Infineon Provides Security Chips For One of China’s largest Contactless Transportation Cards: The ”Shenzhen Tong” Microcontroller Card |
Shenzhen, China and Neubiberg, Germany – August 12, 2008 – Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX), the world’s leading supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) for chip cards, today announced it is the sole chip supplier for the largest contactless microcontroller transportation card in China in 2008. In the last six months, Shenzhen Tong Ltd., the public transportation company, has issued more than two million “Shenzhen Tong” microcontroller cards in the city of Shenzhen which incorporate Infineon’s security microcontroller. Issuance unit volume of these microcontroller cards is expected to exceed three million by the end of 2008. Located North of Hong Kong within commuting distance, Shenzhen is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and has the second busiest port in mainland China, ranking only after Shanghai. Its population is listed at around twelve million (including floating residents). Shenzhen is one of the earliest cities in China to upgrade its transportation system to use smart card technology. “Shenzhen Tong” microcontroller cards are multi-application cards that can be used as tickets in public transportation as well as to pay for goods in stores. In the transportation sector, the metro and more than 10,000 buses have been fitted to use “Shenzhen Tong” cards. Additionally, in the micropayment sector, more than 500 supermarkets, shopping malls and convenience stores already use “Shenzhen Tong” cards for payments up to Renminbi RMB 1000 (around Euro 100). By the year 2011, Shenzhen Tong Co. Ltd has planned to deploy the “Shenzhen Tong” card fully in all metro and public transportations buses, with deployment extending also to private rental cars and retailers targeting to exceed 3,000 stores. All in all, more than eight million microcontroller cards are expected to be issued within the next three years. “Besides providing the citizens of Shenzhen with convenience and better services, we have also decided to utilize the latest contactless microcontroller technology as our implementation platform to allow multiple and secure applications. We are glad to have made the right decision to choose the Infineon SLE 66PE platform, and that the whole system is running smoothly,” said Dr. Jia Jun Gang, General Manager at Shenzhen Tong Co. Ltd. “Compared to memory-based smart cards, cards that integrate security microcontrollers improve the level of security and are indispensable when it comes to multi-applications,” said Dr. Helmut Gassel, Vice President and General Manager, Chip Card and Security ICs at Infineon Technologies. “The Shenzhen Tong project has the potential to further initiate similar contactless transportation smart cards throughout China, hopefully achieving inter-operability between the cities. We are indeed very much honored to participate in the “Shenzhen Tong” project implementation.” Infineon SLE 66PE contactless security microcontrollers in China’s transportation market The “Shenzhen Tong” card utilizes contactless security microcontrollers of Infineon’s SLE 66PE product family. The SLE 66PE family comprises a complete product portfolio designed for basic- to high-security card systems, and features all major proximity interfaces on a single chip: the ISO/IEC 14443 Type B, Type A, ISO/IEC 18092 passive mode and Mifare® emulation. It is also compliant to global transportation standards and can operate at baudrates up to 848 kbits/s. Systems with existing Mifare memory cards can be upgraded to SLE 66PE to provide further implementation flexibility, security and interoperability with existing reader infrastructures. The SLE 66PE contactless controller family achieved the highest possible Common Criteria EAL 5+ high (PP0002) security certification, along with EMVCo certification. Further information on Infineon’s chip card ICs product portfolio is available at http://www.infineon.com/security |
About Infineon Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, communications, and security. In the 2007 fiscal year (ending September), the company reported sales of Euro 7.7 billion (including Qimonda sales of Euro 3.6 billion) with approximately 43,000 employees worldwide (including approximately 13,500 Qimonda employees). With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the U.S. from Milpitas, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). |