OMA Quarterly!

2007 Volume 1

In response to requests for more information about the Open Mobile Alliance, OMA is pleased to announce the publication of a new quarterly newsletter featuring updates on the ongoing work of the organization. This is the first issue, with two more currently planned for November 2007 and January 2008. OMA will continue to evolve the format and content to meet industry demand. Currently, the content includes highlights from among OMA's major technology releases and accomplishments in 2007, as well as a contribution from a leading industry journalist or analyst.

Intended for distribution to OMA members, external organizations that hold formal relationships with OMA, and OMA's contacts in the media and analyst community, this is a public newsletter. Please pass it along to anyone you think might be interested in learning more about the work of the OMA!

Comments and feedback are welcome and should be directed to the OMA Director of Communications of the OMA Staff . You may also indicate to the Director if Communications if you wish not to receive this newsletter in future.

Contents

• OMA - 5 Years of Member Driven Standardization
• Mobile TV: it's all about the user experience
• Upcoming Events
• Recent Success for OMA TestFest in Beijing
• Work items
• New OMA Candidate Enabler Releases
• New OMA Approved Enabler Releases
• New Members

OMA - 5 Years of Member Driven Standard

By Mark Cataldo
Chairman, OMA Technical Plenary
Director of Standardization, Openwave

During the five years since the organization was founded, the Open Mobile Alliance has confirmed its role as the principle forum for the standardization of enablers to support services in mobile and IP-based fixed networks. Our members come from the entire value chain of operators, handset and infrastructure suppliers, IT companies, content providers and others.

OMA's contributions have helped to create an extensive set of standards including the recently completed and much anticipated Mobile Broadcast Service Enabler. There is significant work nearing completion from OMA's 17 Working Groups including management objects for Device Management (DM); Digital Rights Management (DRM) V2.1 enabling secure removable memory and secure content exchange; Push Security; SIMPLE Instant Messaging; Categorization Based Content Screening (CBCS); Mobile Location Services (MLS) V1.2; Presence SIMPLE V2.0; XHTML Document Management (XDM) V2.0; Browser V2.4; and many more. The sheer volume of new service enablers reaching candidate status and entering the interoperability phase in the next 4 months demonstrates the wealth of engagement and expertise among OMA's members.

Member contributions have led to the identification of new market services requirements. During the first half of 2007, proposals for new activities included Charging, Device Management, IMS Location, Mobile Advertising, Secure User Plane, Consolidated User Profile and several others nearing approved or undergoing pre-approval socialization within OMA.

OMA continues to address and propose service enablers to mobile and IP-based networks. With its extensive Interoperability Testing Program, OMA delivers end-to-end solutions for the support of innovative and differentiable services across the entire value chain.

Mobile TV: it's all about the user experience

By John C Tanner

I've been sold on mobile TV as a concept since the 2002 World Cup, when I watched the semi-final match, which was being broadcast free-to-air, on a bus with a Casio JY-90 analog handheld TV. The reception was crap, but I didn't miss the game.

There's money in this , I thought.

Lately, I've been trying it on a 3G handset via the mobile version of PCCW's NOW TV service. And I'm still sold, even though the service itself is, from a user experience POV, tedious and clunky. The video quality is okay : but as a unicast streaming solution requiring a bunch of clicks to get to the programming, and just as many clicks just to change a channel, it's not exactly user-friendly.

To be fair, PCCW knows this. Its NOW TV mobile service is as much a proof of concept to test the mobile TV waters while PCCW seeks a 'proper' mobile TV solution that promises easier channel surfing, more channels and interactivity. The point is this: the key to mobile TV is the user experience. If it's not as easy and seamless as watching TV at home, people won't bother tuning in even if you gave it away (and I think you'll pretty much have to anyway, but that's another column).

Sounds obvious, I know. The challenge is the level of technology fragmentation out there. This affects the user experience in several ways, such as interoperability hassles with EPGs and interactivity features (which is already being addressed via OMA BCAST 1.0) and technology lock-ins.

There's also the roaming issue. Many vendors have claimed that fragmentation won't matter to users because either they won't want TV to roam outside their service area, or because geographic content licensing restrictions won't allow it anyway. Personally, I think this is a bit short-sighted. For one thing, content owners are becoming painfully aware that geographic licensing makes less and less sense in an Internet/mobile world. And with operators working hard to get other non-voice services to roam seamlessly, why would customers expect less of their mobile TV service ; especially when they have technologies like Slingbox at their disposal?

Bottom line: every player in the mobile TV value chain needs to keep the user at the top of their priority list. The user experience is where the real battleground will be, and interoperability is the key to ensuring that everyone wins.

John C Tanner is the editor of CHARGED, a magazine covering the business and lifestyle of mobile and published by Questex Media.�

Events Calendar

OMA regularly contributes to industry events, trade shows and technical gatherings. Copies of recent presentations are available on the OMA Web site at Past Industry Events .

