusive tie-ups as Apple has done, Eric Schmidt, the Google chairman and chief executive, said that the platform would “power thousands of different mobile phone models”.

There will be no Google-branded devices, it said, with its focus on software rather than on hardware.

Google claimed more than 30 partners in its project, including the handset makers Motorola and HTC.

This year Arun Sarin, the Vodafone chief, warned fellow mobile operators that unless they moved faster they risked “having their lunch eaten” by internet giants like Google.

More recent comments from Mr Sarin dismissing Google’s plans were interpreted by analysts as an indication of how unsettled some mobile operators feel.

Mr Sarin said: “What is it that is missing in life that they [Google] are going to fulfil? You can reach Google already through a number of devices. You don’t need a Google phone to do that.”

Since speculation about its mobile plans started, Google’s shares have soared.

Since early September they have risen nearly 40 per cent. Yesterday the shares hit a high of $726 in the morning before closing at $725.65.

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