Global Industry Support Expedites MIFARE4Mobile Adoption 28. February 2012
Eindhoven, Netherlands, February 28, 2012
— The MIFARE4Mobile Industry Group, which consists of leading players in the Near Field Communication (NFC) ecosystem including Ericsson, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, NXP Semiconductors, Oberthur Technologies, STMicroelectronics and ViVOtech, today announced a significant milestone in the adoption of MIFARE contactless technology on mobile devices. More than 500 public transport operators, system integrators, consultants and service providers have now downloaded the MIFARE4Mobile™ specifications since its release, paving the way for upcoming launches of mobile ticketing solutions.
Near Field Communication (NFC) gained widespread global acceptance in 2011 as it adds convenience and additional uses to mobile devices. NFC-enabled handsets increasingly become mainstream products for consumers while contactless applications – including payment, transit ticketing and access management – continue to grow in popularity. The MIFARE4Mobile specifications act as glue between NFC and the MIFARE technology platform: they enable the realization and secure implementation of MIFARE-based contactless applications on mobile devices, meeting the expectations of end-users to leverage their smart phones for ticketing. The high level of interest and huge number of downloads is clearly indicating that the global industry is shifting gears in embracing this trend.
The MIFARE4Mobile specifications are available here:
http://mifare4mobile.org/downloads
http://www.mifare.net/products/mifare4mobile1/mifare4mobile/
MIFARE4Mobile is a software solution for secure elements (such as embedded secure elements, SIM and micro SD) used to manage MIFARE-based services in NFC-enabled mobile phones. It covers the whole lifecycle of mobile applications from over-the-air installation to end-user interaction via the user interface. The MIFARE4Mobile Industry Group serves as the forum to anticipate the evolution of MIFARE on mobile and specifies and implements the according MIFARE4Mobile solutions. The aim of the group is to harmonize and advance the management of MIFARE based applications built on established and proven global standards such as Global Platform. This applies to secure elements in different form factors and different mobile phone models.
Supporting quotes
“Contactless technologies are about making our lives both easier and more secure – with the mobile phone being the device that most of us carry, it makes absolute sense to enable consumers to safely enjoy the benefits of contactless services via their handsets,”said Cédric Collomb, general manager cards & services, Oberthur Technologies. “It also makes sense because the trend in contactless technologies is towards multi-applications, where one form factor is able to handle multiple over-the-air services, rather than having separate tokens or cards for each service. Again, the mobile phone is a logical choice to consolidate contactless applications on.”
“The hundreds of downloads of the MIFARE4Mobile specifications not only show the popularity of this technology, but also its global reach – we have had requests from operators and service providers in over 60 countries worldwide, including emerging markets such as Indonesia, India and China. Phone-based contactless technologies are going to play an increasingly important role in our lives and the MIFARE4Mobile Industry Group is proud to be at the forefront of this exciting area,” said Jean-Claude Deturche, senior vice president, financial services, Gemalto.
“Electronic ticketing has evolved into an application globally appreciated by end-users. MIFARE4Mobile is an important pillar in this development and will allow us to serve our customers with this state-of-the-art technology,” adds Bernd Müller, group vice president advanced products, division secure devices, Giesecke & Devrient.
About MIFARE
MIFARE has been adopted the market today and is an essential element in public transportation schemes, loyalty programs and access management around the world. More than 650 cities worldwide selected MIFARE to improve efficiency and convenience of their local public transport systems.
About MIFARE4Mobile
MIFARE4Mobile is a technology that provides mobile network operators, trusted service managers and service providers with a single, interoperable programming interface to remotely provision and manage MIFARE-based applications in embedded secure elements and SIM cards of NFC-enabled mobile devices over-the-air (OTA).
The MIFARE4Mobile interface specifications are grouped into three categories:
•
Wallet / User Interface APIs
o Ensure a consistent user experience
o Provide full interoperability with other card formats
o Render card content on the phone screen in a convenient and flexible way
•
Over The Air / Trusted Service Manager APIs
o Allow OTA providers to access MIFARE resources of any secure element in a consistent way
o Ensure uniform approach to MIFARE application life cycle management
•
Secure Element Platform APIs
o Provide common access to the hardware resources of the MIFARE portfolio
About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. A global semiconductor company with operations in more than 25 countries, NXP posted revenue of $4.2 billion in 2011. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nxp.com.