White Papers

Position Paper: Should SCOTA Supersede FOTA?

FOTA – Firmware Over the Air, the means of updating the software of mobile devices over the mobile network – is a successful mobile technology that is being routinely used on millions of cellular phones and devices to introduce new features and fix defects. SCOTA – updating Software Components Over the Air – is a relative newcomer, but has already become a common feature in operators’ requirements and device specifications, with early adopters among some of the leading device manufacturers. This article focuses on the management of FOTA and SCOTA according to the OMA DM standard, defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), the organization responsible for mobile Device Management standards being deployed worldwide by major network operators. This article explores whether devices that support SCOTA should still use FOTA to update firmware, or whether SCOTA can and should absorb FOTA functionality, making SCOTA the sole software-managing mechanism on these devices.

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Monetizing Mobile Software Management: Business Models and Benefits to the Software Value Chain

This white paper presents how Mobile Software Management revenue and business models can evolve, and highlights the business scenarios where participants in the mobile value chain can benefit from MSM and be incentivized to use it.The paper introduces Mobile Software Management and describes the main market needs and use cases as well as discusses how MSM relates to similar technologies. A simple business case is then demonstrated in order to quantify the core benefits of MSM. Finally, potential MSM service models towards consumers and value chain scenarios for realistic MSM deployment are described.

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Extend the Value of M2M Modules with Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) Updating

Firmware over-the-air (FOTA) technology offers an efficient, reliable and proven solution for updating software on machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless modules. By keeping deployed modules up to date with the latest software improvements, M2M manufacturers and service providers can ensure module quality, avoid product recalls, reduce support costs and improve customer satisfaction.

FOTA has been used widely in the mobile handset market since the early 2000s. It is proven in hundreds of millions of mobile handsets worldwide. By the end of 2010, Red Bend Software estimates that approximately 40% of new M2M module shipments will be FOTA capable. This white paper is intended for corporate adopters of M2M who want to learn more about FOTA technology and its benefits for M2M. It explores important questions to ask M2M module manufacturers when evaluating the software management capabilities of their product offerings.

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Enabling New Mobile Data Services Using Mobile Software Management

With voice services now commoditized and potentially facing declining revenues, operators and service providers are looking to introduce new and exciting mobile data services aimed at generating new revenue streams. The ability to bring these services into the market and to consumers’ handsets in a timely manner becomes crucial for success. An example of a compelling event that can trigger new revenue generating services is the Olympic Games.

But enabling new services on mass market handsets requires multiple embedded software components, with dependencies among them. To reach the mass market, there is a clear need for a post-sale, over-the-air (OTA) service delivery framework. Requirements include the ability to decouple the handset software lifecycle from the hardware lifecycle, and to distribute and manage embedded applications and middleware OTA and across multiple device platforms. Mobile Software Management (MSM) enables management of software on remote mobile devices. It allows operators and service providers to deliver new services and applications to mobile handsets in the field.

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A New Solution to Managing Embedded Handset Software (REVISED!)

A new firmware update technology is being evolved to enable manufacturers and operators to manage individual software components over-the-air (SCOTA). SCOTA allows deployment of discrete software components, either updated or new, to the embedded firmware of a mobile device. A modification or feature change in a software component requires only a single updated version of the component to be deployed to all relevant handset configurations in the field. A completely new feature can be deployed and installed to applicable handsets, and previously installed features can be removed to make space for other features. With SCOTA, operators can maintain the reliability and security of tightly integrated firmware, but they gain more flexibility to efficiently update devices post-sale.

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Principles of Updating Mobile Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA)

Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) technology enables device manufacturers and network operators to deliver updated firmware to mobile phones in consumers' hands. Today's mobile devices contain enormous amounts of software, mainly firmware, to support advanced features such as digital cameras, music players and web browsers. There are inevitable issues with such complex software: software defects, missing features and design issues, often created by time-to-market demands in this highly competitive market.

The need to fix device software over-the-air has made FOTA mainstream, adopted by nearly every major manufacturer and operator. By the end of 2008, 50% of all mobile phones will include FOTA, according to U.K.-based analyst firm, ARrCchart. Much can be learned from the successful embedding of FOTA in mobile handsets. There are some software and a few hardware considerations to effectively implementing a FOTA solution.

This white paper focuses on the technology behind FOTA updating in order to assist manufacturers and operators in selecting, integrating and using such a technology. This white paper is based on real-world, accumulated experience in developing and integrating FOTA software on more than 100 mobile devices.

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Updating Automotive Firmware Over-The-Air (FOTA)

As the amount of software in automobiles grows, so too does the need to effectively manage that software asset. The telecom industry has a proven solution for remotely updating software on mobile devices. The technology is called Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) updating. All major mobile phone manufacturers have adopted FOTA. All tier 1 mobile operators are either providing a commercial FOTA service, or using FOTA in deployment phases. Some mobile operators have already performed millions of firmware updates over the air—reducing customer care costs, avoiding product recalls and increasing consumer satisfaction. FOTA technology however, is currently not applied in the automotive industry. This paper describes the existing update methodology in the automotive industry, its pros and cons and the potential of using FOTA in automotive. The paper analyzes the benefits, challenges and several use cases.

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Key Criteria for Evaluating Technologies for Effective Firmware Over-The-Air (FOTA) Updating of Mobile Phones

As mobile phones become more complex, FOTA has been widely adopted as a cost-effective solution for delivering updates to phones already in the hands of users. It is expected that more than 150 million FOTA-enabled phones will be deployed by year-end 2006. FOTA has the potential to decrease warranty costs, speed time to market and enhance customer satisfaction with their mobile phones.

In evaluating FOTA update technologies, handset manufacturers and mobile network operators should consider several key criteria:

• The impact on the handset bill of materials
• The impact on the network bandwidth
• The user experience
• The reliability of the update process and its associated costs
• The manageability, predictability and repeatability of the update process

This paper provides a detailed discussion of the key considerations for evaluating Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) updating technologies. It describes the components and basic operations of FOTA update technology and explains the constraints imposed on the update process by the mobile phone environment. It also discusses in detail the five key criteria for evaluating an effective FOTA update technology. Finally, the paper outlines three different technologies underlying commercially available solutions.

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Standardizing the distribution of firmware over the air (FOTA) updates between update package creators and update package distributors

Interoperability standards are one of the key drivers to the successful growth of the mobile device management (MDM) market. These standards are being successfully defined and promoted by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) organization. In particular, the standards for the device management (DM) process between mobile device management systems used by operators and the mobile devices that implement FOTA has been rigorously defined and widely adopted by device manufacturers, mobile service providers and DM system vendors. However, there has been less focus on standardizing the distribution of FOTA update packages between update package creators (such as mobile handset manufacturers) and update package distributors (such as mobile service providers).

Having a common standard for distribution of update packages within the mobile industry is crucial for efficient FOTA updating process. A package format standard was recently proposed to OMA DM by leading companies in the device management market, among them Red Bend and Innopath. This format is called Package Ingest Container or PIC, and is described in this paper.

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Addressing the Challenges of Updating Software and Firmware on Mobile Telephone Handsets Over the Air

A technology known as "firmware over-the-air" (FOTA) updating is gaining broad acceptance in the mobile telephone industry. Companies are implementing it to address the growing challenges of providing higher quality and more reliable software for mobile devices and eliminating expensive recalls, while meeting aggressive time-to-market demands.

FOTA updating enables mobile device manufacturers and carriers to remotely update the software and firmware that controls the function of the handset wirelessly. New software that patches flaws in the firmware originally installed on the handset is delivered over the air, eliminating the need for the user to bring the handset to a service facility.

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