Event organizers can also contact the Director of Communications at the OMA Staff to invite an OMA contribution for an upcoming event.

Upcoming Industry Events

• Mobile Mondays Global Summit , Helsinki, Finland 9-11 September 2007
• OSiM , Madrid, Spain 18-19 September 2007
• MDM and Service Usability Forum , Amsterdam, Netherlands 12-14 September 2007
• Mobile Instant Messagin , Amsterdam , Netherlands 1-4 October 2007
• MDM Americas , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9-10 October 2007
• Nikkei Electronics Mobile Television Yokohama, Japan 24 October 2007
• Mobile Internet World , Boston, USA 13-15 November 2007
• AfricaCom , Cape Town, South Africa 21-22 November 2007
• Handsets Forum USA, San Diego , USA 28-30 November 2007
• Mobility World Congress , Hong Kong, China 3-6 December 2007
• MEM Asia , Singapore, 5-7 December 2007

Remaining 2007 OMA Meetings

• 14-19 October - Vancouver, Canada
• 9-14 December - London, United Kingdom

Remaining 2007 OMA TestFests

• TestFest-20: 7-14 September, Dusseldorf, Germany
• TestFest-21: 9-16 November, Bled, Slovenia

Recent Success for OMA TestFest in Beijing, PRC, hosted by China Mobile

'The only thing wrong was the rain' - that was the general consensus after another successful OMA arranged TestFest in Beijing hosted by China Mobile in May this year. During the week, five OMA enablers were tested: Device Management (DM) V1.2, Firmware Update Management Object (FUMO) V1.0, Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS) V1.3, and Presence V1.0 and Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) V1.0. A total of 50 test engineers from 18 different companies tested 32 different implementations of clients and servers.

OMA TestFests offer a great service to the wider industry by helping to ensure the commercial success of mobile data services. While verifying the quality of OMA specifications, these testing events also allow participants to test and verify the interoperability of products and services before they are released to the market.

For a complete description of OMA's testing and interoperability programs, please visit the OMA TestFest Overview .

Current OMA Work Program

To date, OMA has published 37 Enabler Releases. The OMA continuously operates an interoperability program to validate Enabler specifications, as well as the implementations of member products and services. Using a clear working process, the Enabler Release Program is designed to deliver two key milestones for each enabler:

An OMA Candidate Enabler Release (CER) delivers an approved set of open technical specifications that can be implemented in products and solutions, and then tested for interoperability. Upon publication as a Candidate, specifications then enter the OMA Interoperability Testing Program where they will eventually reach Approved Enabler Release status.

An OMA Approved Enabler Release(AER) represents Candidate Enabler Releases that have gone through the Interoperability Program (IOP) of OMA. The IOP tests interoperability between different member company's implementations ; either within the OMA or through other means.

Work items approved by the OMA Board of Directors in 2007, listed by Work Item Document (WID)

• WID 0149: Location in IMS
• WID 0148: Customized Multimedia Ringing
• WID 0147: Mobile Advertising
• WID 0146: Secure Elements Management Object
• WID 0145: Privacy - Maintenance of Requirements for Privacy for Mobile Services
• WID 0144: Lock and Wipe Management Object
• WID 0142: Customized Multimedia Alerting over IMS

*For a full list of OMA Working Groups and links to current work items in the OMA Work Program, please visit the OMA Working Groups Page

New OMA Candidate Enabler Releases approved by OMA Board of Directors in 2007

• OMA Digital Rights Management V2_1 CER
• OMA XML Document Management V2_0 CER
• OMA Smart Card Web Server V1_0 CER
• OMA Mobile Broadcast V1_0 CER
• OMA Service Environment V1_0 CRR
• OMA User Agent Profile Best Practices Guide V1_0 CRR
• OMA Mobile Gaming Evolution V1_0 CRR

New OMA Approved Enabler Releases approved by OMA Board of Directors in 2007

• OMA SyncML Common V1_2 AER ( V1_2_1 )
• OMA Device Management V1_2 AER
• OMA Firmware Update Management Object V1_0 AER
• OMA Online Certificate Status Protocol Mobile Profile V1_0 AER
• OMA Standard Transcoding Interface V1_0 AER
• OMA Client Side Content Screening Framework V1_0 AER
• OMA Secure User Plane Location V1_0 AER
• OMA User Agent Profile V2_0_1 AER
• OMA Messaging Services Interworking V1_0 ARR
• OMA Maintenance of Requirements for Privacy for Mobile Services V1_0 ARR
• OMA Service Environment V1_0 ARR

For a full list of OMA's Approved and Candidate Enablers, please visit the OMA Release Program Page .

Membership Description

The members of the OMA facilitate global user adoption of mobile data services by specifying market driven mobile service enablers. These members represent the end-to-end value chain of mobile products and services around the world. Device manufacturers, mobile operators, IT companies and content providers are all participating members of the OMA.

A full list of benefits of OMA membership along with information on how to join can be found at the Membership Section