Microsoft backs mobile phone standards

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Microsoft said on Wednesday that it intends to play a major role in a new organisation, the Open Mobile Alliance, which is promoting standard ways for cell phones to exchange data over the air. The Open Mobile Alliance, unveiled on Wednesday, was created by the merger of two other groups promoting standard ways for cell phones to exchange data such as emails: the Open Mobile Architecture initiative, created by Nokia last year, and the more established WAP Forum, of which Microsoft is a member. Before Wednesday's announcement, Microsoft had joined only one of the dozens of wireless industry groups. Its absence created a "perceived fragmentation" between the worlds of personal computers, which Microsoft represents, and cell phones, said Mike Wehrs, director of technology and standards for Microsoft's mobility group. That wedge can't exist, Wehrs said, because mobile data travels not just through the air, but also along the same routes as information sent over the landline Internet. "We believe that Microsoft's absence from some of the fora has helped drive the perception that there is a wedge between the PC and Internet world and the mobile industry," Wehrs said. The Open Mobile Alliance has 200 member companies and is focused on one area: the delivery of data over cellular telephone networks. In Europe and Asia, where cell phones outnumber computers, wireless messages sent between phones are the norm. But while billions of messages are exchanged each month on these continents, wireless data hasn't yet caught hold in the United States. The alliance thinks the answer is open standards, rather than proprietary standards like CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), which Qualcomm owns the patents to, said Jerry Upton, Motorola vice president of strategy and standards. About 15 percent to 20 percent of the world's cellular telephone networks use CDMA. The leading cell phone equipment standard is GSM (Global System For Mobile Communications), which is generally considered an open standard. GSM equipment is used in about 70 percent to 75 percent of the world's cellular telephone networks, including AT&T Wireless, which has joined the Open Mobile Alliance. But CDMA and GSM aren't interoperable, so cell phone service providers' carriers have to craft agreements with each other to let their subscribers "roam" onto the other networks. The cost of those agreements alone -- carriers charge for the time on their network -- is hindering the spread of mobile data use, Upton said. Aside from different and competing network and phone standards, there are also several types of operating systems for the higher-end cell phones, or "smart phones", that combine the functions of a PDA (personal digital assistant) and cell phone. The major operating systems are from Palm, Microsoft and Symbian, a private company formed by Nokia and other companies. The alliance hopes to eliminate the need for many standards and many different operating systems. Four more forums joining
A representative for the Open Mobile Alliance said that both the Open Mobile Architecture initiative and the WAP Forum will no longer exist. Instead, they will be become "working groups" within the Open Mobile Alliance. There are four additional organisations that have signed memorandums of understanding to join the Open Mobile Alliance, and also become working groups. They include the Location Interoperability Forum founded in September 2000 and whose member companies create equipment capable of locating cell phones. Two of the other organisations that will merge into the alliance are dedicated specifically to wireless messaging. They are the MMS (Mixed Media Messaging) Interoperability Group, created in February, and Wireless Village, which three of the four world's major handset makers created last April to standardise ways of sending wireless instant messages. The fourth organisation that has singed the agreement is SyncML Initiative, created in December by Sun Microsystems, BEA Systems, IBM and several other companies to use Java to link cell phones and servers.
If it moves, we cover it. See ZDNet UK's Mobile Technology News Section for the latest news, reviews and price checks on mobile phones, PDAs, notebook computers and anything else you can take away. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

BrownieBoy

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

10 hours ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

13 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

16 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

20 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

1 day ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

2 days ago by via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

2 days ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

2 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint