GlobalPlatform Stats Show Continued World-Wide Adoption of Interoperable Smart Card Specifications
29 June, 2007 – Figures released today by GlobalPlatform show continued and significant world-wide acceptance of the organization’s technical specifications, which enable the development of smart card programs based on an interoperable, flexible and secure infrastructure.
As of December 2006 the organization estimated that there were in excess of 110 million non-telecommunication GlobalPlatform smart cards reported in circulation worldwide and an additional 1.2 billion GSM cards utilizing GlobalPlatform for Over-The-Air (OTA) application downloads. There were 40 known smart card programs deployed across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas which utilized a combination of GlobalPlatform card, device and systems technology. These deployments spanned the financial, ID/security, government, healthcare and mobile telecommunications markets.
By the end of 2007, GlobalPlatform predicts that the volume of non telecommunication GlobalPlatform cards will rise to 150 million and, in addition to the increasing number of GSM cards utilizing GlobalPlatform technology for OTA application downloads, 25 million GSM cards will apply the entire GlobalPlatform card framework for SIM applications. The number of GlobalPlatform smart card programs is also expected to increase by over 50% in the coming year.
Bob Beer, Vice President of Business Development at Datacard Group and Chairman of GlobalPlatform, comments: “In the past year or so, GlobalPlatform’s successful evolution as an influential industry specifications body has been enabled by the continued hard work of our committed membership base. These figures show that our members’ efforts are not simply driving GlobalPlatform in the right direction, but that they are shaping a global industry and its acceptance of an open platform for single and multi-application smart card deployments.
“I remain optimistic for the continued growth of GlobalPlatform card numbers throughout the duration of 2007, as more program operators are seeking to reduce costs and complexities by implementing an interoperable smart card platform that is scaleable, backwards compatible, flexible and secure. The recent inclusion of GlobalPlatform technology in the ISO/IEC 7816-13 international standard, which is intended to support implementations in a multi-application environment, will also add significant weight to the continued roll out of GlobalPlatform Specifications, as users can be assured that their technology and investment is protected for the future.”
Launched in October 1999 as a member driven organization, GlobalPlatform was created to establish, maintain and drive the adoption of standards to enable an open and interoperable infrastructure for smart cards, devices and systems. In more recent years, as the market has begun to experience industry convergence, GlobalPlatform’s focus has shifted to cross-market collaborations, with particular emphasis on the financial, government / ID and mobile telecommunication sectors.
-ENDS –
For further media information on GlobalPlatform, please contact
Lee’ann Kaufman / Sarah Jones
at iseepr
+44 (0) 113 274 5252
About ISO
To view further details about GlobalPlatform’s involvement in the ISO / IEC 7816-13 international standard, please visit: https://globalplatform.wpengine.com/pressreleaseview.asp?id=466.
About GlobalPlatform
GlobalPlatform is the global leader in smart card infrastructure development and its proven, technical specifications for cards, devices and systems are known as the standard for smart card infrastructure. GlobalPlatform is a member driven association with cross-industry representation from all world continents. For more information about GlobalPlatform, visit: www.globalplatform.org
