Basestation to mobile question!

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A Bose - 14 Apr 2005 22:00 GMT

Hello,
Is it possible in GSM or in 3GPP standards for a cellular base station to
directly upload code to mobile handsets? Are there examples of such codes or
applications of this sort (both current and planned) ? One example can be
upgrades to a phone's service or an application.
I am looking for some information on how this is handled at a protocol or
even at the OS level. Any help will be highly appreciated!
Thanks,
Abhijit Bose
University of Michigan
abose@umich.edu

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Jer - 15 Apr 2005 01:06 GMT

> Hello,
> Is it possible in GSM or in 3GPP standards for a cellular base station to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> University of Michigan
> abose@umich.edu

For what possible reason could a base station have to send any "code" to
any handset? Any "code" (whatever that is) would need to be initiated
by the handset user, and it won't be provided by any base station
either. A base station is a radio controller, not a content provider.

Signature

jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

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John Henderson - 15 Apr 2005 20:39 GMT

> Is it possible in GSM or in 3GPP standards for a cellular base
> station to directly upload code to mobile handsets? Are there
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> information on how this is handled at a protocol or even at
> the OS level. Any help will be highly appreciated! Thanks,

By talking about "codes or applications" and "even at the OS
level", it looks like you mightn't understand your own
question. Is this a homework assignment?

A carrier can do some configuration of phone/SIM via SMS. If
that's the sort of thing you're asking about, you could start
with GSM 23.040 from
http://www.etsi.org/services_products/freestandard/home.htm

John

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MrWhoohoo - 15 Apr 2005 22:57 GMT

You wouldn't be fishing for how to create a virus, would you?
No, of course not ...

There are ways of uploading Java apps OTA (over the air) to Java
capable phones, Symbian apps to Symbian phones and, at phenomenal
expense and only with carriers consent, BREW apps to BREW phones.
There are various security measures which can impede this.

Your exercise for the day is to google combinations of OTA, Java,
Symbian and Brew ... and, for some cheap, hackerish thrills, you could
throw in 'firmware' as well.

Whoo Hoo

> > Is it possible in GSM or in 3GPP standards for a cellular base
> > station to directly upload code to mobile handsets? Are there
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> John

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John Henderson - 16 Apr 2005 06:24 GMT

> You wouldn't be fishing for how to create a virus, would you?
> No, of course not ...

Only one person on this thread has shown any interest in
viruses.

John

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A Bose - 16 Apr 2005 20:18 GMT

hi, thanks for your posts. by "code" i meant patches to the os or apps on
the mobile phone. these patches can be used to fix a vulnerability, similar
to what many of us do with windows update. in case of symbian, e.g., one can
download a sis file assuming that this process will have in-built
authentication and user-permission.

is there anything (other than application-level such as jave or brew) in
terms of authentication/authorization protocol built in gsm/3g/future
standards that one can use to build such a system ? that's what i am trying
to figure out.

MrWhoohoo: no..i am not fishing for how to create a virus...just the
opposite :) thanks for mentioning OTA.

Abhijit

> Hello,
> Is it possible in GSM or in 3GPP standards for a cellular base station to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> University of Michigan
> abose@umich.edu

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