| Press Release *****For immediate use July 5th, 1999
NEC and Innovatron Announce Development Partnership for Contactless Smart Card MicroprocessorNEC Corporation (NEC) (NASDAQ: NIPNY) and Smart Card expert Innovatron have formed a partnership to develop a microprocessor for contactless Smart Card applications. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed but a product announcement is expected early in the year 2000. A prime objective of the partners is development of a contactless communications capability based on the ISO 14 443 Type B standard for a NEC microprocessor chip. This configuration is expected to be a highly attractive solution for use in batteryless (remote powered) Smart Cards requiring microprocessor performance, for example in high security cards with cryptographic protection and in multi-application cards. Contactless communication offers major advantages in reader reliability and maintenance costs, user ergonomics and also in transaction times, which are significantly faster than with contact cards. These characteristics are well suited to applications combining public transport electronic ticketing with banking-type transactions, especially an electronic purse, and the additional possibility of loyalty schemes and other services thus multiplying card usage and dividing card costs. Innovatron's contactless technology has been developed in conjunction with the RATP, the Paris transport authority. It is in use in Nice, France, and in a contactless Smart Card ticketing project in the Paris area, which is now in the deployment phase, as well as being employed in various other European projects. NEC is a major player in the semiconductor industry with its advanced submicron technologies and truly worldwide manufacturing capabilities. Based on high-level security specifications, NEC is offering a full range of high security microcontrollers designed around NEC's widely used 8-bit core, the 78K0s. Using a volume 0.35µm process, the µPD789824 is a new member of this family, offering a Contact and Contactless operation. It combines a 13.56 MHz RF interface compatible with the ISO 14443-2 type B with the design of NEC innovative security microcontrollers and is an ideal solution for high volume contactless applications. "Innovatron is delighted to be allied with NEC Corporation - a world leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor products. As a major semiconductor designer and manufacturer, NEC can help extend usage of the ISO 14 443 Type B standard over a variety of products and tap markets that we would not be able to cover on our own. This strategic partnership is another significant step in our continuing efforts to license Innovatron's technology capabilities in contactless communication Smart Card technology," said Smart Card inventor Roland Moreno, Innovatron President and founder. NEC's Junichi Iwasaki, Chief Manager heading the development of NEC's Smart Card microprocesors explained, "We expect contactless communication to become a major feature of Smart Card technology worldwide. Already transport applications are seeing wide-spread adoption of contactless communication cards but the potential goes much further. The development partnership with Innovatron will give NEC the ability to expand its Smart Card chip range of products and extend its penetration of Smart Card markets worldwide." "We strongly believe that the remote powering characteristics of ISO 14 443 Type B technology are ideally suited to microprocessor Smart Cards. More and more players are joining us on this conclusion and interoperability is becoming reality" said Jean-Francois Chouteau, head of NEC Smart Card Application Centre.
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