Click here to learn
about this Sponsor:
Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Polls  |  Forum

Keywords: Match:
Linux phone standards group adds global heavyweight
Oct. 01, 2007

An industry group working to increase interoperability among Linux implementations for mobile phones has gained another high-profile member. BT (British Telecom) is the third global operator to join the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum, and the organization's 21st member.

BT is world's 164th largest company, and the 10th-largest telecommunications company, according to Fortune magazine's Global 500 listings. BT operates in 170 countries, with a focus on networked IT services, telecom services, broadband, and "converged fixed/mobile" products and services, it says. It reported 2007 revenues of $38 billion.

Compared to LiPS's other telecom members, BT is slightly smaller. France Telecom ranked 82nd on Fortune's global list for 2007, with revenues of about $66 billion, while Telecom Italia ranked 156, with revenues of $40 billion. France Telecom and Telecom Italia are fifth and ninth, respectively, on Fortune's list of global telecom providers.

LiPS states its goal as being to "standardize the Linux-based services and APIs (application programming interfaces) that most directly influence the development, deployment, and interoperability of applications and user-level services." It released its first spec earlier this summer, concurrently hiring Bill Weinberg, a long-time embedded Linux promoter, as general manager.


LiPS Release 1.0 architecture
(Click to enlarge)

In an exclusive interview with LinuxDevices, Weinberg acknowledged BT's leadership in the emerging area of fixed-mobile convergence. He said, "They have a pilot program in the U.K., where they are deploying multi-mode [i.e., WiFi-enabled] phones based on a number of OSes. It works in conjunction with a broadband connection from the same operator, [so you can] roam between voice-over-WiFi and the 2G cellular network. One of the phones is a Motorola Linux phone with WiFi, I believe."

Weinberg added, "BT is eager to help, and participated in the architecture working group meeting in Madrid this month."

Besides operators, LiPS is comprised of phone vendors and design houses, semiconductor companies, Linux stack providers, and mobile phone application vendors. It was founded two years ago by eleven companies, and has since nearly doubled its membership.

LiPS members currently include
  • Mobile operators:
    • British Telecom (BT)
    • Orange / France Telecom
    • Telecom Italia Mobile
  • Silicon Suppliers:
    • ARM Ltd
    • Freescale Semiconductor
    • NXP
    • Spreadtrum
    • Texas Instruments
  • Device OEMs and design houses:
    • Cellon
    • Huawei
    • Longcheer
    • Purple Labs
    • ZTE
  • Software providers:
    • A la Mobile
    • ACCESS
    • Celunite
    • Esmertec
    • Kernel Concepts
    • MIZI Research
    • MontaVista
    • Movial
    • Open-Plug
    • TrollTech
    • VirtualLogix
In a statement, Haila Wang, LiPS Forum president, said "Our standardization efforts will benefit from BT's global carrier experience across dozens of markets and from BT's expertise as an operator serving hundreds of millions of users."

BT Group CTO Matt Bross added, "To deliver innovation, we must look beyond the boundaries of the organization to fuse internal and external innovation."

LiPs earlier this month announced an alliance with OMA, a carrier industry group working to promote data services on mobile phones.



Related Stories:


(Click here for further information)


FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.

Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.

Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.

Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.

High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.

Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.

Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.

Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.

7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.

 


Got a HOT tip?   please tell us!
Free weekly newsletter
Enter your email...
Click here for a profile of each sponsor:
PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSORS
(Become a sponsor)

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Check out the latest Linux powered...

mobile phones!

other cool
gadgets



BREAKING NEWS

• Major Mono rev ships
• ETX module targets military apps
• Linux netbook return rates higher?
• Italian carrier ships Linux MID
• 5-second Linux boots on low-powered hardware
• MontaVista "Summit" concludes
• Freescale to jettison cellular chip business
• Open-source server appliance is "free"
• MontaVista Linux drives Dell's quick-boot feature
• "Virtual platform" targets Linux device developers
• Mobile Linux platform supports Cortex-A8 SoC
• Linux design targets 802.11n-enabled homes
• Virtualization design targets wireless base stations
• Linux virtualization tech tapped for telematics
• Linux Foundation spins end-user conference


Most popular stories -- past 90 days:
• Open source phone goes mass-market
• Tinest Linux system, yet?
• Garmin Nav devices run Gnome Linux
• ARM9 board boots Debian in 0.69 seconds
• Low-cost laptop runs Linpus Linux
• Linux-friendly Beagle fetches $150
• Mini Linux PC breaks $100 barrier
• Open source camera records geotagged video to SATA HDD
• Open set-top box ships
• First $100 laptop runs Linux


DesktopLinux headlines:
• Major Mono rev ships
• Intrepid Ibex beta-tests
• Linux netbook returns higher?
• Open-source image editing project launches
• Linux Foundation launches end-user conference
• GNOME 2.24 gains "Empathy" IM
• gOS 3.0 goes gold
• Linux Foundation courts individual members
• Netbook version of Mandriva thinks small
• Mozilla removes EULA from Linux Firefox


Also visit our sister site:


Sign up for LinuxDevices.com's...

news feed

Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Polls  |  Forum  |  About  |  Contact
 

Ziff Davis Enterprise Home | Contact Us | Advertise | Link to Us | Reprints | Magazine Subscriptions | Newsletters
Tech RSS Feeds | White Papers | ROI Calculators | Tech Podcasts | Tech Video | VARs | Channel News

Baseline | Careers | Channel Insider | CIO Insight | DesktopLinux | DeviceForge | DevSource | eSeminars |
eWEEK | Enterprise Network Security | LinuxDevices | Linux Watch | Microsoft Watch | Mid-market | Networking | PDF Zone |
Publish | Security IT Hub | Strategic Partner | Web Buyer's Guide | Windows for Devices

Developer Shed | Dev Shed | ASP Free | Dev Articles | Dev Hardware | SEO Chat | Tutorialized | Scripts |
Code Walkers | Web Hosters | Dev Mechanic | Dev Archives | igrep

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2008 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.