Unwired Planet
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| Industry | Mobile Data Software & Services |
|---|---|
| Founded | United States (August 2000) |
| Founder | Alain Rossmann |
| Website | openwave.com |
Openwave (formerly software.com, phone.com, and Libris, Inc) has changed its name to Unwired Planet, and two of its former products have launched as private companies; Openwave Mobility and Openwave Messaging. Openwave is historically significant in its introduction of the Mobile Internet and its expansion into a large successful mobile software supplier in the mobile telecom sector.
Openwave pioneered HDML, a precursor to WML. Openwave was a founding member of the WAP Forum.
The company started in 1996 as Libris, Inc. and focused on developing mobile client software for "pull" services while the general mobile market was rapidly growing "push" services based on SMS. In 1996, it changed its name to Unwired Planet, Inc. and launched its proprietary end-to-end mobile network solution for Internet access and web browsing, known as up.link (browser and network server/gateway).
In 1999, with the introduction of standards, it acquired Apiion, Ltd. of Belfast (formerly Aldiscon Northern Ireland, Ltd.), changed its name to Phone.com and went public on the NASDAQ. In 2000, amidst huge growth in revenue and stock price, Phone.com acquired several high tech startup companies with niche products to integrate across its end-to-end solution. In 2001, it merged with Software.com and changed the company name again to Openwave Systems, Inc. With Software.com's large installed base of email servers at ISPs, Openwave expanded by providing its mobile operator customers with software infrastructure for mobile email applications and other multimedia messaging (MMS) applications.
The company's mobile browser software shipped on over one billion handsets, at one point approx 49% of the global browser-capable device shipments, over 70 mobile operators.
In 2002 it acquired SignalSoft Corp., a developer of location-based services, who developed the first platforms to provide E911 services as per the first FCC (Federal Communications Commission) requirements.
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