SCP Activity Report 2002

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 and high security applications.

The main task for ETSI Project Smart Card Platform is to create a smart card platform for 2G and 3G mobile telecommunications on which other organizations can base their system specific applications. In particular, this will allow users access to global roaming by means of their smart card, irrespective of the radio access technology used.

EP SCP also has an important part to play in the growth of mobile commerce, by developing the standards for IC cards to secure financial transactions over mobile telecommunications systems.

EP SCP has continued its work to make the specifications for the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM™) independent of the bearer. As part of the process, a new triplet of deliverables has been approved. These specifications provide standardized security mechanisms for the interface between a network entity and an entity in the UICC, as well as a standardized method for the secure, remote management of files and applications on the UICC. The UICC comprises the platform specifications implemented on the smart card, together with all resident applications based on them.

A requirements specification for a generic Application Programming Interface, the UICC-API, was approved, and the work on a corresponding stage 2 specification was almost completed. In addition, a number of far-reaching new work items were approved. These include improving the Transport Protocol, the next generation UICC elaborating on the future requirements, features and functions of the (telecommunications) smart card, and a Third Form Factor UICC which looks at smart cards even smaller than the current plug-in card.

To ensure the wide acceptance of its deliverables and to promote harmonization amongst the different committees involved, talks are continuing for EP SCP to intensify its collaboration with other standards-producing bodies. This collaboration ranges from attempts to harmonize the reservation of values assigned to smart card-based applications within the telecommunications industry, to talks with committees from industry sectors outside telecommunications on achieving a common approach to future work.