ITU: Sun Mobile Delivery Platform Gets New Features

Sun Microsystems is going to where the carriers are to unveil new features in its mobile content delivery platform.

On Monday, the company is set to announce enhancements to its Sun Java System Content Delivery Server (CDS) at the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecom World show in Hong Kong. Organizers expect as many as 57,000 attendees from around the world at the weeklong show, which takes place once every three years.

Mobile operators looking at big bills for third-generation (3G) networks and shrinking revenue from voice minutes want to offer subscribers something new that they’ll pay extra for. Sun is one of many vendors promising to help them get new money-making services up and attracting users.

Sun’s CDS provides a common infrastructure for delivering all types of content, including Java applications, games, ringtones and wallpaper. It also lets operators create storefronts, viral marketing tools and payment systems. It lets the carriers and other content providers set up services more easily and quickly, the company said.

Among the new features coming at Telecom World is the Central Device Catalog, which lets carriers quickly aggregate content from various sources for a new device and then collect records of downloads. This lets the operator view usage patterns and segment customers, directing new content to the appropriate group.

Also at the show, Sun plans to announce that Telefonica Moviles Espana and Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom have chosen Sun Fire servers and the Solaris 10 operating system to deliver services to their customers.

The show will also be a coming-out party for an alliance Sun announced last week with Nokia and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. In the Telecommunications Platform Initiative, the companies will jointly develop requirements for a standardized, integrated telecommunications platform. If network equipment providers follow a common set of open standards in their products, it will be easier for carriers to integrate gear from different suppliers and ultimately get revenue-producing services out more quickly, Sun said.

Sun and other members of the initiative will continue to work with other groups that set telecommunications computing standards, such as the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group, the company said.

-Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)

Related Links:

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• Sun Open Sources Java Under GPL

• Sun Considers GPL for Open Solaris

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