NXP facilitates the use of MIFARE in mobile NFC devices

Releasing MIFARE4Mobile™ APIs to ensure interoperability and extension of the contactless ecosystem

Eindhoven, The Netherlands, October 30, 2008 – NXP, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, today announced it will release within the next months the MIFARE4Mobile Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) specification, which manages MIFARE™-based applications in mobile devices. The release of the specification provides mobile network operators and service providers with a single, interoperable programming interface, easing the use of the contactless MIFARE technology in future mobile Near Field Communication (NFC) devices.

The MIFARE4Mobile APIs manage MIFARE based applications in NFC mobile phones, from their over-the-air installation to the end-user interaction via the phone user interface. NXP proposes a Global Platform-compliant JavaCard applet to orchestrate all MIFARE services securely hosted in the mobile device.

MIFARE4Mobile APIs specification enables remote management of MIFARE based applications in an interoperable way in embedded secure elements and SIM cards. Since MIFARE is the industry leading contactless technology in transport networks, ticketing and access management worldwide, MIFARE-based applications will transform NFC mobile phones into transport or entry tickets, offering a range of sales and distribution, ticketing and validation services from a single device. These applications will allow consumers to purchase and reload tickets anytime, anywhere; avoid queues at ticket counters and access card information straight from the screen of their NFC mobile phones.

“We recognise that enabling interoperability and extension to all stakeholders in the contactless ecosystem is critical to ensure widespread deployment of NFC. As the leader in contactless chips and co-inventor of NFC, we are committed to driving the growth of contactless mobile services,” said Heikki Huomo, vice president, general manager, NFC, NXP Semiconductors. “We are already seeing strong demand from mobile operators and service providers to roll-out new services, and access to the MIFARE4Mobile APIs will speed development and help ensure seamless adoption of NFC devices in the vast MIFARE infrastructure.”

NXP is working to deliver the certification, compliance and robustness rules for the MIFARE4Mobile specification in consultation with key NFC stakeholders. Licenses for the use of the MIFARE4Mobile APIs technology will be free of charge if used in conjunction with MIFARE secure elements (both as UICC or embedded) sold by NXP or licensed by NXP. The first release of the APIs will support MIFARE Classic and will evolve to include MIFARE Plus and MIFARE DESFire to guarantee total compatibility with existing and new contactless infrastructures.

Notes to editors

The MIFARE4mobile APIs are grouped into 3 categories:

Wallet / User Interface APIs

• Ensure a consistent user experience
• Provide full interoperability with other card formats
• Render card content on the phone screen in a convenient and flexible way

Over The Air / Trusted Service Manager APIs

• Allow OTA providers to access MIFARE resources of any secure element in a consistent way
• Ensure uniform approach to MIFARE application life cycle management

Secure Element Platform APIs

• Provide common access to the hardware resources of the MIFARE portfolio

MIFARE and MIFARE4Mobile are trademarks of NXP

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP is a leading semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 33,500 employees working in more than 20 countries and posted sales of USD 6.3 billion (including the Mobile & Personal business) in 2007. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, mobile phones, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.