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Gemplus(R) Launches Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card for New Java(R) Powered Phone Line from Nextel(R)
URL(s): www.gemplus.com
REDWOOD SHORES, CA - April 2, 2001 - Gemplus (NASDAQ:GEMP), the leading
smart card solutions provider, has announced today - in concert with Nextel
Communications, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: NXTL) announcement of the i85 phone by
Motorola®- that it has been chosen by Nextel as the provider of SIM cards
for the Motorola wireless phone. These SIM cards are the first in the world
to be manufactured to a specification other than the Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM). That means North American users of non-GSM
phones can enjoy the same advanced features and high security that wireless
customers in Europe and Asia have come to expect.
Gemplus is manufacturing the SIM cards for Nextel to iDEN® standard
specifications. This Motorola technology supports voice, data, short
messages and other features in one phone. It operates in the 800 MHz and 1.5
GHz bands and is based on TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).
A key benefit of the Gemplus SIM card for Nextel and its customers is
enhanced security, with a strongly encrypted "handshake" between the user
and the network that provides a highly dependable means of user
identification. SIM cards create the freedom for users to roam
internationally without losing their personal set-ups and to change wireless
terminals as they wish, without calling customer care. SIM cards also open
the door to application security for mobile commerce and wireless Intranet.
The integration with Motorola was the first of its kind: successful
integration of a SIM card in a mass-market non-GSM phone.
"This is a groundbreaking development for North American wireless networks,”
said Jean-Louis Carrara, Director of Telecommunications for Gemplus in North
America. “The use of SIM cards in the Nextel network is a tremendous
endorsement of smart card technologies, demonstrating the intrinsic value of
SIM cards in all networks, for all wireless technologies.”
Gemplus has been manufacturing the cards for wireless phones since 1992 and
has issued 41% of SIM Card units sold in 1999 (source Eurosmart/Gemplus
2000), the largest of any single manufacturer. Gemplus has been providing
more than 250 wireless operators with SIM cards, software, and services
since 1988. The company’s other innovations in the mobile phone market
include products and technologies such as the development environment
GemXplore® CASE, the remote SIM management platform GemXplore Suite, and
Java Card™ SIMs.
“As the world’s largest producer of SIM cards for cellular phones, Gemplus
has both the technical and manufacturing expertise necessary to ensure that
high quality SIMs will be readily available to meet the demand expected for
the i85 phone,” said Greg Santoro, Vice President Internet and Wireless
Services at Nextel. “The security and dependability their smart cards
provide is unrivalled in the industry.”
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