GlobalPlatform Launches its Card Qualification Process Framework As More Test Tools and Labs Achieve Qualified Status
27 July 2011 – Test tool providers Barnes International, Collis, and FIME, and test laboratories FIME and ICT Korea are the latest GlobalPlatform members to achieve GlobalPlatform qualification. Along with the previously qualified test tool provider Galitt, and test laboratories Applus+ and RFI Global, these products and services can confirm a product’s compliance to GlobalPlatform’s latest version 1.0.1 of the UICC Configuration for the mobile services sector.
The GlobalPlatform compliance program’s objective is to ensure an interoperable, sustainable and trusted end-to-end environment for managing applications on secure chip technology. A process framework, recently released and free to download from the GlobalPlatform website, provides an outline of the procedure to be undertaken by chip / card manufacturers in order to have a qualified product. Beyond the UICC Configuration, this program and process will apply to all future GlobalPlatform Card Configurations.
The first GlobalPlatform qualified test tools and laboratories for UICC products were announced in March 2011. A full list of qualified vendors and details regarding the compliance program can be viewed at www.globalplatform.org/compliance.asp. In order to achieve GlobalPlatform qualified status each test tool has proven it can competently test that a card product can meet the functions outlined in GlobalPlatform’s UICC Configuration v1.0.1, while laboratories have undergone rigorous training and approval processes to achieve their accreditation.
Gil Bernabeu, Technical Director at GlobalPlatform, comments: “We are delighted to qualify these latest test tool providers and test laboratories and I would like to thank them all for their contribution and commitment to developing this important framework. Along with its members, GlobalPlatform is dedicated to meeting the industry’s requirements for an interoperable and flexible ecosystem for secure chip application deployment and management. With the further advancement of, and increasing stakeholders in, this activity, GlobalPlatform has established a compliance ecosystem that offers benefits to issuers, service providers and product vendors at different levels through the product launch lifecycle. This will be achieved by using GlobalPlatform’s test suites, qualified test tools, qualified laboratories and, ultimately, achieving our qualified product status.”
GlobalPlatform’s immediate next step is to advance the scope of the compliance program to facilitate testing tools and laboratories for banking cards.
Bernabeu explains that GlobalPlatform will also be investing resources to enhance its UICC Configuration compliance program work by creating a test suite for Amendment C, which addresses how end-users can manage contactless services on a secure element and easily select which application they would like to activate. He adds: “This GlobalPlatform Compliance Program is very important to the market to ensure we create an environment that enables secure chip technology to reach its full potential. We will therefore also continue our work to engage relevant industry organizations to align and streamline testing and compliance activity to ensure products are effectively brought to market, while establishing an interoperable and secure environment.”
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Notes to editors:
About GlobalPlatform
GlobalPlatform is a cross industry, not-for-profit association which identifies, develops and publishes specifications which facilitate the secure and interoperable deployment and management of multiple embedded applications on secure chip technology. Its proven technical specifications are regarded as the international industry standard for building a trusted end-to-end solution which serves multiple actors and supports several business models.
The freely available specifications provide the foundation for market convergence and innovative new cross-sector partnerships. The technology has been adopted globally across finance, mobile/telecom, government, healthcare, retail and transit sectors. GlobalPlatform also supports an open compliance program ecosystem to ensure the long-term interoperability of secure chip technology.
As a member-driven association with cross-market representation from all world continents, GlobalPlatform membership is open to any organization operating within this landscape. Its 60+ members contribute to technical committees and market-led task forces. www.globalplatform.org.
