Top Service Questions
What’s involved for merchants to enroll in OpenMarket?
Does OpenMarket support customized offers and promotions?
Do merchants set their own pricing?
Do merchants have full visibility to their customers’ activities in OpenMarket?
What payment methods will be supported in OpenMarket?
Will customers have access to customer care for OpenMarket transactions?
Will OpenMarket support adult content offers?
How does the business model for OpenMarket work?
Does participation in OpenMarket compromise merchant ability to offer exclusive content deals?
What happens when a new network operator is added to the system? What will merchants need to do?
How broad is the reach of the OpenMarket? How many customers will merchants have billing access to?
Top Developer Questions
Do I need to purchase any hardware along with the Software Development Kit?
What Operating Systems does the Software Development Kit support?
Can you push alerts to a palm pilot or PDA?
Does the Software Development Kit support 2-way messaging? How will 2-way messaging work?
Will the Software Development Kit work behind a firewall or proxy server?
What properties must I set in the Software Development Kit?
Top Resource Questions
How many people have mobile devices?
Why is SMS better than email for alerts and notifications?
Top Service Questions
Q: What’s involved for merchants to enroll in OpenMarket?
A: Merchants receive an enrollment ID, submit a request via the OpenMarket Partner Center, and then sign and accept the OpenMarket Enrollment Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy. Once that is complete, a merchant domain is set-up in our rapid integration environment and pre-configured to work with participating network operators.
Q: Does OpenMarket support customized offers and promotions?
A: Yes. The OpenMarket supports the ability to create a broad array of offers and promotions, including support for service bundles, subscriptions and recurring charges, trial offers, etc.
Q: Do merchants set their own pricing?
A: Yes, merchants get to create all their own offers and set their own pricing for a variety of different products.
Q: Do merchants have full visibility to their customers’ activities in OpenMarket?
A: Yes. Merchants can track each customer’s purchases from OpenMarket.
Q: What payment methods will be supported in OpenMarket?
A: Initially, network operator statement billing and credit cards will be supported. Other payment methods will be added in the future.
Q: Will customers have access to customer care for OpenMarket transactions?
A: Yes. Customers will be able to seamlessly access customer care through either merchant or network operator portals.
Q: Will OpenMarket support adult content offers?
A: Adult content offers will not be supported for the initial launch of OpenMarket. OpenMarket may support this in the future if and when a suitable content rating system has been developed, at which time network operators and merchants will be involved in the content rating and management process.
Q: How does the business model for OpenMarket work?
A: The most successful and highly scalable financial exchanges (e.g. NASDAQ, eBay, etc.) have simple, transparent business terms for all participants. The OpenMarket business model is designed on these principles. The OpenMarket business model is transaction-based and designed to ensure trust and equity for all parties in the system. The business model is consistent, transparent, and standardized for both merchants and network operators. In the OpenMarket system, all participants get the same deal and benefits as their peers. The model is designed to be highly scalable and to reduce the “contract friction” of mobile commerce. OpenMarket business terms are provided separately to participants.
Q: Does the OpenMarket provide settlement capabilities and does it handle splits across multiple parties?
A: Yes. OpenMarket handles all settlement requirements and fully supports splits across multiple parties: everyone from third party content providers to network operators.
Q: Does participation in OpenMarket compromise merchant ability to offer exclusive content deals?
A: No. This doesn’t change with OpenMarket. Merchants are still able to sign exclusive content deals just as they do today.
Q: What happens when a new network operator is added to the system? What will merchants need to do?
A: OpenMarket will notify merchants when a new network operator is going to be added to the OpenMarket. The new network operator will simply appear as another payment method available to merchant customers. Nothing else is required of merchants. All set up and configuration details are handled by OpenMarket.
Q: Do I have to establish any type of relationship with the carriers directly in order to use OpenMarket?
A: No, OpenMarket has formed relationships with the carriers, so that you do not have to.
Q: How broad is the reach of the OpenMarket? How many customers will merchants have billing access to?
A: OpenMarket is working with the leading network operators in the U.S. market and expects to provide complete coverage of the tier one and tier two mobile operator footprint.
