NEW YORK (Kyodo) — Pokemon Go co-developer Niantic Inc. said Tuesday it has launched an alliance to advance its AR technology, with a number of major telecommunication firms such as Verizon Communications Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG and SoftBank Group Corp. participating as partners.

The U.S. software development company said in a statement that it “requires bridging content with high-performance devices and networks” to realize the best AR experiences, and urged more companies to join the project.

“We believe working together with a broad group of partners is the best way to develop and promote the adoption of consumer AR, while continuing to amaze Niantic explorers with great experiences,” it said, adding that the alliance is meant to accelerate the progress of the AR industry as a whole.

Other companies taking part in the development team, dubbed the Planet-Scale AR Alliance, include SK Telecom of South Korea.

Niantic will offer its partners exclusive AR content for next-generation 5G high-speed networks.