Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Brussels Sprouts Gemalto Contactless Transport Cards with STIB



STIB Rolls-Out Gemalto Contactless Transport Cards in Brussels



Around the world, nearly 30 cities of over one million people use Gemalto’s contactless transport cards



Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 2, 2009 - Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, today announced it has been selected by “Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles” (STIB), the company managing transport in Brussels, for its MOBIB contactless transport card program. With Gemalto’s Celego card, more than 400,000 inhabitants in Brussels will benefit from the speed and convenience of contactless technology when traveling on the subway, buses and trams. Deployment started in April 2009 and MOBIB cards will be extended to all of Belgium. Currently, nearly 30 cities of over one million people use Gemalto’s contactless transport cards around the world.



The MOBIB card is the size of a traditional credit card, is personalized with the holder’s picture, and is valid during five years. The card allows users to save time when accessing public transport and topping up balances. Travelers can avoid the queues at sales outlets and refill their cards at ticket machines or directly from the readers. Different transport formulas are available to address their needs: season tickets, 10-journey tickets or discount tickets. This multi-purpose card also gives access to public car parks. In the future, users will be able to access events equipped with MOBIB machines, such as stadiums, fairs and theaters.



“We selected Gemalto because it has more than a decade’s experience in large-scale deployments of contactless transport cards,” explained Etienne Graindor, general secretary of the ticketing department at STIB. “We wanted to provide our customers with a reliable and sustainable product that they can use on a daily basis for five years. Gemalto was able to offer such a card, which met these requirements perfectly.”



“This deal with STIB is part of our strategy to develop Gemalto’s transport activities,” added Philippe Cambriel, executive vice president of the Secure Transactions Business Unit at Gemalto. “Transport operators play a key role in the expansion of contactless systems throughout the world, and Gemalto is proud to supply all the services and technologies required for this development.”



Gemalto is involved in numerous ticketing projects across the globe and has already rolled out more than 120 million contactless travel cards. Its references include projects in Brazil, Chile, China, France, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.



About Gemalto



Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2008 annual revenues of €1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries.



Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.



Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.



As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years. For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.
Contact: Deb Montner, Montner & Associates Tech PR Agency, 203-226-9290, dmontner@montner.com

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