Windows 7 has added new device driver interfaces (DDIs) to provide support for Mobile Broadband (MB) devices, beginning with Windows 7 Beta.

MB miniport drivers are based on the NDIS 6.20 model. You can learn more about NDIS 6.20 at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd568055.aspx.

The MB DDIs consist of 21 new OIDs, 20 new NDIS status notifications specific to MB, and their associated structures and enumerations including:

• Features to describe the class of MB device, such as CDMA-based (1xRTT/1xEV-DO/1xEV-DO RevA/1xEvDO RevB) or GSM-based (GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA), and its capabilities
• WWAN network registration and service activation
• Packet data service
• Data service handoff
• SMS messaging
• Signal strength feedback
• Vendor-specific features

To learn more about writing an MB miniport driver for Windows 7, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd445701.aspx.

See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd446088.aspx for the MB reference documentation.

  -- Kevin Shirley [MSFT], Programming Writer