1999-05-19 , E/IC-1067/39
Business News From Philips Semiconductors

Philips Semiconductors, Europe's leading semiconductor manufacturer, today announced that it will make a significant contribution to the development of a future-oriented, integrated transport solution for the Rhein-Main region in Germany. As part of the WAYflow project, Philips Semiconductors will develop a secure, convenient and easy-to-use smart card IC, called MobiChip, to help simplify public transport systems, increasing attractiveness to end users.

The Rhein-Main region in Germany, home to Frankfurt-am-Main airport, is one of the most important transport hubs in Europe. Soon the airport will be connected to the new ICE high-speed railway line between Frankfurt and Cologne, linking up with another 150 transport companies organized in the Rhein-Main Public Transport Association (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund), which covers two-thirds of the state of Hessen. With this extensive transport network, the WAYflow project has been initiated to develop integrated solutions for current and future needs, as part of the Federal Government's overall initiative to strengthen Germany's innovation and provide the country with transportation advantages over international competition.

The WAYflow project, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research, brings together an impressive list of public and private partners including Rhein-Main Public Transport Association, debis Systemhaus, Philips Semiconductors, Hessian Regional Road and Transport Office, City of Frankfurt and other important cities in the Rhein-Main area. Further partners include Deutsche Bahn AG / DB Regio (German railways), Frankfurt airport, car maker Opel, and the City Floating Car Data consortium, which includes gedas telematics, Daimler Chrysler, Fraunhofer Institute and hessen telematik. All these companies share a vision of integrated public transport systems and Philips Semiconductors' MobiChip, based on MIFARE^® technology, will play a central role in enhancing people's mobility in the Rhein-Main region, offering the convenience, security and speed modern city travellers require.

"We are developing the MobiChip to create an open platform for a wide range of future applications such as electronic ticketing in public transport, e-purse, loyalty programs and access to information at info kiosks. Basically it will be a multi-application and multi-provider card for passengers to use all services and information offered within the WAYflow project", commented Alexander Harrer, Philips Semiconductors' product line manager Chip Card ICs. "Being part of the WAYflow project represents an exciting opportunity for us and is a very positive endorsement of our leadership position in the development of contactless technology in combination with highly secured smart card controller ICs."

Hans Wegel, project leader for the WAYflow project from the Rhein-Main Transport Association added, "The key to the success of the WAYflow project is to develop transport solutions that are of obvious benefit to the travelling public. The MobiChip from Philips Semiconductors is just one example of modern technology being used to improve people's mobility and quality of life. Not only the public will benefit from this project but also the companies investing in its success will win out, owing to the greater synergy created in our region."

Based on the open MIFARE^® interface technology according to ISO 14443 A, the contactless MobiChip fulfils WAYflow's requirement for flexible, integrated systems able to adapt to passenger needs. Philips Semiconductors' MIFARE^®-based dual interface card ICs, will allow future developments to combine banking and electronic purse facilities with access to public transport. With well over 2.5 billion card transactions in the last four years, the open MIFARE^® technology has become the industry standard for contactless smart cards and is used in an estimated 90% of all contactless schemes.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors is a leader with a proven reputation in the development and production of components for radio frequency identification, high security smart card controllers and contactless smart card ICs. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by regional application labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at  http://www.semiconductors.philips.com

MIFARE^® is a registered trademark of Royal Philips Electronics.