An OMNIPress Publication, 11, rue de l’Elizée, 78410 La Falaise,
FRANCEDirector of publication: Yvon Avenel - ISSN: 1763-3494
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An OMNIPress Publication, 11, rue de l’Elizée, 78410 La Falaise,
FRANCE Director of publication: Yvon Avenel - ISSN: 1763-3494 |
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SCT31 is Issued: ID Security Markets Come to a Boil 
2008 will be the year of ID Security. We’re seeing a strategic reorganization at Oberthur Technologies, a continuous investment strategy for Gemalto, triumph at Sagem Sécurité with the recent acquisition of Sdu Identification. 
Oh, the turmoil! No, this is the “chiasma”! Biological metaphors are not yet adequate enough. Some would suggest plate tectonics, other more prosaic sorts prefer geology, cooking or even the plate of spaghetti that resembles a Gordian knot... 
The smartcard industry, recently rebaptized the smart security industry, has undoubtedly just entered a new cycle in its still young history. 
SEPA enters a new era of uncertainty. 2008 could be a pivotal year for a paradigm shift in card payment. 
The impressive all-out offensive undertaken by Google to gain a foothold in the world of mobile phones over the past few weeks has apparently paid off. Big G does nothing by halves...
The 22nd edition of CARTES & IDentification, THE world-leading event in digital security smart card and identification, will take place at Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre in November 13-15 2007. 
You own what you touch…” Is this a new take on personal property, a variation of “Possession is nine-tenths of the law”? No, it's a critical invention at the crossroads of Personal Network Area (PAN), Ultra Wide Band (UWB) & smartcards. 
Is the "big bang" of the SEPA originally announced actually just a small whimper? Has the opening of the European market to wider competition simply served to strengthen the Visa/Mastercard duopoly?
The "Swiss Army Knife, throw-in-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" phenomenon of the mobile telephone is reaching its full effect. Of course, this openness also increases the level of security and liability exigencies. 
NFC technology, integrated with the secure and well-trusted environment provided by the SIM card, has the potential to marry the ubiquity of the mobile device with a range of consumer services that have global appeal. 
The discovery was made together with Dr. Omer Berkman from the Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo and Mrs. Odelia Ostrovsky (see the photo) from the Tel-Aviv University. 
Originally hailing from the medical world, and then above all from policing applications (AFIS – Automated Fingerprint Identification System), biometric technologies have exploded in a very short time, since the ‘big-bang’ of 9/11... 
MMC, USB, Nokia proposal, or SD technology ? Very important votes are planned on November 20, 2006 at ETSI SCP. 
IBM’s PC just celebrated its 25th birthday (August 12, 1981). The smartcard (the one with the first microcircuit, rather than a memory chip card) will celebrate in one month (October 1981)... 
With 450 exhibitors and 35,000 m2 exhibition space, it remains the undisputed world leading event for professionals in the smartcard and related industries. November 7, 8 and 9 at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre (France). 
This is a record performance in the company's history, with revenue 22 percent higher than in the first half of 2005 (€207.4 million). 
While we've all been waiting for the "large SIM" tidal wave in mobile technology, a minor NFC (Near Field Communication) tornado has touched down on the horizon. With or without SIM card, the effect has been like lightning... 
The first two levels of management of Gemalto have already been announced and become effective immediately, concerning over 150 executives from Axalto and Gemplus, and the next level of management will be announced in the coming days. 
Seneca’s first action was to broaden the current steering committee to make sure all segments of the industry are properly represented: smart cards, semiconductors, terminals and equipment manufacturers as well as system integrators. 
Founder and former CEO Jacek Kowalski to complete contactless ecosystem with the creation of new companies. 
And the earth shook. It was no doubt both the most closely-guarded secret of the year. The highlighting of what the new group indicates will be its key market, ‘Digital Security’ may only be semantic window-dressing, but... 
This was undoubtedly the most surprising and (un)expected announcement of the year. The plan for a merger ‘of equals,’ as both Alex Mandl and Olivier Piou, the future heads of the new company, to be known as Gemalto termed it, with great insisten 
CARTES 2005, 15-17th November 2005, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, FRANCE. 
