HONG KONG-Hong Kong may become the Asian leader in mobile e-commerce, as network operators rush to embrace next-generation smart cards, said Claus Hansen, GSM marketing director at smart card vendor Schlumberger.
“Wireless Internet and mobile e-commerce will boom in Hong Kong next year, as network operators aggressively pursue the merits of integrating security and transaction applications on the WAP platform,” he said.
According to Hansen, phones based on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) 1.1 often do not encrypt data, so they cannot guarantee authenticity or confidentiality of messages or prevent unauthorized modification and use of phones. Operators want the more secure WAP 1.2 standard and are pushing handset makers to deliver models as soon as possible.
Schlumberger now offers a smart card known as a Wireless Identity Module (WIM) incorporating WAP 1.2, similar to the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) used on existing GSM cellular phones. The card guarantees 100-percent security for e-commerce transactions over WAP phones by providing authentication of the parties involved, by means of encryption and digital signatures.
Smart cards are increasingly popular in Hong Kong’s fiercely competitive cellular market, because they are an inexpensive way to enable e-commerce applications, additional security and roaming functions, without altering the basic design of terminals.
“Smart cards will definitely play a bigger role in mobile phones in the future. Smart cards will provide a secure environment for a variety of service applications, such as transactional-based services, which will facilitate the development of m-commerce,” said Lucinda Wong, spokeswoman for Pacific Century CyberWorks, the new owner of wireless operator Cable & Wireless HKT.
CDMA smart cards
A smart card called the Roaming Universal Identity Module (R-UIM) will be available for CDMA phones during the third quarter. The card will enable users to roam on GSM networks using a hired phone and their own smart cards, called “plastic roaming.”
“By 2001, we will have CDMA/GSM dual-technology phones also equipped with a R-UIM smart card,” added Hansen.
Future phones may have two smart cards, noted Hansen. “WAP version 1.4 specifies two WIMs in each phone, enabling several secure e-commerce applications to be run,” he said.
Major smart card manufacturers have developed a SIM-based browser that will make existing SIM Tool Kit-capable handsets-75 percent of the phones currently used in Hong Kong-interoperable with WAP-based services. “This will allow short-term mass deployment of mobile access to the Internet,” noted Hansen.
The SIM browser will be available in early 2001.
Also in Hong Kong, MasterCard announced in August it is helping vendors develop turnkey solutions for secure applications on multi-application smart cards that will securely identify cardholders and initiate payments with credit or debit cards.
