Japan leads mobile industry in providing software updates over the air

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Red Bend Software, the market leader in Mobile Software Management (MSM) with more than 1 billion Red Bend-Enabled™ devices, has released a new case study, “FOTA Usage in Japan,” that shows how Japan’s mobile operators lead the industry in using firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating to deliver new features and performance improvements to Japan’s mobile consumers.

Japan is among the most advanced wireless markets in the world. Known for innovation and quality, Japan’s mobile operators were the first to adopt FOTA in the mid 2000s, and today lead the industry in using FOTA to regularly deliver new software versions and quality improvements to mobile consumers. FOTA is a standard feature of Japanese handsets, with 97 percent equipped with FOTA technology – the highest penetration of any country.

Japan’s network operators put their brand on mobile handsets, linking the operator’s reputation with device performance and quality. Operators work closely with handset manufacturers to integrate FOTA technology into their mobile phones and connected devices, to ensure they can be managed and updated uniformly, efficiently and securely over the air. Red Bend estimates the number of firmware updates exceeded 50 million during 2010, and is expected to grow substantially as mobile devices become even more sophisticated with increasingly complex software.

The case study, researched and published by Red Bend Software, found that Japan’s mobile operators are committed to FOTA because they can substantially decrease customer care expenses and improve subscriber satisfaction. A key benefit of FOTA is the ability to release new handset models on schedule and then later, if needed, update the phone with the latest software and applications. Many devices get their first FOTA update within a few weeks of product launch, which has made a significant impact in maintaining consumer loyalty.