 Gemplus
and Orange Launch Multimedia SIMs for the Multimedia Age
LUXEMBOURG and CARTES 2005 – 14 November 2005 - Gemplus International
S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 – GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), the world’s leading
provider of smart card solutions, and Orange SA, one of the world’s largest
mobile communications companies and part of the France Telecom group, today
announces the world’s first commercial launch of multimedia SIMs for Orange
customers.
As part of an ongoing relationship looking at what is best for the customer,
Orange has teamed up with Gemplus to launch an innovative SIM solution for their
customer’s personal data. This new multimedia SIM enables Orange subscribers to
enjoy wireless multimedia services through the world first implementation of the
SIM, offering:
- Huge memory capacity of 128MB for the storage and management of large
multimedia content and operator support for the deployment of such content
and services.
- High speed download protocol (similar to current broadband Internet
speeds) which allow fast access to data stored in the card enabling the
Orange mobile user to connect their mobile equipment (SIM + Handset) and
manage their personal data from their PC
- Exclusive access to dedicated Orange content stored within the
multimedia SIM.
- Existing SIM functions
Yves Maitre, VP Devices, Products, Technology and Innovation Orange Group,
explained, “We have always been a huge believer in the capabilities of the SIM
and share Gemplus’s vision for the SIM’s future. High capacity storage, security
and portability of personal data, coupled with decent content are where we will
generate greater customer loyalty and an increase of the use of data services.
Gemplus has had this vision and has been able to deploy it successfully and
robustly. This makes them a great partner for this launch.”
Eric Mora, Head of Cards, Products, Technology and Innovation, Orange Group,
added “This is a new way for us to deliver secure yet portable services and
multimedia content to our customers. By working with Gemplus, we have been able
to transform promising technology into a reality. This is just the beginning,
but we see great potential in the multimedia SIM.”
The commercial launch is set for November 2005 and is based on a SAGEM handset.
Other Asian handset manufacturers are planning to follow suit in the beginning
of 2006.
Gemplus announced the launch of its range of high capacity SIM cards earlier
this year at the 3GSM World Congress in February. Philippe Vallée, Executive
Vice President, Telecom Business Unit, Gemplus, commented “Gemplus is pleased to
have gone from what was a proof of concept to a commercial launch in the space
of nine months, which is in no small part thanks to the support of Orange. We
are very pleased with this collaboration in moving forward into a new era for
the SIM bringing new benefits both for wireless operators and mobile users in
the new multimedia age”
To learn more about Gemplus products and services, visit the Gemplus booth at
Cartes 2005, 15-17 November 2005, Paris
About Gemplus
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is
the world's leading player in the smart card industry in both revenue and total
shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It
has sold over 5.5 billion smart cards.
Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas
including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking,
Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WLAN, Pay-TV,
e-government, and access control.
Gemplus' revenue in 2004 was 865 million Euros.
www.gemplus.com
Notes to Editors
Orange and wirefree and any other Orange product or service names included in
this material are trademarks of Orange PCS. Orange is one of the world’s largest
mobile communications companies and a subsidiary of the France Telecom group,
with operations in 17 countries across Europe and beyond. It provides a broad
range of personal communications services, including Orange GSM1800 services and
other digital cellular telephone services. Within the Orange Group, the Orange
brand operates in the UK, France, Switzerland, Romania, Slovakia, Thailand, the
Ivory Coast, the Dominican Republic, Cameroon, the Netherlands, Botswana, and
Madagascar. The Orange group also has controlled operations in Belgium (Mobistar).
The Orange group has a joint controlling interest in Egypt (MobiNil) and
minority interests in Portugal (Optimus) and in Austria (One). As at the end of
June 2005, Orange had 14.46 million active customers in the UK, and over 21.4
million registered customers in France. As at the end of June 2005, Orange
controlled companies had over 56.1 million customers worldwide. Orange, along
with TIM, Telefonica and T-Mobile, is a founding member of the FreeMove
alliance. Further information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at
www.orange.com.
For more information
Jane Strachey
Gemplus
Tel: +33 (0)4 42 36 46 61
E-mail:
jane.strachey@gemplus.com
Matthew McGuinness
Edelman
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 1259
Email: matthew.mcguinness@edelman.com
©2005 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, the Gemplus logo,
are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus S.A. and are registered in certain
countries. All other trademarks and service marks, whether registered or not in
specific countries, are the property of their respective owners.
Some of the statements contained in this release
constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events
or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual
events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we
cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this release include,
but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and mobile commerce
markets; our ability to develop new technology, and the effects of competing
technologies developed and expected intense competition generally in our main
markets; profitability of our expansion strategy; challenges to or loss of our
intellectual property rights; our ability to establish and maintain strategic
relationships in our major businesses; our ability to develop and take advantage
of new software and services; and the effect of future acquisitions and
investments on our share price. Moreover, neither we nor any other person
assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only
as of this release. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking
statements after this date to conform such statements to actual results or to
reflect the occurrence of anticipated results.
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