What is OTA?


Over-The-Air or OTA is the wireless technology utilizes to:

  • communicate with the SIM card
  • download the applications to the SIM card
  • handles the SIM card 

without being linked physically to a card.

In summary: OTA or the Over-The-Air is the technology that renews and changes the data in a SIM card without the need to reissue it. This is also referred as the Over-the-Air terms. It is both critical for the carriers and the subscribers.

How do OTA works?

OTA allows the Network Operator to initiate the new SIM service or remotely modified the contents of the SIM cards that are already in the area cost-effectively and rapidly.

The OTA will be based on the server/clients architecture wherein there are the operator back-end systems (application server, customer care, billing system, etc.) and in the end, there is the SIM card.

The back-end system of operators transmits service requested to the OTA Gateway (or the OTA Platform), that transformed a request into the Short Messages and forwarded them on to the SMSC or Short Messages Service Centre, transmitting them to several or one SIM card in a field.

The final-user will receive individualized message from its operator, download and then activated new service on the telephone, and even more... without the need to go back to the retail outlet.

Six Components of the OTA Architecture:

To implement this OTA technology, the following gears will be needed:

  • An OTA Gateway that will process a request in an understandable lay-out to a SIM card
  • The SMSC to transmit requests by a wireless network
  • The back end system that will send requests
  • The bearer that will transport a request: today, it’s an SMS bearer.
  • The mobile equipment to take a request and then transmit it to a SIM card
  • The SIM card to take and then execute a request

Back-end Systems

A back-end system may be anything from the customer care operator up to the billing system, the content provider, and the subscriber’s web interface. 

The condition system had to be linked to a mobile network (either in every LAN or through the Internet).  The service requests contain a service request (activated, deactivated, load, modified, etc.) the subscriber target, and the information to perform a service. 

A back-end system will send out the service request to an OTA gateway.

The OTA Gateway

This OTA Gateway takes Service-Requests by the Gateway API for indicating an actual card to alter/update/activate.

The truth is, inside an OTA Gateway, the card database showed for every card a SIM vendor (like Thales, etc.) a card's ID number, the MSISDN and the IMSI.

The next step is by formatting a service request into the message that a recipient SIM card will understand. To attain this, an OTA Gateway had the set of libraries that contained a format to use for every SIM card brand. An OTA Gateway formats a message differently relying on a recipient card.

The last step has consisted of sending the formatted message into an SMSC by using the proper set of parameters that has been described at GSM 03.48. The OTA Gateway problems with as many SMSs as required in fulfilling a Service-Request. With this step, an OTA Gateway is being responsible for the security and integrity of a process.

SMSC


The SMS Service Center for short message swapped over in between a management system of the message (OTA Gateway) together with a cellular network.

The message consisting of the max 160 alphanumeric characters will be transmitted from or to a Mobile Phone. When a Mobile Phone has been powered off or had left a coverage area, the memo is being stored and then offered back to a subscriber when a mobile is being powered on or had reentered a coverage area of the network.

SMS Channel

A communication between an eSIM or the SIM card and an OTA Gateway may be completed through the SMS exchange and, with this instances, it is named as SMS channel.

Mobile Phones

The Mobile Phone had all the required traits for handling all or a part of the standardized GSM services. With regards to the OTA services, a Mobile Phone needed to be Sim Device Kit compliant.

SIM Cards

The Smart Cards give secured user authentication and had been mainly utilized in the GSM standards as the SIM or Subscriber Identification Module Cards.

The SIM is the essential component of a GSM market, paving a way to the value-added services. 

The SIM cards now offered new menus, prerecorded quantities for speed dials, and the capability to transmit pre-formatted short messages or SMS to query the database or secured transactions.

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