Toshiba starts delivery of commercial UIM card supporting NFC

TOKYO, JAPAN: Toshiba Corp. will start delivery of commercial User Identity Module (UIM) cards supporting near field communication (NFC)to KDDI Corp., a leading Japanese mobile network operator (MNO), in February.

Toshiba's newly developed UIM card equipped with CDMA2000 and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), supports NFC, which is expected to go into commercial service in the near future. The card was developed based on the latest specifications of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute-Smart Card Platform (ETSI SCP), GSMA and GlobalPlatform (GP). It is also compatible with GSMA's Pay-Buy-Mobile programme and meets the security level required for international payment applications.

Mobile handsets supporting UIM and NFC will allow users to access services in such areas as electronic payment, transportation, personal identification, coupon redemption and more.

KDDI initiated verification testing on contactless IC technology subject to the ISO/IEC14443 Type A/B international standards in May 2010. KDDI used handsets supporting NFC in order to verify the technical reliability and user-friendliness of the application systems including electronic payment and so on, and Toshiba, which started to develop a UIM card in 2009, participated in the testing in order to verify the reliability of the UIM card and to establish the technology. In December 2010, KDDI approved Toshiba as a UIM card supplier for KDDI, and Toshiba will start delivery of the cards this month.

Toshiba is now ready to mass produce UIM cards for the global market and is starting to promote UIM cards to MNO worldwide, including operators in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Toshiba is a long established supplier of IC cards for financial transactions that are highly regarded for their performance and reliability. The company is now seeking to deliver a line-up of UIM cards that will offer users of mobile phones enhanced convenience, and that extends its business area to network-based services around the world.