Spanish mobile operator Telefonica has partnered with Microsoft in a bid to boost Windows Phone 8 adoption. The two companies plan to launch an “enhanced marketing effort” that will fight back against “the current duopoly” of Android and iOS.

As part of the agreement, Telefonica, which owns O2, Movistar, and other carriers all over the world, will step up its advertising of Windows Phone 8 and the devices that run it in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile over the next year.

By increasing public awareness of Microsoft’s platform, Telefonica hopes that it will sell more Windows Phone 8 devices and help it compete against Android and iOS, which combine to claim over 92% of the worldwide market share, according to the latest figures from IDC.

Windows Phone has been growing over the past few months; in the first quarter of 2013, it overtook BlackBerry to become the third-largest smartphone platform. But its measly 3.2% share of the market shows that there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Telefonica says it is “firmly committed” to helping new mobile platforms, and it’s going to work with leading Windows Phone device makers — such as Nokia — to ensure that their latest offerings are on store shelves throughout the upcoming advertising campaign.

Telefonica has also become one of the first providers to back Mozilla’s new Firefox OS.

• ViaThe Next Web