Schlumberger announces licensees for Java Card implementation

Business Wire, May 21, 1997

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CardTech/SecurTech--May 21, 1997--

SGS-Thomson and Texas Instruments license Schlumberger's Solo(TM)

technology; other companies announce intent

Schlumberger Electronic Transactions announced today that major smart card chip manufacturers have licensed their Java(TM) Card implementation, called Solo. Developed by Schlumberger, Solo, is the Java Virtual Machine used in the company's Cyberflex(TM) smart card, the first Card for Java, announced last fall and commercially available as of May 12, 1997.

Semiconductor manufacturers SGS Thomson and Texas Instruments have licensed the technology. In addition, Motorola and Hitachi have announced their intentions to do the same. The license allows these companies to implement in their smart card chips the Java Card code developed and supported by Schlumberger. The result will be early availability of Java-based smart card chips, adhering to the Java Card API specification, for smart card manufacturers.

Solo is comprised of the Java interpreter and the smart card operating system interfacing with specific smart card microprocessors. The interpreter conforms to the Java Card API supported by JavaSoft division of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

"Our decision to license our Solo technology to others was based on the industry's need for a standard, open and secure operating system and language, the very reasons we adopted Java Card API ourselves," commented Jean-Paul Bize, vice president of Schlumberger Electronic Transactions. "We are extremely pleased by the interest in this strategy by the industry in general and specifically by the decisions by the smart card chip manufacturers SGS-Thomson and Texas Instruments to license our technology, and by Hitachi's and Motorola's stated intention to do the same."

"Hitachi is a leading supplier of semiconductor components to the smart card industry and is committed to supporting technologies which speed growth of this exciting new market. We believe open systems are a key requirement for the continued rapid growth in the use of smart cards. The SOLO development by Schlumberger and Hitachi's advanced semiconductor technology represent an extremely powerful combination. We are very excited about the possibilities it presents for our future business," stated Matthew Trowbridge, General Manager, Hitachi Europe.

Commenting on behalf of Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, Mike Inglis, Worldwide Smartcard Semiconductor Operations explained that the implementation of Schlumberger's Solo operating system (OS) on Motorola's smart card chips would provide an open platform for smart card applications. It would allow developers to create new applications using Java code and write them directly onto microchips designed s proprietary, single application operating systems will revolutionize the smart card market. By offering an open standard OS which utilizes one of the most popular awould give developers the freedom to create a wealth of new smart card applications. In the future, individuals will shop for card applications the same way as they bgreement will do for smart cards what Windows and MacOS have done for the personal computing market."

Tard development, marked a major turning point in the evolution of smart cards. Until now, smart card applo ROM at the time of manufacture. The resultsthe Solo technology, change all of that. Now ification, and applications can be loaded and upgraded after the cards are issued. Overall, development times can be reduced substantially, from 9 months or more to jujor impact on the industry. It has gained vere biggest benefits of Java Card that it enables secure multiple application smart cards. One smart card will be able to carry two or even more applications, such as credit, stored value, and a loyalty application.

About Schlumberger Electronic Transactions

The Schlumberg the world. Schlumberger is a pioneer and the leader in smart card technology, recently introducing Cyberflex the first-ever smart card to use the Java Card API from JavaSoft, and Cryptoflex(TM), the first smart card to support strong public-key cryptography. For more information, contact the Schlumberger web site at: http://www.slb.com/et/

About Hitachi

Hitachi is the largest electronics company in the world with a group turnover of $77 billion for the fiscal year 95/96 and is ranked number 6 in the world's top 500 companies. The company employs more than 330,000 people worldwide. The business extends across a wide range of industries, including electronic components, power systems, industrial machinery, consumer electronics, home appliances and materials.

The company is divided into 6 divisions with smart card chips being manufactured bvision is contained within Information Systems &la is one of the world's leading provi ders of wireless communications, semiconductors and advanced electronic systems, components and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data commu Motorola's Smartcard Semiconductor Operations is p art of the Semiconductor Products Sector. -0- Cyberflex and Cryptoflex are trademarks of Schlumberger. Java and Write Once, Run Anywhere are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.