Many modern Mobile Network Operator services require an special applet on the subscriber’s SIM card. This is not much of a problem as far as newly manufactured SIM cards are concerned since they come with the necessary software pre‑installed. Those SIM cards that are already in use, however, may pose a difficulty, especially when the MNO’s subscriber base is as large as tens or hundreds of millions.
Besides, the Mobile Operator may sometimes need to adjust SIM card related technical network settings. Those changes may include:
- changing the SMSC number,
- updating PLMN/FPLMN files,
- changing the Service Provider Name as part of rebranding,
- installing or deleting Java applets,
- modifying Java applets and their settings,
- fixing bugs in SIM card service files and Java applets.
There is only one way to alter SIM card contents without having the subscriber come to the Mobile Operator’s office. That is the OTA (Over‑the‑Air) technology.
A1S OTA is a solution that grants the Mobile Network Operator remote access to SIM cards using methods specified in the 3gpp 11.11 and GlobalPlatform specifications. The solution helps organise:
- Remote File Management
Reading, updating and deleting the service files contents. - Remote Application Management
Management of applications stored on the SIM card. - Security Domain Management
Management of security domain for third party applets
The A1S ОТА solution is developed to be compatible with 3G and LTE networks. It offers a wide range of possibilities for providing new services and minimising costs. This A1 Systems solution allows the Mobile Network Operator to develop such trends as:
- interactive promotion channels,
- Machine to Machine (M2M), i.e. solutions for telemetric information sharing between devices and systems,
- Near Field Communication (NFC), i.e. mobile proximity payments,
- roaming optimisation,
- value-added services,
Benefits for the Mobile Operator
- Launching new services with reduced time to market (TTM)
- Lower subscriber churn risks
- Roaming costs optimisation
- Minimising operating costs
Functionality
- Compatibility with SIM cards of all major vendors;
- Compatibility with 2G, 3G and LTE networks;
- Support for SMPP, CAT_TP, TCP, HTTPS transport protocols;
- Trusted Service Manager (TSM) integration capability;
- An intuitive and user‑friendly WEB GUI;
- A convenient tool for mass OTA campaigns management;
- Support for the GSM 23.048‚ GSM 11.11 and GlobalPlatform standards;
- Support for SNMP monitoring system;
- Multi-level logging of all operations;
- Hot redundancy in all elements of the system;
- Horizontal scalability;
- Transport channel workload management;
- An inbuilt system for transport channel workload management;
- An inbuilt SMSC workload balancing system;
- Detailed reports on every subscriber;
- Ability to inform subscribers about new opportunities after the end of the OTA campaign.
OTA campaigns as a service
Each OTA campaign requires highest attention to details, because as the subscriber base grows, more and more subscribers are using SIM cards of different manufacturers with different settings and features.
A1 Systems experts lend their vast experience to Mobile Operators who need to manage their SIM cards over-the-air. We ready to manage OTA campaign with our own A1S OTA platform or with the platforms of other vendors.
The A1S OTA solution has been designed to conform to key industry standards, such as ETSI, 3GPP and GlobalPlatform. It is a reliable, tested, high-performance, carrier-grade solution.
The solution can be installed at the Mobile Operator’s side or hosted by A1 Systems.
For more details or to order a demonstration of the solution please contact us via email (info@a1‑systems.com) or use the form to the right.