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SCP Activity Report 2007
Chairman: Klaus Vedder (Giesecke & Devrient GmbH)
Responsible for the development and maintenance of a common Integrated
Circuit (IC) Card platform for all mobile telecommunication systems, for the
application independent specifications for the interface with terminal
equipment and for IC Card standards for general telecommunications,
m-commerce and high security applications.
The
main task of ETSI’s Smart Card Platform Technical Committee (TC SCP) is to
expand and maintain the smart card platform specifications for 2G and 3G
mobile communication systems. In particular, this allows users access to
global roaming by means of their smart card, irrespective of the radio
access technology used. The specifications of TC SCP are generic in the
sense that they provide a true multi-application platform (called the UICC)
not just for mobile communication systems but for all applications using a
smart card. Interoperability between all applications which are based on the
smart card platform can thus be achieved.
Nine new ETSI Technical Specifications (TSs) and a Technical Report were
finalised and approved in 2007. As well as the publication of these new
documents and the maintenance of its specifications, TC SCP introduced a
large number of new features and functionality into the Release 7 version of
its specifications.
Release 7 had already been closed in 2006 with respect to the definition of
new requirements. In 2007 all the technical realisations and enhancements
were also closed, with the exception of one topic concerning the contactless
interface of the UICC. All the Release 7 requirements, together with use
cases, can be found in a specific requirement specification for that
release.
To be able to use smart cards for mass storage and (high capacity)
applications requiring a fast throughput – 2007 saw field trials with SIMs
providing up to a gigabyte of memory for such purposes – as well as a device
for use in the Internet world, it had been agreed previously that USB IC
(Inter Chip) technology should be used as the basis for the new high speed
protocol for smart cards. The technical realisation itself was defined in
the form of a new Technical Specification in May 2007. The protocol allows a
nominal speed of 12 Megabits per second – even today’s advanced SIMs and
handsets work with a typical speed of only about 400 kilobits per second.
For the communication between smart card and terminal, two of the hitherto
unassigned three contacts of the smart card are used.
The other main topic for Release 7, which was partially finalised in 2007,
was the specification of a contactless interface for the UICC. This allows
applications on the UICC to communicate directly with the outside world via
a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip in the terminal. Typical applications
are ticketing and access control for public transport as well as payment by
means of a credit card or an electronic purse residing on the UICC. In
October 2007 TC SCP approved the Technical Specification for the contactless
interface of the smart card. The so-called ‘Single Wire Protocol’ connects
the smart card, via the only remaining unassigned contact, with the NFC chip
in the terminal. In this way, applications residing, for instance, on a SIM
can communicate ‘contactless’ with the outside world without involving the
mobile phone. The specification provides manufacturers of both terminals and
smart cards with the documentation needed to begin their hardware
development. The standardisation of the management layer is still open,
however, with respect to two issues: the communication of the UICC with
other Secure Elements which may be contained in the terminal, and how an
application on the UICC can proactively request, for example, a mobile
phone, to execute a task.
TC SCP and the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) have worked closely together on
the development of a Smart Card Web Server. This will provide a PC web
server-like graphical user interface (GUI) for Internet access via, say the
SIM, and will give the user a completely new experience for applications
residing on the SIM compared with today’s services based on the SIM
Application Toolkit. This work resulted in the new TS for the Application
Programming Interface (API) by a UICC Webserver.
During 2007 TC SCP also completed a specification on the technical
realisation of the USSM, the UICC Security Service Module, which could add
significant value to applications such as Digital Rights Management (DRM),
secure e-mail, payments, banking and application download (to both the card
and the terminal device). Another security related TS approved by TC SCP in
2007 specifies the architecture, functional capabilities and characteristics
of the Secure Channel protocol between endpoints in a UICC and a terminal.
Other specifications approved in 2007 concern an API to enable the Java
Card™ to use transport protocols for Card Application Toolkit (CAT)
applications; the technical characteristics and methods of test for testing
the CAT-Transport Protocol (CAT-TP) implementation; and the establishment
and configuration of an Internet Protocol (IP) connection between a UICC and
a terminal interfaced through a protocol that supports the transport of IP
packets and makes the UICC become part of the Internet world.
In 2008, as well as the finalisation of the management level for the
contactless interface, TC SCP’s work will be dominated by the maintenance of
existing specifications, with a high priority given to feedback from the
first implementations of USB and the Single Wire Protocol, the definition of
requirements for the new Release 8 of the specifications and, in particular,
the work on machine-to-machine (M2M) requirements and their realisations for
the smart card. TC SCP has previously worked on related topics such as an
extended temperature range for smart cards for use in an automotive
environment. The applications are, however, much wider than this, ranging
from emergency units in cars to electricity meters, office equipment,
household goods and burglar and fire alarms.
A complete list of all active and completed work items and detailed
information pertaining to them can be found in the ’Work Item Monitoring’
window at: portal.etsi.org/scp.
TC SCP responds to requests both from within the committee and outside ETSI,
and therefore continues to liaise with major external contributors such as
the GlobalPlatform, the GSM Association, the Third Generation Partnership
Project (3GPP™), 3GPP2 and the OMA. |