CDMA Open Market Handset Trials Reach Successful Conclusion in Indonesia

(Business News & Technology News, 26 Jun 2008)

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) successfully concluded its Open Market Handset (OMH) proof of concept trials in cooperation with Bakrie Telecom and Mobile-8 Telecom in Indonesia. The OMH program is part of the CDG's overall Global Handset Requirements for CDMA (GHRC) initiative, which specifies a common set of requirements based on standards to procure CDMA2000 devices in an open-device and open-application environment. Open Market Handsets enable both operator-specific configuration information and subscriber-specific provisioning information to be moved from the CDMA handset's onboard 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.

"Indonesia is benefiting from 3G services available on very low-end CDMA2000 handsets," says Perry LaForge, Executive Director of the CDG. "The OMH initiative will further reduce handset costs by providing greater flexibility in delivering new open market devices and services that are independent of the network and the device. Commercial availability of these generic devices this year will further stimulate the tremendous growth of CDMA in Indonesia, and its supply chain advantages will be duplicated in other emerging markets around the world."

The three-day proof of concept trials used OMH-enabled R-UIM smartcards provided by Eastcompeace, Gemalto and Oberthur Card Systems on prototype handsets developed by Huawei and ZTE. The Open Market Handsets were provisioned for full-fledged 3G data capabilities across operators. Tested, proven features included 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 goal of OMH trials is 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 the handsets. The successfully tested solution allows OMH-enabled CDMA handsets to serve as open devices for any packet data application provisioned on the R-UIM card and on any CDMA network, since all user, network and service configuration data is stored on the removable cards. The OMH trials conducted in Indonesia 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 successful Indonesian OMH trials are a milestone for CDMA operators looking to increase their selection of devices and services while lowering distribution and inventory costs. 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. 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.

The CDG's OMH initiative has already announced the success of similar trials by TATA Indicom and Reliance Communications in India and has received strong interest from CityCell in Bangladesh as well as Indonesian operators Indosat and Telkom Flexi. To support demand, many handset manufacturers are planning to introduce CDMA OMH devices in the near future. The CDG has posted to its Web site an "OMH Enabler Package" for its members consisting of several reference documents to provide information on how to implement OMH.

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