Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security

Study into the implications of Smartphone operating system security
3. ANALYSIS OF HOW UK MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS
Overview
(MNOS) MANAGE MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM
SOFTWARE UPDATES
This section analyses how UK MNOs manage the mobile operating system software update
process, including the frequency of software updates and how these updates are
communicated to Smartphone owners.
As part of the research for this study, Goode Intelligence has interviewed representatives
from some of the UK’s MNO community 55 to determine what involvement they have in the
Smartphone operating system update process. Their involvement in this process is largely
uniform on an operator by operator basis. Where it differs is between the different
Smartphone operating systems.
There is no standard Smartphone operating system update process. There is a different
process, and therefore a different level of operator involvement, for each Smartphone
operating system. For instance, Apple, Blackberry and Windows Phone will largely manage
the operating system software update process themselves.
That is not to say that the operators have no involvement in this process. In an interview
between Apple and Goode Intelligence as part of this research, a spokesperson stated
Apple “works closely with carriers (MNOs) to ensure that the updated operating system
works on their network”. 56 Additionally if a software update affects the radio stack (the part of
the operating system that manages communication between the Smartphone and the
Operator’s cellular (radio) network), then the MNO will be involved in ensuring that the
change has not affected the device’s ability to connect to their cellular network.
The MNOs are largely unable to make any changes to the operating system but will
authorise that the software updates are compatible with the network. Conversely, MNOs
have much more involvement in testing software updates for Android Smartphones and to a
lesser degree with Windows Phone 7 (Windows Phone 8 does have an option to take
updates directly from Microsoft but only if users agree not to contact the MNO’s directly for
any support problems with the operating system).
There have been criticisms with the role of the operator in this process, in particular with the
delay between the software update being available by the mobile operating system
owner/OEM to it being pushed out by the operator. In the following sections we shall
investigate whether this criticism is well-founded and look at the reasons why delays occur
and its impact on Smartphone owners.
55 Goode Intelligence thanks Telefonica O2 and Vodafone for their support
56 Apple interview: Friday 8 March 2013.
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