Top Developer Questions
Q: Can I use the OpenMarket Software Development Kit to connect to networks directly, without going through OpenMarket Wireless Messaging Network?
A: No, because the Software Development Kit implements the Wireless Message Protocol, a proprietary protocol created exclusively for OpenMarket. Therefore, it cannot communicate directly to other networks, which use a variety of differing protocols, without being passed through the Wireless Messaging Network first for translation. However, you may purchase a Wireless Message Protocol Server, which would allow you to interface to any network that you please. You would then be able to use the Software Development Kit in conjunction with your own hosted Wireless Message Protocol Server in order to reach any network that runs on your server.
Q: To what types of devices can OpenMarket send messages? Mobile telephones, alphanumeric pagers, numeric pagers, Palms/PDA's?
A: OpenMarket can send wireless messages to all mobile telephones and alphanumeric pagers which support text-messaging. Some carriers require the user to subscribe for such a feature. However, if the device can receive messages, OpenMarket can send messages to it.
OpenMarket does NOT support pagers which are only numeric, but again we do support pagers which are alphanumeric. Furthermore, Palm devices or PDA's do not allow for "push" content, so there is no way to send wireless messages to them through OpenMarket.
Q: Do I need to purchase any hardware along with the Software Development Kit?
A: No. It is not necessary to purchase any hardware in order to use the Software Development Kit. OpenMarket is a hosted service and we manage and maintain all necessary equipment in our data center.
Q: What Operating Systems does the Software Development Kit support?
A: The Software Development Kit can run on almost all currently available operating systems (except on 64 bit Windows), depending on which version of the Software Development Kit you choose.
Q: Can you push alerts to a palm pilot or PDA?
A: Palm devices or PDA's do not allow for "push" content, so there is no way to "alert" it or "page" it.
Q: Does the Software Development Kit support 2-way messaging? How will 2-way messaging work?
A: OpenMarket supports 2-way, but it is not a released feature yet. We plan on making it available in our Beta Program very soon and then will release it after that. This capability will be carrier-dependent, and will be available on certain networks and not on others. That information will be posted on our coverage page when our 2-way system is available.
In order for a mobile phone to send to a server, a dial-in number must be typed into the phone. OpenMarket has many dial-in numbers around the world that can be utilized, however, these numbers are "shared" amongst all of our customers, since they are extremely expensive.
Therefore, 2-way customers will register for a keyword or "application code" that is typed in before the actual message is sent through one of our dial-in numbers. This application code is then mapped to the customer's account, and OpenMarket servers then know where to route the message to. In fact, our servers will route the entire message to your customer's application via an HTTP post. This "post" can then be read in by your Software Development Kit and your application can access the entire message. Our system uses direct access connections to many carriers in order to achieve this solution.
Q: Can I send wireless messages to many recipients at once? Does the Software Development Kit support multiplexing, group messaging, or bulk messaging?
A: The Software Development Kit itself does not support multiplexing, group messaging or bulk messaging; however, in your own code it is very easy to create such a function. Simply perform a loop, modify the recipient, and send the message off repeatedly. You do, however, have to create new requests for every recipient. We do not support multiple recipients for the same request. We are planning on adding that feature at a later date. For now, you will have to submit them one at a time to the OpenMarket network.
Q: Will the Software Development Kit work behind a firewall or proxy server?
A: Yes. Every version of the Software Development Kit supports proxy servers, implementing HTTP SOCKS 4 or SOCKS 5.
Q: What properties must I set in the Software Development Kit?
A: The Software Development Kit supports you setting a Pin, From, Callback, and Message Text fields. The Pin is the phone number of the device you are trying to send to. The From field is your name or the name of the person who is sending the message. The Callback field is the phone number of the device that you would like the message to appear to be sent from. The Message Text is obviously the text of the message you would like to send.
Top Resource Questions
Q: What is 3G?
A: The next step in the evolution of wireless messaging beyond text and static images and logos is Multimedia Message Service. MMS will depend on the formation of a new type of network infrastructure known as 3G (Third Generation), and will allow users to send messages comprised of a combination of text, sounds, images and video to MMS capable handsets.
Q: How many people have mobile devices?
