1997-04-06 , ID-9705

With close to 50,000 read/write devices and 10 million chips in the market used in more than fourty operational installations worldwide, Philips Semiconductors is fully committed to maintain a Technology Platform on the basis of MIFARE^® beyond the year 2000. This Technology Platform comprises a variety of compatible reader modules suitable for multifacetted target applications as well as different types of MIFARE^® card ICs. The cards can be used within a system covering the specific needs and requirements of the individual card user. The three MIFARE^® Card IC types - ranked by their functionality- are:

• MIFARE^® LIGHT designed for single application cards such as electronic 10-trip tickets in public transport or phone cards. This optimized small memory product targeted at high volume, cost sensitive applications is also an efficient, fast and secure substitute for magnetic stripe cards currently used in applications like road toll, energy metering and similar.
• The standard contactless MIFARE^® 1 S50 used for complex multifunctional types of applications. With its significantly larger memory new functions and/or applications can be easily added to the card.
• MIFARE^® PLUS, the Combi Card IC developed by Philips/Mikron, makes use of both, the contact and the contactless infrastructure.

MIFARE^® worldwide in use
The world's largest installation with contactless smart cards serves the 20 million inhabitants of Seoul and the surrounding Kyung Ki Province, where MIFARE^® cards are used for payment in Public Transport and related applications. With millions of transactions completed every day in Seoul alone, MIFARE^® has proven its reliability and maturity to the world.

Seoul, even though the largest installation, is just one among many places to find MIFARE^® Technology in use. Thanks to its multifunctional feature MIFARE^® is found in various industries. The range of applications include Airline Ticketing (Lufthansa¥s ChipCard), true multifunctional cards for automatic fare collection, loyalty schemes, access control and membership (Sydney¥s CiT Transcard), road toll schemes in Asia, Company Cards, ID Cards, University Cards or Tourist Cards - just to mention a few. With Public Transport being one of the major applications of MIFARE^®, schemes are fully operational in countries like Finland, France, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Australia and Canada. Two major cities in South America will soon follow.

Information on Philips Semiconductors / Mikron

Philips Semiconductors with its Austrian subsidiary Mikron GmbH is the worldwide leader in ICs for contactless smart cards and RF identification. The business focus is on silicon and components for contactless smart cards and RF transponders, used in automatic fare collection, industrial applications, access control and car immobilizers.