STRATEGIC PARTNERS
February 20, 2000
Four smart card suppliers have formed a mobile telecommunications consortium, called SIMalliance, with the intention of specifying open, global standards for SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) cards and the SIM Application Toolkit used by GSM network operators to develop over-the-air, value-added services. The four founding members, ORGA Card Systems, Geisecke & Devrient, Gemplus and Schlumberger, want to maximize the benefits of smart card developments to GSM operators. There have been concerns in the mobile telecommunications market about the growth of proprietary operating systems that compete against each other. The consortium will meet regularly at a new headquarters in Brussels to set the standards that will ensure global interoperability in SIM cards, applications and the Over The Air (OTA) platforms that allow remote programming.
