Responsible for the development and maintenance of
a common Smart Card Platform for all mobile telecommunication systems, for
the application independent specifications, for the interface with terminal
equipment and for smart card standards for general telecommunications,
mCommerce and 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 mobile
communication systems. In particular, this provides the basis for global
roaming by means of the smart card, irrespective of the radio access
technology used, and manages the security of this access and user data.
The specifications developed by TC SCP are, however, not bound to usage in
the telecommunications sector. They are generic and application agnostic and
may thus be used as a (secure) platform for any application designed to
reside on a smart card. An important aspect of the work of TC SCP is the
provision of test specifications for both the core specifications and the
various interfaces provided by the smart card platform. This way,
interoperability between applications implemented on this true
multi-application platform (called the UICC) is achieved.
TC SCP also provides and maintains the application identity register for
smart card applications for other committees including the Third Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP™), 3GPP2 and the Wimax Forum.
Following the completion of the specifications for the use of the smart card
platform for Near Field Communication (NFC) applications in 2008, TC SCP has
now approved the test specifications for the lower layers, the Single Wire
Protocol (SWP), and the UICC part of the management level, the so called
Host Controller Interface (HCI). These were developed by an ETSI Specialist
Task Force (STF) which was financed jointly by ETSI and the participating
companies. To develop the test specifications for the high speed interface
between the smart card and a terminal, which is based on the InterChip USB
specification, ETSI has set up a new STF. These specifications are expected
to be completed by mid-2010.
In 2009 TC SCP closed all work on Release 8 of the Smart Card specifications
and the definition of the requirements for Release 9. The Release 9
requirements include, in particular, service migration to the new high speed
interface based on InterChip USB and the definition of use cases and
requirements for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) services based on the
UICC. All the requirements, together with use cases, can be found in a
dedicated requirement specification.
Establishing the UICC as a fully fledged part of the Internet has moved on a
step with the definition of the remote management of the UICC using IP
protocols terminating in the UICC. This will augment and eventually replace
the current smart card technique of using Application Programming Data Units
(APDUs) across the SIM interface, transforming the information onto other
protocols across the access network. Furthermore, an Application Programming
Interface (API) for the Smart Card Web Server (SCWS) has been defined to
allow applications on the UICC to interact with the user, using the device
browser, in an ongoing web session managed by the SCWS.
‘Standard’ SIMs have been used for specific Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
applications such as metering for quite some time. Other applications may,
however, require special functionality and different hardware properties
such as an extended temperature range or a new form factor. Except for the
definition of the M2M form factor specific for use in M2M applications, the
technical specification of these requirements has now been completed. The
whole topic is expected to be finalised and approved early in 2010.
Release 8 also provides the necessary adaptations to the specifications to
aid the testing of interoperability of the interfaces between the UICC and
terminals with reduced capabilities, for instance terminals not supporting a
keypad or a display, such as M2M modems and PC data cards.
2010 will also see the finalisation of the test specifications for the High
Speed Interface as well as those for the Smart Card Web Server API for
JavaTM cards and the contactless interface. Other topics to be covered
include:
a Contactless API for the
HCI to support NFC applications
access of the Card
Application Toolkit (CAT) on a modem interface to clients
interfacing with the modem
the so-called confidential
applications environment to allow third party applications
to be loaded and executed within a secure and private
environment
the definition of an API for
secure channels for the APDU protocol based on the secure
channel API requirements
an ETSI Technical Report on
specific aspects and requirements related to the use of a
UICC in a notebook
the specification of
requirements and use cases for Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
contactless mode support in the UICC to facilitate
communication between applications on different UICCs
support of P2P mode in
contactless interface specifications
the UICC next generation Run
Time Environment (RTE) to support multi-tasking of the UICC
with more than one interface
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.
To summarise TC SCP’s work in recent years, a complete revamp of the UICC
has been achieved with the specification of new interfaces and a clear shift
for the UICC to become part of the Internet world. In undertaking these
developments, however, the fundamental security attributes of both the UICC
itself and its interfaces have been a paramount consideration; indeed,
without these attributes, the other developments would be of minimal value.
It is the UICC’s ability to manage security, and the fact that this has not
been compromised, which has justified its place in the 3GPP architecture for
over 20 years.
The work of TC SCP is driven by input from both inside and outside ETSI, and
therefore TC SCP continues to liaise with major external contributors such
as the GlobalPlatform, the GSM Association, 3GPP™, 3GPP2 and the Open Mobile
Alliance (OMA).