Editing Over-the-air update (section)

=== Cellular networks ===

'''Over-the-air provisioning''' (OTAP) is a form of OTA update by which [[Mobile network operator|cellular network operators]] can remotely [[Provisioning (telecommunications)#Mobile subscriber provisioning|provision]] a mobile phone (termed a ''client'' or ''[[mobile station]]'' in industry parlance) and update the cellular network settings stored on its [[SIM card]]. This can occur at any time while a phone is turned on. The term ''over-the-air parameter administration'' (OTAPA) is synonymous.<ref name="Raghunandan2022">{{Cite book |last=Raghunandan |first=Krishnamurthy |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-92188-0 |title=Introduction to Wireless Communications and Networks: A Practical Perspective |date=April 1, 2022 |publisher=Springer Cham |isbn=978-3-030-92187-3 |edition=1st |series=Textbooks in Telecommunication Engineering |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-92188-0}}</ref><ref name="Snyder2001" /> OTA provisioning allows mobile phones to remain properly configured when cellular network operators make changes to their networks. It also configures phones with the settings required to access certain features, like [[Wireless Application Protocol|WAP]] (an early incarnation of the [[mobile web]]), [[Multimedia Messaging Service|MMS]] messaging, and [[cellular data network|cellular data]] (which requires the configuration of an [[Access Point Name]]).

The similar term ''over-the-air service provisioning'' (OTASP) specifically refers to the wireless initial provisioning ("activation") of a phone. During activation, a mobile phone is provisioned with parameters like its phone number, [[mobile identification number]], and [[system identification number|system ID]], granting it initial access to the cellular network. OTASP is sometimes called ''over-the-air activation'' or ''over-the-air bootstrapping''. The alternative to OTA bootstrapping is SIM bootstrapping, where the phone reads the network settings stored on a [[SIM card]]. SIM bootstrapping has limitations: settings stored on a SIM card may become stale between the time the SIM is manufactured and the time it is used; also, some phones (and other cellular client equipment) do not use SIM cards.<ref name="Snyder2001">{{Cite book |last1=Snyder |first1=Randall A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CBENX_edL0MC |title=Wireless Telecommunications Networking with ANSI-41 |last2=Gallagher |first2=Michael D. |date=2001-04-05 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |isbn=978-0-07-138358-5 |pages=374–376 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Brenner2008">{{Cite book |last1=Brenner |first1=Michael |title=The Open Mobile Alliance: Delivering Service Enablers for Next-Generation Applications |last2=Unmehopa |first2=Musa |date=2008-02-28 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-51918-9 |pages=273–279 |language=en}}</ref>

Various standards bodies have issued OTA provisioning standards. In 2001, the [[WAP Forum]] published the WAP Client Provisioning standard. After the [[Open Mobile Alliance]] subsumed the WAP Forum, this standard became known as [[OMA Client Provisioning]] (OMA CP). In OMA CP, phones are provisioned by "invisible" SMS messages sent by the cellular network, which contain the requisite settings. OMA CP was followed by a newer standard, [[OMA Device Management]] (OMA DM), which use a different form of SMS-based provisioning (called "OMA Push"). OMA DM sessions are always client-initiated. The "invisible" SMS does not contain configuration settings; instead, it tells the phone (the "DM Client") to connect to a DM Server (operated by the cellular network provider); once connected, the DM Server sends configuration commands to the client.<ref name="Brenner2008" />