Phone.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:PHCM), a leading provider of WAP-based mobile Internet software and services, today introduced the Mobile Management Server (MMS) 1.0, the first WAP-based system for over-the-air provisioning of wireless handsets. Wireless network operators can use MMS to securely provision their WAP gateways, applications, and handsets across multiple airlink standards including GSM, CDMA, TDMA, and PDC. MMS utilizes WAP's WTLS secure protocol to communicate with the handset, and implements a Trusted Provisioning Domain mechanism to authenticate the MMS to the handset.

MMS enables network operators to remotely alter the specific software settings and configurations of handsets after they have been sold. With this feature, operators gain the flexibility to make updates to key business parameters in the handset. For example, in CDMA networks, operators can update roaming lists that define which networks to use when a handset is operating outside of its home network. With this feature, operators have more flexibility to establish new roaming agreements and update their handsets in real-time to take advantage of better roaming rates.

"We are very excited to be including support for Phone.com's Mobile Management Server in our WAP-enabled CDMA and GSM handsets," said Chul Whan Lee, executive director of research and development team of Samsung Electronics. "With this provisioning flexibility in the handset, our operator customers will find our handsets easier to maintain in the field, because they can be easily updated over the air to adapt to changing market conditions."

For GSM handsets, MMS enables network operators to provision over the air data and WAP service parameters that are stored in the handset. Operators can initiate the provisioning or allow subscribers to initiate the provisioning themselves using a secure protocol, eliminating the need for a call to a customer care representative or a return trip to the store where the handset was originally purchased. This self-provisioning can be initiated from a PC-based Web site over SSL or directly from the phone using the short message service (SMS). "With the introduction of MMS, we believe that consumers will definitively appreciate the simplicity of the browser set-up wherever they are-complimenting the friendly user interface on our new range of WAP phones-the C35i, M35i and S35I," said Georges Boulloy, vice president of product management, GSM of Siemens AG

Operators can also use MMS to provision subscriber profiles on the UP.Link Server and on WAP application servers. This process can be automated so that a new subscriber profile is automatically generated when a user requests WAP service for the first time. This auto-registration capability allows operators to ship handsets without having to pre-provision them, saving them both training and operations costs.

"The ability to provision both voice and data service over-the-air is essential for operators that continue to introduce sophisticated wireless handsets to their subscribers," said Ben Linder, vice president of marketing for Phone.com. "Our MMS offering significantly reduces the provisioning burden on operators by using one system for handsets from a variety of vendors, while providing operators the ability to leverage changes in real-time over-the-air. All in all, we expect operators using MMS to see significant cost savings while providing their subscribers with new applications that provide new opportunities for greater revenue and increased customer loyalty."

MMS has been designed to easily integrate into an operator's existing provisioning infrastructure through an open and modular architecture. A single command from a customer care or billing system can direct MMS to perform a complex sequence of provisioning tasks that can include requesting credit card authorization from another operator subsystem, and performing the provisioning of a subscriber on a WAP gateway and application server. Because of its modular design, MMS should remain an effective solution as an operator's provisioning needs continue to expand and change.

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