An interview with Gilles Perrotey, CEO Secure Machines. The French start-up has invented a new the method of “bolting” the soft to the hard at the microcontroller level in electronic devices. 
Eurosmart celebrates its 10th anniversary in Brussels on 20 April 2005 by gathering the Smart Card leaders in presence of Mrs Viviane Reding (see the photo), Commissioner for Information Society and Media. 
“2004 confirmed our objectives and demonstrated Ingenico has the capability of internal growth“ comments Gérard Compain, CEO 
Fourth quarter 2004 revenues rises to euros 242,5 million, up to 4,3% year-on-year basis (+8,7% currency adjusted). Full year revenue came in at euros 865 million, a +15,5% compared to 2003. 
Fourth Quarter 2004 revenues rises to $ 291 million, up +30% compared to Q4 2003. As a result, full year revenue came in at $ 900 million, a 25% on full-year 2003. 
4Q/04 sales reached 132.1 million Euros, up to 11.1 % over 4Q/03 and 25.3% over 3Q/04. Best performance of the past three years. Pierre Barberis, OBSC CEO (see the photo) anticipates a fair 2005 year. 
One penny for the RFID tag is the new “calling cost” for RFID technology, definitively sounding the death knell for the barcode. According to a recent announcement by a U.S. start-up based out of Colorado Springs. 
Is the SIM card, the uncontested flagship of the smart card industry, in its final hour? Since the evolution of certain handsets, the card is now confronted with an unexpected new arrival on the scene. 
Consolidated gross margin rose to 39.4 percent in the first half of 2004, from 36.8 percent in H2 2003. Both of Ingenico’s Business Divisions outdid their H2 2003 performance. 
Tags and Chips Industries Warming Up. RFID– is it the buzzword of the year? Hype or hope? Hype and hope, no doubt. RFID is clearly the “Next“ wave that will revolutionize the supply chain and retail. 
“Most of all we don’t know how the chip integrated in a passport will function for the full 10 years of the document’s validity, and how its security will be able to respond to evolutions in threats. 
Contactless Now Smart Way to Pay ! PayPass, ExpressPay, Visa Wave… The three flagships of the Armada, or three warhorses dressed in armor. For which battle? 
Is Microsoft back? No, but it would seem so. 
The NFC technology is also indicative of a general tendency to render technology more transparent by simplifying its usage to the point of making it natural (Ambient Intelligence). 
But return to internal growth (+21% during the second half of 2003) and to positive operating income are confirmed. 
For Q4 (euro 121,4 million) growth is clearly driven by business in the banking sector where contrary to Gemplus, Oberthur gained 16% sequentially with shipments of 37.5 million cards. 
But Gemplus is now going to surface reporting a very strong fourth quarter up 22,4% quarter-on-quarter (euro 232,6 million). 
Cards fourth quarter revenue of $206 million was up 2% sequentially and 6% year-on-year. 
Secure Mobile Solutions’ first quarter revenues are 15% up on a year-on-year basis (Euro 465 million vs Euro 405 million). They represent 28,6% of the total revenues vs 26,4% last year for the same period. 
Zetes developed the Java identity applet and set up the tools for personalization and the methodology and the procedures for distributing the cards and the PIN/PUK codes. 
Innova Card is jockeying for a cutting edge position in the emerging market of security 
Secure Mobile Solutions’ fourth quarter revenues were Euro 470 million, an increase of 21 percent over the previous quarter, and a growth of 27 percent compared to the fourth quarter of last year. 
Smartcard chip shipments have picked up since the middle of the second quarter. What was initially taken for a “peak” last April has become a “plateau”.
The global market for SIM cards has grown sharply in volume terms. It's mostly due to the escalated development rate (4 or 5 million new subscribers per month) of the Chinese market.
The MicroPass will be an aggressive player in the secure RF memory market. This first version should particularly stand out for its low power consumption, speed (most 16-bit instructions are executed in a single clock cycle) and its security features 
“A significant evolution, recalls Olivier Piou President of Axalto. It adheres to the policy unveiled by Schlumberger in view of reducing company debt by the end of 2004.“
Overwiew and comments about the first WLAN-SIM (v0.1) specifications published this summer by the WLAN Smart Card Consortium.