Gemplus delivers SIMs directly to customers of “yallo”, TDC Switzerland AG’s new MVNO

Contract outsources SIM ordering process, delivery and card activation to Gemplus

Luxembourg 21 September, 2005 – Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), the world's leading provider of smart card solutions, has won the contract to be the sole supplier of yallo, the new Swiss mobile offering via the Internet from TDC Switzerland AG. TDC Switzerland with its main brand sunrise is the leading independent Swiss full-service provider.

Since the launch of yallo in May 2005, Gemplus has been providing yallo SIM cards and personalisation services which were delivered direct to yallo customers through Swiss PostExpress. The yallo service targets users who want to simplify their mobile communication to voice calls and SMS. The business model of yallo is similar to the concept of a “no-frills” airline company. Subscribers to yallo simply purchase their SIM cards via the Internet and provide their own handsets.

Core to Gemplus’ success is a tailored ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to customer service activation. On receipt of the customer’s details direct from www.yallo.ch, Gemplus’ card personalisation centre immediately prints, produces and posts the new SIM to the customer through Swiss PostExpress within two working days. Small volumes are personalised on a daily basis according to the number of orders placed. yallo does not keep physical SIM stocks as it outsources order management and card delivery to Gemplus. Thus, they are able to reduce their working capital. Intermediary steps in the process have also been reduced, further lowering administrative costs.

“Our yallo business requires a different approach to customer service because end-users expect to receive their SIM almost immediately,” said Norbert Egli, project leader of yallo. “Many customers only want a service for calls and SMS messages which is exactly the aim of yallo. We wanted a simple, efficient service which Gemplus’ one-stop-shop approach provides.”

“By taking on the responsibility of card production and delivery through this ‘on-demand’ approach, we can help MVNOs reduce the cost and complexity of their logistics,” commented Philippe Vallée, Executive Vice President, Telecom Business Unit, Gemplus. “Operators who want to outsource their customer SIM activation while providing a fast, simple and flexible solution will benefit greatly from our service.”

According to a recent report from Strategy Analytics, low-cost MVNOs could obtain a share of the available market share over the next five years, shaking up a mature European prepaid market. Prepaid users now account for 60 percent of mobile users in Western Europe and are being targeted by low-cost MVNOs offering significantly lower call rates^[1]. Gemplus’ outsourced approach is aimed at exactly these types of operator.

About Gemplus

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is the world's leading player in the smart card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest (2005), Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5 billion smart cards.

With security at its core, and 2400 patents and patent applications produced by its innovative R&D team, Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WLAN, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control.

Gemplus' revenue in 2004 was 865 million Euros.


www.gemplus.com


yallo

yallo pares mobile communications down to the bare essentials and offers a simple, economic service via the Internet. To do so, yallo uses the nationwide GSM dual band network, operated by TDC Switzerland AG and providing coverage to over 99 percent of the population. yallo is a brand of TDC Switzerland AG which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the TDC Group. TDC Switzerland AG also owns the brand sunrise.

^[1] “EasyMobile: Trends in Low-Cost Service Provision in Europe”, June 2005, Sara Harris, Strategy Analytics


 

For more information

Jane Strachey
Gemplus
Tel: +33 (0)4 42 36 46 61
E-mail: jane.strachey@gemplus.com

Matthew McGuinness
Edelman PR
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 1259
E-mail: Matthew.mcguinness@edelman.com



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