Our ultimate goal is to make these protocols widespread. Developing and publishing a set of protocols, however, is just the beginning. Protocols become accepted as standards as a result of public review, modification by consensus, and ultimately by standing the test of usage in the industry at large.
To provide a forum for these processes, we have created EMSD.org and ESRO.org. Each of these organizations allows public review of the respective protocol, and provides a mechanism for correction and enhancement of the protocol as a result of collective experience. Any interested person can become a member of these organizations and participate in the further development of the protocols. The only requirement for membership is that participants must adhere to the principles and procedures of the Free Protocols Foundation, ensuring that the protocols remain permanently patent-free.
Note that this also is in sharp contrast to WAP. Participation in WAP, far from being open and public, requires a $27,000 membership fee (as of February 2000), and takes place entirely behind closed doors.
In order for the protocols to become widely accepted, they must be implemented in the form of software solutions that are readily available for deployment by end-users. We have therefore created open-source software implementations of the protocols for most common platforms. Protocol engines are available in the form of portable code which has been ported to a variety of platforms. On the device side, software is available for Windows CE, Palm OS, EPOC, and others. On the message center side, software is available for NT, Solaris, and Linux.
As noted above, our initial emphasis is on the Mobile Messaging application. Protocol engines are only a single component of a larger picture; in order to provide complete solutions to the user it is necessary to integrate these protocols into other existing pieces of software. To that end we have created MailMeAnywhere.org, where fully-integrated solutions in open-source format are made available to the user.
We will initially ``prime the pump'' by providing free subscriber services through ByName.net and ByNumber.net. This will provide initial support for adoption of the protocols by end-user devices. Usage of the protocols among a sufficient number of user devices will then provide the motivation for usage among the message center systems.