LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Nov. 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The OTA Flash Forum today announced the formation of a special interest group to accelerate widespread adoption of OTA (over-the-air) wireless device management. The OTA Flash Forum consists of leading telecom carriers, handset manufacturers and solution providers including founding members Bitfone Corporation, Gemplus, Motorola, Orange and T-Mobile USA.
The OTA Flash Forum will act as an incubator to identify and propose solutions to operational and technical problems in the OTA firmware update and device management space. It is already developing recommendations for standard interfaces between components within the wireless ecosystem, and delivering those recommendations to industry standards bodies, such as the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), for consideration.
The OTA Flash Forum is open to any wireless manufacturer, operator or technology provider that has an interest in OTA software updates and device management for mobile phones. The Forum recently elected Steering Committee members Karl Warfel, director of terminal engineering for T-Mobile USA; Peter Ford, head of device strategy and business development for Orange; and Gene Wang, CEO of Bitfone. Mr. Wang was also elected to serve as chairman for the term of one year.
"Our goal for the OTA Flash Forum is to accelerate the definition and adoption of industry standards for OTA updates of mobile devices," said Gene Wang, chairman, OTA Flash Forum. "Working as a Forum, we are creating and submitting proposals to standards bodies, such as the OMA, that will lead to reduced costs and improved quality and customer satisfaction for the wireless industry overall."
"We look forward to working with the OTA Flash Forum to provide carriers with a solution that ensures quality 3G handsets are brought to market," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group (CDG). "There are more than 420 CDMA2000 devices on the commercial market today with advanced services such as picture messaging and gaming, making now the perfect time for the OTA Flash Forum approach."
"The strength of the GSM eco-system lies in the removal of barriers, including handset firmware defects, that cause service providers great strain," said Jim Healy, chairman of GSM North America. "As the GSM footprint widens, we are happy to support the OTA Flash Forum as they discover new avenues to ensure that no handset is compromised when delivering high-quality GSM mobile services."
About OTA Flash Forum
The OTA Flash Forum is a nonprofit organization formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of over-the-air (OTA) software updates for mobile devices. The OTA Flash Forum is an open membership organization consisting of leading carrier, manufacturer and solution provider companies which seek to promote widespread adoption of standards-based OTA firmware update technology and contribute to the evolution of OTA services and applications in support of broader device management strategies. For more information, visit www.otaflashforum.org.