The Organization |
| Q. | What is GlobalPlatform? |
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Driven by its member organizations, GlobalPlatform is the leading, international association, focused on establishing, maintaining and driving the adoption of specifications to enable an open and interoperable infrastructure for smart cards, devices and systems. Our aim is to simplify and accelerate the development, deployment and management of applications across industries, thus delivering benefits to issuers, service providers, technology suppliers and systems integrators.
GlobalPlatform Specifications are known as the standard for smart card infrastructure, thanks to their balance of technical superiority and business justification. The specifications themselves are freely available and have been adopted in Europe, North and South America, Africa and in Asia Pacific by many public and private bodies.
As of October 2008, 90 known GlobalPlatform-based implementations had been reported worldwide and an estimated 305.7 million GlobalPlatform-based smart cards had been deployed. Of the 305.7 million cards deployed, 45% (137.6 million cards) has been issued by governments, primarily for ID and healthcare applications; 32.7% (100 million cards) has been issued by the mobile telecommunications sector; 21.9% (66.9 million cards) has been issued by the financial sector; and 0.4% (1.2 million cards) has been issued by the transit sector.
Additionally, two billion mid range USIM/SIM cards worldwide are estimated to use GlobalPlatform card technology to enable over-the-air (OTA) application downloads for 3G and GSM mobile networks. These figures are predicted to rise significantly by the end of 2009.
GlobalPlatform is an independent, not-for-profit organization and its strategy is defined and prioritized by a member elected Board of Directors.
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| Q. | When was GlobalPlatform created? |
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GlobalPlatform was launched in October 1999, and the first 'All Member' meeting was held in November 1999.
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| Q. | What does GlobalPlatform do? |
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GlobalPlatform brings together organizations and end-users with an interest in single and multiple application smart card deployments to obtain cross-industry agreement on common global infrastructure. It develops, maintains, promotes and drives common specifications for smart cards, devices and systems used by issuers across all industries and markets, and is equally relevant to single and multi-application smart card issuers. The organization promotes cooperation across all industries and geographies while allowing solution providers to develop competitive or unique product capabilities.
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| Q. | What are GlobalPlatform's objectives? |
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The primary objective of the organization is to establish, maintain and drive adoption of specifications to enable an open and interoperable infrastructure for smart cards, devices and systems to simplify and accelerate the development, deployment and management of applications across industries and geographies. GlobalPlatform develops models and conventions needed to facilitate cross-industry application loading and management, such as back-end card systems, security, key management and application deployment. |
| Q. | Does GlobalPlatform hold any educational seminars or training on its specifications? |
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Yes. GlobalPlatform hosts both business and technical seminars and training events worldwide. They are often proposed by GlobalPlatform member organizations who act as a catalyst to sponsor/support the event in a geographic region of the world that is smart card 'active' and poised to accelerate the adoption of GlobalPlatform technology.
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| Q. | Who is on the Board of Directors? |
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The Board consists of up to 11 Directors from organizations that have joined as Full Members. A current listing of GlobalPlatform's Board of Directors can viewed here.
At the discretion of GlobalPlatform's Board of Directors, Strategic Directors may be appointed to steer the organization in a progressive direction. This allows the Board to fully utilize the strengths and skills of member organizations when additional advice or expertise is required regarding a particular strategic issue. A current listing of Strategic Directors and their roles can be viewed here.
The Board sets the strategic vision, oversees the management of GlobalPlatform, develops the agenda for member meetings, and controls the budget. The Board has final approval of all changes to the specifications.
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| Q. | What is the role of the Executive Director and who represents GlobalPlatform in this role? |
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Kevin Gillick is Executive Director of GlobalPlatform. As Executive Director Mr. Gillick is responsible for driving awareness and accelerating adoption of GlobalPlatform Specifications within global markets. Mr. Gillick coordinates and manages the organization's strategic planning and oversees all marketing and business development initiatives within key vertical market sectors. He works closely with GlobalPlatform's Technical Director, all three of the organization's technical committees - Card, Device and Systems - and GlobalPlatform Task Forces. Mr. Gillick is directly responsible to the Board of Directors and GlobalPlatform membership.
