Sprint Membership Bolsters GlobalPlatform’s Focus On Mobile Payments
5 October 2007 – Sprint (NYSE:S) has joined GlobalPlatform, the international smart card specification organization, signalling the company’s intention to become an active participant in the association’s efforts to develop interoperable card and device specifications for mobile payments. As a Participating Member of GlobalPlatform, Sprint will join 23 other member companies that currently have active representation on the GlobalPlatform Mobile Task Force.
One of the key aims of the Mobile Task Force is to liaise with industry associations from the mobile, financial and Near-Field Communication (NFC) industries to ensure that GlobalPlatform’s technical specifications reflect the requirements of the mobile payments industry and are aligned with technical work being conducted by other bodies. To date, GlobalPlatform has engaged with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP), the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), EMVCo, the NFC Forum, the Mobey Forum, the GSM Association and the Mobile Payments Forum (MPF).
In addition to participating on the Mobile Task Force, Sprint will be active in the Systems Committee and will also have a voice on GlobalPlatform’s Advisory Council, providing the company with an opportunity to participate in developing GlobalPlatform’s future priorities.
Chris Bierbaum, Manager, Emerging Markets, at Sprint, comments: “As an industry leader introducing useful and innovative wireless technology to the U.S. market, Sprint is exploring mobile payment capabilities. Although we have not announced any offerings, our priority for mobile payments would be to deliver the most simple, easy-to-use and secure user experience for our customers and meet financial industry standards. We are pleased to have joined GlobalPlatform and look forward to shaping the industry specifications upon which mobile commerce will be based.”
Bob Beer, Chairman of GlobalPlatform and Vice President of Business Development at Datacard Group, adds: “The involvement of Sprint in GlobalPlatform’s Mobile Task Force will add significant value to the output of this group and will ensure that the requirements of the North American mobile telecommunications market are reflected in the enhancement of GlobalPlatform technology for mobile payments. We look forward to leveraging the wealth of mobile expertise that Sprint brings to GlobalPlatform.”
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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
For further media information on GlobalPlatform, please contact Lee’ann Kaufman or Sarah Jones at iseepr: leeann@iseepr.co.uk / sarah@iseepr.co.uk or on +44 (0) 113 274 5252
For further media information on Sprint, please visit www.sprint.com/mr
