There are two main industry models for providing end-user mobile services and content: walled garden and open garden. The open garden model is also called the open internet model. The models are supported by different technical setups, for example regarding security aspects.
Walled garden
In a walled garden model, the operator purchases content and applications and resells them as end-user services to its own subscribers. These services are typically located within the mobile operator's network, and are only available to the mobile operator's own subscribers.
A problem with this model is when open community applications desire users/subscribers irrespective of operator belonging.
Open garden (public domain)
In an open garden, on the other hand, everyone (for instance service providers or content providers) can provide content and services on the internet to end-users. It is the most common model supported by ISPs for fixed internet. In the telecom world, a mobile operator applying the open garden model is either a pure bit-pipe or a channel provider with some type of business agreement with the service and content providers. The open garden model means that services and content are independent of access method (fixed or mobile) and available to all end-users. This model enables, for instance, small communities to set up their own internet applications and provide specialized content and services to their members.
A problem with this model is when an application needs more advanced native services from the operator network, such as person-to-person and IN related services.
The figure above gives a schematic overview of an end-to-end scenario for mobile browsing and web browsing in an open garden model. In the front-end the services provided by the web application are accessed by the mobile browser via a WAP gateway/proxy and by the web browser directly via HTTP.
The requests from the mobile browser and web browser terminate in the Java EE web container. In the back-end the web application retrieves network services, such as IMS presence and mobile location, via for instance a Parlay X gateway. In the figure above Parlay X could also be the Ericsson IPX, Internet Payment eXchange, providing for example payment, WAP Push and SMS/MMS send and receive services (often used by blog communities). IPX acts as a broker in the back-end, connecting operators with service and content providers, to reach different operator's subscribers.
