The platform is being developed by the Technical Committee Smart Card Platform, which standardised previous generations of SIM cards.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) new Smart Secure Platform is intended to be an open platform for multiple applications with various physical interfaces and form factors.
The file system and inherent capabilities support several authentication methods, as well as features defined for a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC), the SIM-based security in use now, such as a toolkit or contactless interface. The platform is compatible with the UICC.
Cost effective
According to ETSI this new platform is a highly secure and scalable, making it a cost-efficient solution suitable for many applications, from IoT applications to complex solutions, hosting several applications such as banking and payment, identity management and access to mobile networks.
ETSI has announced the first three technical specifications for the new Smart Secure Platform.
They cover:
• the general technical characteristics of the Smart Secure Platform (ETSI TS 103 666‑1);
• the integration of the Secure Element into a system on chip (SoC) solution (ETSI TS 103 666‑2); and,
• as the first protocol between the Smart Secure Platform and the outside world, the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), specified in ETSI TS 103 713.
More specifications such as the embedded and the removable Smart Secure Platform as well as the I2C interface are to follow.
The platform is being developed collaboratively by mobile companies and producers of smart cards and integrated chips, which take into account results and suggestions by various industry bodies.
New challenges
“ETSI has specified the first SIM card in the late 1980s as well as the secure platform for all the following generations of SIMs.
With 5G and IoT coming up, there was a need to go beyond this field proven platform and think of innovative form factors and features that would address new market requirements and provide a secure platform for all security sensitive industry sectors,” said Klaus Vedder, Chair of the ETSI Technical Committee Smart Card Platform.
To find out more about the platform and its features, you can register for ETSI’s webinar on 19 December 2019 at 4 pm CET.