Gemplus America Inc. said it signed contracts to provide subscriber identity module cards, point-of-sale equipment and personalization and over-the-air services to American Personal Communications, American Portable Telecommunications Inc., BellSouth Personal Communications Inc., Omnipoint Communications Inc. and Western Wireless Corp.
“With these agreements, Gemplus further solidifies its leadership of the [personal communications services] market in the U.S.,” said Philippe Martineau, director of the company’s Business Division for the Americas.
The company said its Dallas-based Telecommunications Business Division will provide an estimated 3 million SIM cards to these PCS carriers in 1997 alone.
SIM cards contain personalized PCS subscription information independent of the handset. The SIM controls subscription parameters including telephone directory, text messages, phone number and a preferred network roaming list.
Gemplus noted several innovative services are possible when the subscription is no longer attached to the handset including the sharing of a handset among family members who have separate subscriptions and roaming internationally using rented phones.
Gemplus’ 3 volt GemXplore SIM card has 8 kilobytes EEPROM memory that supports its Enhanced Short Message Service protocol for over-the-air activation of the subscription.
To make use of this capability, the company said it developed a “SIM Access Via ESMS” gateway technology to support over-the-air activations or other applications.
Gemplus said it produces both smart and plastic cards with an annual capacity of 750 million units. Applications include banking, electronic purse, loyalty, telecommunications, transport, education, healthcare, gaming, identity, access control, pay TV and electronic payment.
