News on the over-the-air front continues to gain steam, as Motorola Inc., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Huawei Technologies and others announce plans to use or sell the technology.
First up, Motorola said it will resell Bitfone Corp.’s OTA updating technology to wireless carriers. Bitfone’s offering will allow network operators to install new software in phones remotely. In conjunction with the news, Bitfone announced it upgraded its mProve product for handsets and its MVP product for networks.
“Over-the-air management of devices is no longer a science project, but a commercial necessity for any wireless operator that cares about customer satisfaction,” said Jim Eckels, senior director of strategy and business development at Motorola. “We’re building our hosted service on MVP because Bitfone has a lot of experience deploying FOTA. Their new product releases demonstrate innovation, commercial readiness and attentiveness to Motorola’s unique needs. Beyond the technology, Bitfone’s service and support team have demonstrated strong commitment to success.”
Motorola has installed Bitfone’s OTA technology into a range of its phones, including its E1000, C980, C975, V980 and V1050 models. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., LG and others also use Bitfone’s technology.
Bitfone said its updated products reduce the size of OTA software packages sent to devices and allow operators to target handsets based on network and customer parameters.
In other OTA news, LG announced it will use Red Bend’s OTA technology in its 3G handsets. LG will use Red Bend’s vCurrent Mobile technology as a way to deliver software updates remotely after users purchase its phones.
Red Bend also has agreements with Siemens AG and Sony Ericsson for its OTA technology, which the company said gives it more than a 50-percent market share.
Finally, Huawei Technologies announced it licensed Insignia Solutions plc’s OTA technology, which it plans to resell to wireless carriers. Insignia said its Mobile Device Management offering allows operators to remotely manage and update devices working on their network. The announcement comes just a few days after Korean handset maker Pantech Co. Ltd. licensed Insignia’s OTA technology for use in its phones.
