ViVOtech & G&D Confirm Interoperability Between G&D NFC-Enabled SIM Cards And ViVOtech’s OTA NFC Infrastructure Software

The G&D and ViVOtech interoperable solution is the first to enable OTA provisioning of not only the financial account applet (virtual card) but also provisions the complete payment applet to the SIM card. The companies jointly confirmed the test was successfully performed using multiple Single Wire Protocol (SWP) prototype mobile phone models. ViVOtech and G&D plan to use this joint technology infrastructure as the basis for an upcoming NFC field trial with a Large European MNO and Issuer Bank.

G&D, as a leading manufacturer of SIM cards, has developed the ProxSIM product line of NFC-enabled SIM cards for this purpose. It is based on Single Wire Protocol (SWP) standard defined to link the SIM card with the NFC chip in a mobile phone. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) adopted this standard in October 2007.

Using the joint solution, NFC applications are loaded onto the SIM card through special OTA servers – that is, via the mobile network – and updated by the same means throughout their lifecycle in the field. ViVOtech is a leading provider of NFC OTA provisioning servers that are used by Trusted Service Managers (TSM) to provide OTA services to mobile network operators and service providers while ensuring that the applications remain under the full and exclusive control of the respective service provider.

“The joint interoperability tests with ViVOtech send an important signal to everyone involved in NFC applications: If they use our ProxSIM cards, they can rely on the latest and future-proof technology of NFC-enabled SIM cards and compatible standards for future NFC systems. This, coupled with the experience that we have garnered from numerous NFC projects all over the world, enable us together to forge ahead with the wide-scale introduction of NFC,” states Dr. Klaus Vedder, head of the Telecommunications division at G&D.

“Successfully completing an interoperability test with a key leader in SIM chip technology such as Giesecke & Devrient’s shows our vision of delivering the most open and interoperable solution to the NFC market” said Michael Mullagh, CEO of ViVOtech. “With widely tested multi-application NFC software deployed in 25 NFC payment field pilots, and more than 450,000 NFC readers shipped to over 30 countries, ViVOtech is uniquely well positioned to enable mobile network operators, financial service providers, and merchants to quickly roll out of their NFC mobile payment solutions.”

NFC is an innovative, wireless radio transmission technology for the contactless exchange of data within a range of a few centimeters, for example between an NFC-enabled mobile phone and an NFC reader in a store or at a turnstile in a transit station. A mobile phone equipped with a payment function can be securely used by consumers for simple and rapid payments when held against the NFC reader. The SIM card makes an ideal solution for the secure storage of NFC applications such as a credit card or even transit ticket information through a mobile phone.

For more information about NFC-enabled technologies, go to G&D at www.gi-de.com or ViVOtech at www.vivotech.com.

SOURCE: ViVOtech and Giesecke & Devrient