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| Q. | What is the role of the Technical Director and who represents GlobalPlatform in this role? |
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Gil Bernabeu is the Technical Director of GlobalPlatform. Mr. Bernabeu's main role with GlobalPlatform is to drive forward the development of GlobalPlatform smart card specifications and related technical initiatives. Mr. Bernabeu also acts as the central liaison point, coordinating the efforts of GlobalPlatform's three technical committees - Card, Device and Systems - and the GlobalPlatform's Task Forces. He ensures that all elements of GlobalPlatform-based smart card solutions are interoperable and offer backwards compatibility with previous technology releases.
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The GlobalPlatform Committees: |
| Q. | What are the GlobalPlatform committees? |
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There is an Advisory Council, three technical working committees and two task forces within GlobalPlatform.
The Advisory Council is a forum where the Directors of GlobalPlatform are able to discuss with member representatives of GlobalPlatform the following: technical developments, planned enhancements to the specifications, marketing initiatives, educational programs, compliance, industry partnership collaboration, membership development, any new activities, and other issues or topics that are deemed to be appropriate for the forum to discuss. The Advisory Council meetings are led by the Executive Director. Further information can be viewed here.
The Card, Device and Systems Committees define business, compliance and functional requirements for the development and evolution of open interoperable technical specifications. All three groups formulate strategic business models and define guidelines for multiple industry implementation and deployment. Further information can be viewed here.
There are currently two industry groups; the Government Task Force and Mobile Task Force. Launched in 2006, the Government Task Force works with public agencies to develop solutions to assist the sector in sourcing open technology from suppliers and integrators. The second group, the Mobile Task Force, was established in 2007 and aims to harmonize industry specifications to mitigate the risk of standards fracturing at this critical time of mobile payment technology deployment. Further information can be viewed here.
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| Q. | Who are the members of GlobalPlatform? |
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GlobalPlatform's current membership list can be viewed here.
There are five levels of membership. More information can be found here.
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| Q. | Why join GlobalPlatform? |
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GlobalPlatform membership offers many benefits. Click here to find out more. |
| Q. | How do interested parties join GlobalPlatform? |
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For more information on becoming a GlobalPlatform member, click here. |
| Q. | What is the cost of GlobalPlatform Membership? |
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Annual dues, which cover the cost of meetings and seminars, administration and publications, vary according to an organization's level of membership. The costs are as follows:
Full Members: US $30,000
Participating Members: US $24,000
Observers: US $12,000
Public Entities: US $6,000
Consultant: US $1,500
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| Q. | How often does GlobalPlatform meet? |
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GlobalPlatform hosts 'All Member' meetings that occur twice per year and are open to all members. These meeting are further supported by All Member webinars which aim to update members unable to attend the scheduled gathering. Full and Participating Members also have the option of participating in committees that develop and review work proposals to evolve the specifications. These committees will meet at least four times each year. Observer, Public Entity and Consultant Members are entitled to participate in Task Force activity and the Advisory Council. General Advisory Council meetings are held at least twice each year. In addition, Regional Advisory Council meetings are held throughout the year, scheduled on an ad-hoc basis by the Executive and/or Technical Director and are most often aligned with their attendance at key smart card industry event gatherings. The Board of Directors meets three times each year.
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| Q. | Aren't there smart card organizations already in place? |
| A. |
There are a number of organizations focused on particular smart card opportunities. However, currently there is no organization focused on establishing standards for interoperability across the entire smart card infrastructure and that can support both single and multi-application smart card schemes. GlobalPlatform fills this void by establishing a cross-industry forum that truly reflects the needs of these various businesses globally.
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GlobalPlatform Implementations: |
| Q. | What industries have adopted GlobalPlatform technology? |
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The financial industry was the first to adopt GlobalPlatform technology, however many other industries since then have also noted the benefits of GlobalPlatform's standards and have implemented its specifications. These industries include mobile/telecom, government, healthcare, retail and transit. Further information about the benefits to each of these industries and a summary of real life implementations, can be found here.
