The commission is battling to win agreement on a new European telecommunications regulator, a plan opposed by many big networks and several governments.
But although it does have competitors (of a sort) such as Jott, PhoneTag, and TwitterFone, none have signed so many big mobile network deals.
To be honest, it's surprising how many big name networks and studios are jumping on board with this idea, which, on the face of it, sounds a little silly.
Like many other big networks, it has been vacuuming up older customers (see chart).
Many big companies have formal networks that meet regularly to share best practice.
Some of these shifts will be profound; others are, for now, mere extensions of the proprietary networks that many big firms were already using.
Public Wi-Fi networks have sprung up in many big cities.
It wasn't as much of a problem last fall, since networks tend to avoid putting too many big shows up against Sunday night football games.
Two companies, American Tower and Crown Castle International, simplify the operations for many big cellphone operators by leasing access to the base networks they operate.
Two companies, American Tower and Crown Castle International, simplify the operations for many big U.S. cellphone operators by leasing access to the base networks they operate.
