PrairieComm selects Openwave and IBM for 3G phones

July 29, 2004

Openwave Systems, provider of open software products and services for the communications industry, announced that Openwave Phone Suite Version 7 (V7), including the pre-integrated IBM WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment (WEME), will be available as part of PrairieComm's FronTier 3G reference phone platforms. PrairieComm delivers chipsets, embedded software and licensed intellectual property to consumer electronics companies serving the wireless market.

PrairieComm's multimedia-rich FronTier 3G reference phone platform boasts a bill of materials similar to existing 2.5G handsets to reduce the cost of delivering 3G phones, while its highly integrated design facilitates the creation of small, stylish form-factors suitable for mass-market data phones. By combining Openwave V7 with PrairieComm's platform, handset manufacturers get a hardware design and application framework that meets the demands of 3G operators worldwide across the broadest base of users. Openwave's powerful V7 client software, including IBM's Java-based client technology, will be available first on PrairieComm's FronTier110 platform, a UMTS/GSM/GPRS platform for mass-market data phones.

"Affordable and exciting UMTS phones are critical to the success of 3G," said Rob Williams, general manager of the client product group at Openwave. "As more and more operators roll out their 3G networks and services, PrairieComm is well positioned to help manufacturers deliver the next generation of market leading handsets."