LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Nov 10, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bitfone Corporation (www.bitfone.com), the company that pioneered over-the-air (OTA) update technology for mobile phones, today announced it has initiated a pilot project with Orange SA, one of the world's largest mobile communications companies, to provide convenient software maintenance capabilities for new 3G devices being launched within the Orange network.
Bitfone announced its standards-based device management server, Mobile Variance Platform (MVP) in September, as part of its new product portfolio that helps operators to find, fix and enhance mobile phones over the air. MVP conforms to device management standards specified by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), providing broad support for mobile handsets from the leading manufacturers. The pilot project for MVP will help Orange test OTA software updates as a means to improve the quality and usability of mobile phones, with particular emphasis on complex 3G devices.
"Bitfone's FOTA technology is enabling us to improve the management of the Orange customer experience by reducing the need to manually repair or replace phones due to software issues," said Thomas Kohler, vice president of new platform delivery at Orange. "We are pleased to work with Bitfone on the early stages of this project as they are considered to be experts in their field and so far, we have found them to be highly responsive to our needs."
"Orange is well known for their ability to provide innovative services that improve the mobile experience," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO of Bitfone. "Bitfone pioneered the OTA firmware update, or FOTA, software category for mobile phones with our mProve product. Through this pilot project, Bitfone will demonstrate MVP's ability to provide user-friendly, flexible and interoperable device software maintenance for a variety of devices, reducing support costs and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty for carriers and manufacturers alike."
Bitfone and Orange are conducting the pilot using Bitfone's MVP and mProve solutions with Motorola and LG devices. Interoperability will also be tested with handsets that do not contain an mProve client. Bitfone's OTA update solution was the first to be commercially deployed across multiple networks in Asia, including SK Telecom as well as on Sony Ericsson handsets within the NTT DoCoMo network. Additional commercial deployments in North America are planned for the fourth quarter of 2004.
About Bitfone Corporation
Bitfone Corporation provides unparalleled expertise and innovative software solutions for customer care automation and mobile device management to wireless operators and handset providers. Bitfone's SmartCare, mProve and MVP products improve usability of mobile devices by diagnosing and repairing software problems and delivering software updates and configuration settings over the air. Bitfone's solutions allow customers to find, fix and enhance mobile devices, safely and efficiently. Bitfone's customers also benefit from significant cost savings in the areas of customer service and warranty, improved device quality and customer satisfaction, and broader adoption of advanced wireless services. Bitfone is a private company headquartered in Laguna Niguel, California, with offices in Canada, China, Japan, Korea and the U.K. For more information, please visit www.bitfone.com.