SESAMES Awards 2003
February 2004, News

At Cartes, in November, the Annual world-wide smartcard awards were announced at the SESAMES Awards 2003. As part of the Cartes and IT Security 2003 Exhibitions & Conferences, the SESAMES Awards have become the unchallenged innovation and application label, and a global standard for card manufacturers and related industries. This competition is open to Cartes and IT Security trade show exhibitors, as well as to those involved in the industry internationally: manufacturers, users, integrators and developers.

1. Best Software - England's Manchester United

London-based Fortress GB won the SESAMES award for the Best Software with its secure contactless smartcard stadium management solution, now an integral part of the new Manchester City Football Club's 55 000-seat stadium. It is the first fully RFID-enabled stadium in Europe. Its scalable platform-based solution controls access, ticket issuing, e-purse transactions, loyalty, staff management and reporting.

2. Best Transportation Application - Singapore Land Transport Authority

The Best Transportation Application award went to ERG Transit Systems, Belgium, for its Enhanced Integrated Fare Collection System (EIFS). In 1999, the ERG/Motorola Alliance won a contract to design and install an EIFS based on smartcard technology for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore. ERG assumed responsibility for the project in 2001 and, one year later, launched a pilot smartcard ticketing system for Singapore's public transport network.

A few months later, the system became fully operational and, most importantly, was enthusiastically adopted by Singaporeans. Today, six million cards are in circulation and the Singapore project is one of the largest integrated smartcard-based transit systems in the world. More than 24 000 smartcard readers are installed across the five transit operators covering bus, light rail and heavy rail.

The ERG system includes an Automatic Vehicle Location system that is integrated with the LTA's traffic smart system providing realtime information to passengers via displays at bus stops and a website.

3. Best IT Security Application - 'Fasver' Smart Film Project - France

Inside Contactless, France, won the Best IT Security Application award for its Fasver Smart Film project. Co-invented by Inside and Fasver, and designed to hold and protect biometric data on official documents, the Smart Film is a security film containing a printed antenna and a contactless chip. The chip stores the individual's data and biometrics (ID picture, fingerprint, etc). A contactless reader system can authenticate the chip and its data to verify the person's identity.

4. Best Health Care Application - French 'Lifecarte' GSM Emergency Card

Celavie of France, took the Best Health Care Application award and the overall Best Application of All Applications honour for its Lifecarte, the first smartcard readable in GSM phones, not linked to a GSM subscription. In case of emergency, the chip is inserted in a GSM phone in place of the SIM, and the phone displays all necessary information in six languages: medical, identity, persons to contact, insurance, etc.

5. Best Technological Innovation - French 'La Carte' Security

Another Paris-based company, ENST, won the Best Technological Innovation for its La Carte EAP. Its smartcard, according to the award announcement, "is the missing link of the security chain for the wireless LANs (802.11)." It directly processes EAP packets (defined by RFC2284) and is compatible with emerging security standards like IEEE 802.IX, WPA and IEEE 802.11i. It can be used in multiple authentication frameworks like GSM, PKI or usual computing platforms.

6. Best Banking/Finance Application - USA's WAY Systems GPRS Transaction Terminal System

The Best Banking/Finance Application award went to WAY Systems, Boston, USA, for its innovative payment solution that combines the security and functionality of Point of Sale (POS)/ATM terminals, with the low cost and convenience of mobile phones. The result is a low-cost GPRS transaction terminal solution for merchants allowing them to securely accept payment cards from their customers wherever and whenever. A mobile phone is transformed into WAY's patented mobile transaction terminal (MTT) solution, which includes hardware card readers that integrate with mobile phones, secure firmware applications, and transaction servers. Applications are limousines, taxi, delivery drivers, cash on delivery, distribution, onsite repairs and more.

7. Best GSM Application - Simsave Back-up system

Axalto, (previously Schlumberger), took Best GSM Application honours for its Simsave, a SIM-based solution to wirelessly back-up the SIM phonebook over SMS. It protects subscribers' phonebooks against loss/damage and automatically transfers data when switching/upgrading SIM cards (higher capacity, 2G to 3G). It is the only SyncML certified solution for synchronising with other electronic phonebooks (PDA and desktop).

8. Best Loyalty Application - Brazil's 'Hutcash' Pizza Hut System

The Best Loyalty Application award went to E-Safetransfer, Sao Paulo, Brazil, for its HutCash, a payment system integrating loyalty and prepaid cash in one card, using e-purse features. Credit is loaded to cards in PizzaHut restaurants with a standard handheld smartcard reader or over the Internet.