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NEWS
Wireless Village Initiative Demonstrates
World's First interoperable Mobile Instant Messaging and Presence Services
(September 19, 2001)
Wireless industry leaders Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia, the founders of the
Wireless Village initiative, announced today they have successfully demonstrated
the world's first interoperable mobile instant messaging and presence services.
The demonstration is an important milestone in developing the Wireless Village
specification.
Carried out in Kista, Sweden, the demonstration showed how three different
mobile phones were able to connect with two different mobile instant messaging
and presence servers; one located in Sweden and the other in the US. The mobile
terminals successfully completed some of the basic features of the Wireless
Village client-server protocol. In particular, these features allowed different
mobile phones to authenticate to a remote mobile IMPS server, exchange presence
information (e.g., availability and location characteristics); as well as send
and receive instant messages.
The internal demonstration is the result of an iterative process used by the
Wireless Village initiative's technical team in defining their specifications.
That process is an iteration of steps involving specification, prototype coding
and demonstration. This process permits more rapid confirmation of the technical
direction. Additional internal demonstrations are planned throughout the year,
leading up to the publication of the specifications. Participation in these
internal demonstrations are intended to be an additional benefit of being a
Supporter of the initiative.
"The demonstration clearly confirms the technical direction of the Wireless
Village specifications and that the scheduled work is on the right track",
says Frank Dawson, Nokia representative and chairman of the Wireless Village
initiative. "This successful demonstration shows the benefit of defining
interoperable specifications. Operators can anticipate availability of different
mobile devices that work with a choice of software servers, thus making the
mobile Internet a more seamless experience for consumers."
"Interoperability is a challenge in today's telecommunications world,
therefore this first interoperability demo is a major step for Wireless Village,
and ensures interoperability in the future", says Jan Svensson, Vice
President Ericsson Mobile Phones. "It is impressive that Wireless Village
in such a short time has drafted both initial specifications and prototyped
implementations, this looks very promising."
The Wireless Village initiative intends to deliver an architectural
specification, protocol specifications, as well as test specifications and tools
for mobile IMPS. The initiative will also define procedures and tools for
testing conformance and interoperability of mobile instant messaging and
presence services.
According to Bob Molnar, corporate Vice President at Motorola, "The success
of this important demonstration moves the industry even closer to an
interoperable instant messaging service that operators and their customers
should find irresistible. Wireless Village continues to take positive steps
towards providing an easy-to-use, experience that end-users will truly
value."
Wireless Village intends to sponsor interoperability demonstrations of mobile
devices and wireless services that support the Wireless Village specifications.
Other industry leaders can join as Supporters of the Wireless Village
initiative. As a Supporter, companies will be able to attend Supporter events
(the first scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2001). They will also have early
access to the specifications. Information on how to become a Wireless Village
Supporter is available at the website www.wireless-village.org.
About the Founders
Ericsson is the leading communications supplier, combining innovation in
mobility and Internet in creating the new era of mobile Internet. Ericsson
provides total solutions covering everything from systems and applications to
mobile phones and other communications tools. With presence in 140 countries,
Ericsson simplifies communications for customers all over the world. Read more
at http://www.ericsson.com/press
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated
communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6
billion. Read more at www.motorola.com
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience,
innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the
leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP
networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for
companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly
held company with listings on six major exchanges.
About the Wireless Village initiative
Founded by Ericsson, Motorola, and Nokia, Wireless Village, the Mobile Instant
Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS) Initiative, was formed in April 2001 to
define and promote a set of universal specifications for mobile instant
messaging and presence services. The specifications will be used for exchanging
messages and presence information between mobile devices, mobile services and
Internet-based instant messaging services, all fully interoperable and
leveraging existing web technologies. Through its supporters, the Wireless
Village initiative aims to build a vibrant community of end users and global
business partners where Internet and wireless domains converge. The IEEE
Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) provides day-to-day
administrative support to the Wireless Village initiative.