A: The number of mobile devices has proliferated throughout the world, and continues to grow at an exponential rate. There are well over one billion wireless device users worldwide. According to Dataquest, a unit of the Gartner Group, some 52 million U.S. households, or about 51 percent of the total, own a mobile phone. Meanwhile, other nations show even more astounding penetration of the mobile device explosion. For example, 88 percent of households in Finland now own a wireless phone.
Q: What is SMS?
A: SMS involves sending a text-message of 140-160 characters to a cell phone or pager, and holds significant advantages over the use of mobile email for sending important information. Originally devised as an afterthought to notify users of incoming voice mail, SMS has grown to include the sending of ringtones and graphics, as well, and taken on a life of its own.
Q: What is EMS?
A: EMS (Enhanced Message Service) adds new powerful functionality to the well known SMS standard. Allowing mobile phone users to add life to SMS text messaging, EMS offers new ways to express feelings, moods and personality in wireless messages. It will expand the base of applications which use wireless messaging, since EMS allows the opportunity to send a combination of simple melodies, pictures, sounds, animations, modified text and standard text. Furthermore, EMS will connect the wireless world to the internet, allowing users to download pictures and ring tones to their phone. EMS works with the existing infrastructure laid down for SMS, as well as utilizing the same familiar user interfaces and remaining compatible with existing mobile devices.
Q: What is MMS?
A: The next step in the evolution of wireless messaging beyond text and static images and logos is Multimedia Message Service. MMS will depend on the formation of a new type of network infrastructure known as 3G (Third Generation), and will allow users to send messages comprised of a combination of text, sounds, images and video to MMS capable handsets.
Q: What is Wireless Messaging?
A: Wireless Messaging is the "pushing" of information to and from mobile devices, allowing users to receive and send time-sensitive notifications and maintain important contacts while on the move. It includes SMS (Short Message Service), and MMS (Multimedia Message Service).
Q: Why is SMS better than email for alerts and notifications?
A: Although email provides a quick solution, sending messages via email still has many hidden drawbacks, including speed, assurance, error checking, features, and consistency. These issues were addressed in the March 27 article at http://www.15seconds.com/Issue/010327.htm, by OpenMarket Director of Connectivity & Applications Development Joe Lauer, and are summarized below:
1. Speed and Reliability - By its original design, email was not intended to become a quick system. As a result, most text-messages that are sent through email experience latency problems ranging from 1 minute to 2 hours. This estimate also assumes that an SMTP server will not go down somewhere along the path of the email. Email travels through multiple servers on its path towards its final destination. Each stop along the way adds latency times and increases the number of opportunities for error. OpenMarket SMS messages go from the software directly to our network and out to the mobile user's carrier, greatly diminishing the chance of latency or error. Because we maintain our own network, we are able to guarantee the speed and reliability that users need when sending important messages.
2. Compatibility and Assurance - Many users do not have the ability to receive email on their mobile devices. Not only do many mobile devices not support email, but email will not quickly inform you of the fact that they do not, offering a chance to resend your message in time. SMS compatibility is far more widespread and if the message is sent to one of the few mobile devices that do not support SMS, you will be notified immediately of this fact, and given the opportunity to quickly send a new alert. OpenMarket offers feedback and assurance that your message is received, giving peace of mind that email cannot offer.
3. Formatting - Another prominent drawback is the diversity of email formats between various services. Message lengths range from 80 to 256 characters. Messages delivered via SMTP will normally omit those parts of the message that carry over the maximum character length. Unfortunately, your code will never discover the discarded parts of your message. In some cases, the Subject field will be used, rather than the Body field. In either case, your code will have to account for this error or else parts of your message will not reach the mobile device, and valuable information will be lost. An additional problem with using the email format arises when the From field has already used up 20 to 30 characters in the small, allotted space of 80 to 256. By formatting our messages specifically for each carrier's method of SMS, OpenMarket ensures that your message will reach its destination accurately, and in full.
4. Additional Features - SMTP does not make available many of the best features specifically available with SMS, such as one-touch callback and presence information (e.g. phone on/off, signal strength). These features further extend the peace of mind, reliability and comprehensive messaging capabilities offered by SMS.
