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SIMalliance supports bullish growth in the Asian market at CommunicAsia,
with interoperable SIM-enabled solutions for wireless data services
- With Asia emerging as strong growth market with
dominant SIM market share,SIMalliance uses its presence at CommunicAsia
to encourage operators to use full value of SIM (Java Card SIM, S@T
SIM-browsing, SIM Toolkit)
- SIMalliance helping to unlock the potential of
Java Card and Java-based phones
- SIMalliance welcomes Incard, its newest member
SIMalliance Energize your mobile services
 SIMalliance
@ CommunicAsia 2002
All the signs are pointing towards Asia as the most significant mobile
market both now and for some years to come. While growth in Western Europe
is stabilizing, Asia is still on an upward curve. Of the 40 million new
subscribers worldwide in 2001, 27 million were based in Asia Pacific (EMC
database).
Jean-Philippe Betoin, Chairman of the SIMalliance said, "According
to all major SIM industry analysts, Asia is emerging as the region with
the most dominant SIM market growth. This trend is in-line with SIMalliance's
expectations that Asia should be the biggest market for SIM unit shipments
from 2002 onwards. This makes Asia the most strategic mobile market for
SIM manufacturers. The objective of the SIMalliance is to boost the adoption
of innovative, revenue generating, SIM-based mobile applications and help
Asian operators realize the full potential of the latest SIM-based developments.
SIMalliance, as an industry forum, has a strong role to play in the promotion
and eventual uptake of these services."
SIM Cards are considered by most GSM operators as one of their main assets,
allowing quick, efficient and cost effective, service access and deployments.
In the past 3 years, SIMalliance has achieved significant milestones in
new SIM-based services, delivery tools and systems, such as S@T, the SIMalliance
Toolbox, the first global SIM-browsing standard, and true interoperability
for the Java Card SIM.
SIMalliance achieves a major milestone by helping operators to benefit
from a Java Phone SIM API
In the past 3 months, SIMalliance has actively contributed to preparatory
work on a SIM API for Java mobile handset. This will benefit service development
and deployments for mobile data services using the combined benefits of
the card and phone.
SIMalliance worked hand in hand with major industry players in joint sessions
to study the major combined SIM-Smart phone application user cases and
then build the essential functional specifications.
This common work led to the acceptance of a dedicated workgroup under
the Java Community Process (JCP), the entity in charge of creating new
Java specifications.
The first results of this workgroup should be seen in the first half of
2003 with the publication of a standardized API.
SIMalliance extends its reach by welcoming a new member
SIMalliance has the pleasure to welcome Incard, a new member company.
"We believe in the positive role of SIMalliance in the Mobile Communications
market" says Giancarlo Celentano, Incard's Head of Marketing of Mobile
Communications. "As one of the major SIM card providers, we are glad
to offer our contribution, in the definition of innovative SIM card solutions".
This new membership highlights the benefits of the work carried out within
SIMalliance and then passed on to the SIM Card industry to the ultimate
benefit of wireless subscribers. Incard will enrich the SIMalliance by
bringing in new ideas and resources to the current projects in different
fields of interoperability.
To get full details of SIMalliance and freely download its work or learn
how to join, visit us at www.simalliance.org
About SIMalliance
SIMalliance is a collaboration of the world's leading SIM card manufacturers:
Gemplus, Giesecke & Devrient, Incard, Oberthur Card Systems, Orga
Kartensysteme, SchlumbergerSema and XPoncard. SIMalliance is a non-profit
organization created to promote the benefits of SIM cards and SIM-based
services.
SIMalliance:
- Acts as an incubator for SIM card enhancements to be proposed to standardization
bodies and industry forums,
- Boosts adoption of innovative and interoperable SIM card solutions,
- Eases the integration of the SIM card in the new mobile data architecture
and services landscape.
SIMalliance promotes key functionalities and usages of the SIM card that
help energize the new generation of mobile services.
SIMalliance's main achievements for 2001:
- Java Cardä SIM (subscriber identity module) interoperability support
tools, created to accelerate progress towards full seamless interoperability
of GSM Java applets.
- The SIMalliance Toolbox latest release (S@T) and its interoperability
guidelines.
All those specifications and tools are now freely available on-line at
www.simalliance.org.
SIMalliance is an initiative open to key GSM players worldwide.
The SIM card today plays an essential role in mobile value-added services
with more than 90% of GSM operators having launched SIMToolkit and SIM-based
services.
About Gemplus
Gemplus is the world's number one provider of solutions empowered by smart
cards. Gemplus helps its clients offer an exceptional range of portable,
personalized solutions that bring security and convenience to people's lives.
These include mobile Internet access, interoperable banking facilities,
e-commerce, and a wealth of other applications. Gemplus is the only completely
dedicated, truly global player in the smart card industry, with the largest
R&D team, unrivalled experience, and an outstanding track record of
technological innovation. Gemplus trades its shares on Euronext Paris S.A.
First Market and on the Nasdaq Stock Market as GEMP in the form of ADSs.
Its revenue in 2000 was 1.205 Billion Euros. It employs 6721 people in 37
countries throughout the world.
Gemplus: Beyond smart
Contacts
Janet Loh-tk
Gemplus
Tel: +65 6771 9140
Fax: + 65 6773 0648
janet.loh-tk@gemplus.com
Jean-Philippe Betoin
Chairman SIMalliance
e-mail: info@simalliance.org
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