Openwave Hits Instant Messaging Market

NewsFactor

November 15, 2001

Openwave Systems has unveiled an instant messaging application for wireless carriers, taking an open standards-based approach to a service that has gained a large worldwide following.



Openwave said its platform allows users to exchange instant messages from either a mobile phone or a PC and offers interoperability with SMS (short message service) and with Microsoft�Œs MSN Messenger service.



Carriers Climb on Board



The new IM platform combines popular mobile phone SMS (short message service) features with the most popular aspects of the online instant messaging environment. About a billion instant messages are sent globally on a daily basis, the company added. And Merrill Lynch estimates some 39 billion SMS text messages are sent globally per month -- an average of 50 messages a month per subscriber -- Openwave said.



A number of wireless carriers have expressed interest in Openwave Instant Messaging. Genie, the mobile Internet business arm of mmO2 (formerly BT Wireless), has tapped the product to provide an integrated Web, WAP (wireless application protocol) and SMS instant messaging platform for its 5.8 million registered users. The system will launch for use by Genie UK customers early in 2002.



Five other operators in Europe, Asia and the Americas also are conducting trials of the software, Openwave said. The company has been working with leading standards-based working groups, such as the GSM Association and the WAP Forum, to develop guidelines for carrier-to-carrier interoperability for mobile instant messaging.



Carrier-to-Carrier Alliances



The instant messaging offering complements Openwave�Œs existing "always on" messaging services, which include e-mail, mobile e-mail, unified messaging and multimedia messaging.



"Openwave�Œs instant messaging delivers new messaging revenue streams to communications service providers worldwide," company CEO Don Listwin said. "It will play a critical role in helping CSPs build carrier-to-carrier alliances of mobile subscriber communities."



Looking Ahead



Listwin, who delivered a keynote address at the Comdex convention Tuesday, put a positive spin on emerging wireless Internet technologies. The challenge, he said, is for the industry to remain committed to open standards and to designing technology that benefits end-users.



"Mobility is about freedom. It isn�Œt about what device you use, or what on-line community you subscribe to, or whether you are working in the office or on the go," Listwin said. "Mobile is about the freedom to live your life and still stay connected to your most important information, relationships and services."



Standards like XML, XHTML and related standards of collaboration between mobile software and hardware providers -- as well as the convergence of computers and mobile devices of all kinds -- are making this level of interoperability a reality for the first time, Listwin said.



Listwin also demonstrated a prototype for the company�Œs Messaging Client technology, set for release to handset manufacturers next summer. The new application promises to deliver a "live address book" that displays the presence data of the contacts in users�Œ address books on their phones, and that integrates instant messaging with multimedia messaging service (MMS).



[Discuss in the IM Free-for-All Forum]

http://www.openwave.com/products/comm_services/instant_messaging/index.html