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| Q. | Does GlobalPlatform have any association with other specifications bodies? |
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Yes. A full list of organizations which GlobalPlatform engages with can be found here. |
| Q. | Where geographically is GlobalPlatform technology implemented? |
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GlobalPlatform technology is currently deployed in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia Pacific. For more information on known and publicized GlobalPlatform implementations, please click here. |
The Technology: |
| Q. | What are the GlobalPlatform Specifications? |
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The GlobalPlatform Specifications represent a set of cross-industry technical specifications, which can be used to develop secure and flexible smart card systems. They include card, terminal and back-office systems specifications. Together, these components define an easy-to-use smart card infrastructure upon which standardized applications can be added. The GlobalPlatform Specifications work across different technology platforms, enabling smart card issuers to choose between suppliers and application developers while providing a core security and card management technology.
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| Q. | Who owns and controls the GlobalPlatform Specifications? |
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The GlobalPlatform Specifications are owned, managed and developed by GlobalPlatform. The future direction of the technology is defined by the membership and GlobalPlatform's independent Board of Directors.
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| Q. | Are there any conditions in using GlobalPlatform Specifications? |
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No. There are no restrictions in implementing and using any of the GlobalPlatform Specifications.
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| Q. | Are there any fees for obtaining GlobalPlatform Specifications or independently developing products/solutions that abide by the specifications? |
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No. There is no licensing fee to implement and use any of the GlobalPlatform Specifications. However, other suppliers to the industry may have license fees associated with their particular technology. Adopters of technology are advised to research where licensing and/or royalty requirements exist from parties outside of GlobalPlatform.
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| Q. | What are the benefits of GlobalPlatform technology over other platforms? |
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GlobalPlatform technology is open, scalable and offers well defined standards of interoperability at the card, device and system level interfaces. As a consequence, smart card deployments utilizing GlobalPlatform technology allow issuers to protect their investment in infrastructure and expand business interests by adding/altering applications over time.
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| Q. | How difficult is GlobalPlatform to implement? |
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Implementing a GlobalPlatform compliant smart card infrastructure is no more difficult to deploy than a proprietary solution. GlobalPlatform member companies are available to assist you in the implementation of their solutions.
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| Q. | Is GlobalPlatform technology customizable at all? |
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Yes. GlobalPlatform defines specifications for the technology without inhibiting customization within the framework. GlobalPlatform Specifications define many options for issuers to choose from, allowing a wide range of business models, and supporting a large variety of security as well as technical requirements.
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| Q. | My smart card program is very simple with only one application - how would GlobalPlatform benefit me? |
| A. |
An issuer of a single application smart card program can also benefit from the adoption of GlobalPlatform technology. For example, using a GlobalPlatform compliant smart card permits the issuer to multi-source vendors for the same application code. Also leveraging the back-office utilization of standardized card issuance and personalization systems (e.g. scripts for smart card personalization) allows the issuer to multi-source card production (e.g. the flexibility to move production from one bureau operation to another) without additional costs. It also provides the issuer with a future-proof infrastructure that can be migrated to other (either mono or multi-application) smart card programs.
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| Q. |
What cards do GlobalPlatform Specifications work with? |
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A GlobalPlatform compliant device can work with any (GlobalPlatform compliant or non-GlobalPlatform) card as long as both comply with the application specific interface specifications, such as EMV or SIM. Similarly, a GlobalPlatform compliant issuance or personalization system can work with any (GlobalPlatform compliant or non- GlobalPlatform) card as long as both comply with the application specific issuance or personalization specifications, such as EMV Card Personalization.
GlobalPlatform's Card Specification can be implemented on Java Card based cards or any other proprietary card operating system that allows dynamic memory management.
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| Q. | Can I use GlobalPlatform technology with my own proprietary card? |
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Yes. GlobalPlatform technology is not only card technology. It provides an open standard in order to protect your investment and smoothly migrates to multi-applications, cards and services. You can decide to deploy GlobalPlatform technology for device or for systems with your current card. However, by deploying GlobalPlatform card technology as well, you will fully benefit from all the GlobalPlatform advanced features.
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| Q. | What devices will GlobalPlatform Specifications work with? |
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The GlobalPlatform Device Specification can be implemented on STIP compliant devices or any other proprietary device operating system that allows dynamic memory management.
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| Q. | Will GlobalPlatform technology save me money? |
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With the ability to multi-source vendors and services, gaining flexibility and choice, an issuer can make changes or move services without incurring additional costs. An issuer is also provided with a future-proof infrastructure that can be migrated to other smart card programs which overall can save the issuer both time and money.
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