Gemalto, ST extend collaboration to NFC

LONDON – Smartcard and security company Gemalto and chip vendor STMicroelectronics have announced they are working together to develop digital security products and services for NFC (Near Field Communications) applications.

The two companies have a history of collaboration on products such as ICs for subscriber identity modules (SIM) and secure microcontrollers.

Gemalto NV (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) said the two companies are planning to address the industry's need for a secure element for NFC applications by building on the secure ST33 chipset from ST, specially designed for mobile applications, and Gemalto's secure operating system, mobile handset software, Trusted Service Management and secure personalization services.

The combination of ST hardware and Gemalto software will accelerate the implementation and adoption of NFC services, including contactless payment, transportation ticketing, personal data protection and device integrity.

Secure hardware developed under the partnership will be available as both a System-in-Package (SIP) version combined with ST's ST21NFCA NFC controller, or as a stand-alone secure element in DFN or micro-SD packages and will offer a range of memory sizes, up to 768-kbytes for applications that can be managed throughout the product lifecycle through innovative memory management.

Gemalto was formed in 2005 by the merger of two of the world's largest suppliers of smartcards, Gemplus and Axalto in a share swap deal valued at about $1 billion. .


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