Operators Collaborate on BONDI Initiative

A leading group of mobile operators has unveiled an initiative to create a blueprint and roadmap for opening up mobile functionality to encourage the development of exciting mobile applications without compromising customer security. The new initiative will be known as BONDI.
Supported by OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform) members including 3 Group, AT&T, T-Mobile, Telenor, Telefónica, Telecom Italia and Vodafone, BONDI will provide a consistent and secure web services interface that can be used by all web developers across multiple device platforms. This will provide the opportunity for web developers to address a mass market of consumers and to drive the use of data services on mobile.
BONDI will harmonise the various open and proprietary ongoing initiatives. The cooperative work will minimise the potential for technology fragmentation. BONDI, under the OMTP umbrella, will contribute towards ongoing standardisation work to help create a new rich web experience for mobile, while also ensuring an appropriate degree of protection that will maintain the current high level of trust by mobile phone users.
BONDI will expose key handset features to web developers to help them develop more function-rich, user friendly and relevant applications. The new handset software will be engineered in such a way as to prevent fraudulent and malicious activity through unauthorised access to functions or sensitive personal information.
“Users have to be certain when they use the mobile web that their privacy is paramount,” says OMTP Managing Director Tim Raby. “The OMTP goal is to ‘enable and protect’ – to enable fantastic new services whilst at the same time protecting the user.”
Christian Salbaing, Managing Director, 3 Group, noting that high speed mobile Internet access has been a key component of 3’s flat rate mobile Internet strategy, says:
“The development of smarter mobile devices and services is an important step in that strategy and BONDI is key in enabling this to operate across a wide variety of handsets. It also ensures we can provide the necessary security to protect our customers.”
And Arnd Gallmann, Senior Vice President, Terminal Technology at T-Mobile International, says that: “Keeping a lid on fragmentation, whilst at the same time enabling new functionality, will encourage more developers to create unique, exciting applications for mobile web 2.0. In turn, this will improve the mobile broadband proposition and greatly enhance the customer experience.”