The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has announced the successful conclusion of Open Market Handset (OMH) proof of concept trials in cooperation with Reliance Communications and TATA Indicom in India.
Open Market Handsets enable both operator-specific configuration information and subscriber-specific provisioning information to be moved from the handsetĂ's non-volatile (NV) memory into a next-generation Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM) or smartcard. By doing so, the handset becomes a generic device that can be sold on the "open market" and used in multiple operator networks.
The OMH program is part of the CDGĂ's overall Global Handset Requirements for CDMA (GHRC) initiative, which specifies a common set of requirements and standards for approving CDMA devices in an open-device and open-application environment.
"This is an innovative approach that will fuel increased growth by providing the entire CDMA ecosystem greater flexibility in delivering new product and services," said Perry La Forge, executive director of the CDG. "The OMH initiative seeks to do that by opening up handsets to more application and service choices, which in the case of these trials means access to next-generation R-UIM data capabilities that are independent of the network and handset. As we look to commercialize these capabilities, the cost of handsets will fall due to volume aggregation efforts and lower inventory costs while access to new applications will improve the mobile experience for consumers."
The OMH trials conducted in India verified and validated the OMH implementation for CDMA2000 handsets and for multiple data-enabled R-UIMs across two separate carrier networks, each requiring a specific network implementation. The goal of the trials was to prove that all subscriber, service and network provisioning data can be stored on new OMH-compliant R-UIM smartcards rather than existing on both the cards and handsets. The resulting solution allows OMH-enabled CDMA handsets to serve as open devices for any packet data application provisioned on the R-UIM card. The handsets can be used across multiple operators since all user, network and service configuration data is stored on the removable cards.
These successful OMH trials are a milestone for CDMA operators looking to lower their distribution and inventory costs while increasing their selection of devices and services. Consumers benefit by being able to transfer their identity and service configuration data to a new phone on the same network by simply moving the OMH-compliant R-UIM card from the old phone to the new phone. By using an OMH-capable R-UIM to provision all data services, multiple operators can support the same generic hardware and software design across handsets. OEMs benefit from lower development costs, greater economies of scale, enriched brand development and the ability to sell devices across many markets and regions.
The proof of concept trials used OMH-enabled R-UIM smartcards provided by Oberthur Card Systems and Eastcompeace on prototype handsets developed by Huawei and ZTE. In addition, Open Market Handsets are provisioned for full-fledged 3G data capabilities across operators. Tested, proven features include SMS, MMS, BREW, WAP/browser, backward compatibility, voice (with authentication), CDMA2000 1X packet data (SIP with CHAP and PAP) and R-UIM-based carrier customization.
The CDGĂ's OMH initiative already has received strong interest from TATA and Reliance in India, CityCell in Bangladesh, and Mobile-8, Bakrie, Flexi and Indosat in Indonesia.
Posted to the site on 16th May 2008
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/31215.php