The Siemens Communications Group will be one of the first companies to bring a standardized solution for Assisted Global Positioning Systems (A-GPS) to the market: The so-called Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) standard is being developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and is scheduled for release in June 2005. While current proprietary A-GPS systems work only with devices from specific manufacturers, the OMA standard will enable the positioning service to be used on any A-GPS-capable phone on any mobile network. Siemens is already conducting interoperability tests with A-GPS chipset suppliers Global Locate and SiRF Technology Holdings and with device manufacturers Compal Communication (CCI) and HP. The SUPL-based Siemens A-GPS solution will be offered to mobile operators as of the third quarter of 2005.
