GLOBALPLATFORM LEADS THE WAY TO INTEROPERABLE DEVICES WITH NEW DEVICE SPECIFICATION

23 October 2001 –GlobalPlatform announces, in parallel with Cartes 2001, that the GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework Specification version 2.0, has now been developed. As a result of the joint development of the specification between GlobalPlatform and the STIP Consortium, the new specification is the first to incorporate a concrete embedded platform upon which the GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework can be executed. It therefore supports an end-to-end implementation approach, which allows faster development and enhanced performance of applications developed upon this version.

GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework Specification version 2.0 converges STIP and GlobalPlatform’s two approaches on to a single Application Programming Interface (API), which gives the specification an actual platform, resulting in the simplified deployment of smart card based applications. Prior to the collaboration with STIP, the GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework Specification operated on an abstract platform, with no defined or existing targeted system.

The revised specification defines an abstract layer used to develop the kernel of the device application and will allow applications to combine and run on different systems. This portability will benefit any organisation that wishes to use applications that migrate easily from different devices with different capabilities.

The revised specification maintains certain key features from the previous GlobalPlatform version, 1.5, such as architecture principles and access manager concepts. However, the collaboration with the STIP Consortium has led to STIP principles becoming the foundation of the GlobalPlatform Specification, which will ensure consistency between the two approaches and which will allow the implementation of the GlobalPlatform specification to be facilitated in STIP based devices.

Another key feature of the revised specification, is the incorporation of an ‘events approach’. In this approach, the application is built on a modular system, allowing parallel treatments to be offered without any constraints in the platform itself. Therefore, when a smart card is inserted into a reader, a ‘wake-up’ signal is sent to the correct treatment for that particular application. This results in a dynamic reactivity of the system and a better quality application. This approach also allows the utilisation of the GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework Specification applications on low-end devices.

The architecture of the new document has also been expanded to demonstrate a more generic approach to implementation of the specification. While the previous version focused on Java as a specific programming language, the new version allows device manufacturers to easily implement the specification more widely. The Java implementation is now included as an appendix.

The GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework version 2.0 is currently available for Member review, accessible through the GlobalPlatform Member website. Following this initial review, it will be posted onto the GlobalPlatform Public website, for external comment.

In the interim, the GlobalPlatform Device Committee will focus on progressing the compliance program. The compliance program enables device manufacturers to demonstrate compliance, before the finalisation of the specification.

Following the finalisation of the specification, the GlobalPlatform Device Committee will begin to research other organisations, beyond those of Payment Terminal vendors, to whom the specification can be expanded.

Bernard Morvant, Chair of the GlobalPlatform Device Committee and General Manager Business Development and Partnership, Ingenico, comments: “ The new specification brings the vendor device community one step closer to a defined open architecture and software framework for multiple-application smart card acceptance devices, enabling rapid development and deployment of acceptance devices. This change will increase the possibility of deploying the specification, resulting in the proliferation of new services available to the end-user through GlobalPlatform Terminal Framework Specification devices.”

-ENDS-

For further information on GlobalPlatform, please contact Dan Bleakman or Lee’ann Connell at Sinclair Mason on Tel: + 44 (0) 113 237 0777 or e-mail: danielb@sinclairmason.com or leeannc@sinclairmason.com

GlobalPlatform contact at Cartes 2001: Lee’ann Connell on Tel: +44 (0) 7802 487 624

For further information on the STIP Consortium, please contact Jean-Paul Billion on
Tel: + 1 650 533 31 47 or e-mail: chairman@stip.org

Notes to editors

About GlobalPlatform:
GlobalPlatform is the only cross-industry forum focused on the development, management and promotion of specifications for multiple application smart cards, smart card applications, and enabling devices. With support from its global member organisations, GlobalPlatform promotes a standard framework facilitating the implementation of smart card programs in any industry around the world. GlobalPlatform allows flexibility in the choice of technologies and vendors through an emphasis on open standards for cards, terminals and support infrastructure. GlobalPlatform’s card and terminal specifications are the first open standards adopted by GlobalPlatform and will provide a solid foundation from which the organisation will define the future of multiple application smart cards.

www.globalplatform.org