As part of the EU research project "Simple Mobile Services", the smart card expert Sagem Orga (SAFRAN group) is collaborating with Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) and Radiolabs in a practical test with 100 students at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", with the aim of making innovative applications available to the market.
The objective of the "Simple Mobile Services" (SMS) project is to improve and make significantly easier the creation and use of mobile services and to foster trust in their security.
As part of this, Sagem Orga has worked intensively to integrate the SIM card in end-user devices (i.e. mobile phones and smartphones) as the basic component for services with high security requirements.
Sagem Orga is now testing the project results under real-world conditions together with the mobile provider TIM and the research consortium Radiolabs. As part of this, a group of 100 students of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" is being equipped with SIM cards produced especially for the trial and with the end-device software required for using the Simple Mobile Services. The students will use and further develop mobile services with the cards and software. Example applications include registering for an exam or confirming a transaction in one of the local online exchanges run for students by the University of Tor Vergata. To support these scenarios, the SIM cards also contain a number of innovative applications, like cryptographic methods to execute electronic signatures.
The aim of the series of trials is to determine precisely how the mobile services are actually used, accepted and further developed. "We believe that the results will show that the SIM card will continue to play a crucial role in future telecommunications market scenarios," said Didier Sérodon, Chief Technology Officer at Sagem Orga. "After conclusion of the project, we and our project partners will be able to make innovative products available to the market. Mobile services that are easy to use and secure will enable new and profitable business models."