3 smartcard

13. Technology and Players
For smart cards to carry out applications, several components must come together. The technology of smart cards include four critical segments.

13.1. Card Manufacturers

A smart card begins with a micro-controller produced by semiconductor manufacturers such as Siemens, Motorola and Thomson. This integrated circuit chip is attached to an electronic module by inserting into a cavity on the module. Then, terminals between the chip and the electronic module are interconnected. Finally, the chip-embedded electronic module is glued to a plastic card. The global leader in card manufacturing is Schlumberger who sold about half of all smart cards in use in 1997. A close second is Gemplus followed by Bull and De La Rue of France.
13.2. Card Terminals and Readesr
Smart cards may be read by conventional card reader or by wireless terminals. New devices similar to a floppy disk allow smart cards to be read by PC disk drive. Suppliers of POS and ATM card readers have expanded into smart card readers for their product lines, where some worldwide consolidation is occurring. For example, a market leader Grupe Ingenico is buying another player De La Rue of France.
13.3. Interface between Card and Terminal (API)
Electronic modules embedded in smart cards have contacts by which messages are exchanged between the card's IC chip and the card reader. International standards such as ISO 7816 have specified which contact handles what type of data but applications must be programmed to manage message exchanges that can be used by networked processors. An interoperable and multi-platform application programming interface (API) is critical for smart cards to carry out diverse functions. Open standards such as Java smart card API provides one of several proposed interfaces. Java Card API in particular offers a development tool for flexible, multi-platform applications–"Write Once, Run Anywhere"–for devices ranging from Network Computers, Web TV, smart phones and other consumer appliances. The industry leader Schlumberger, for example, has introduced EasyFlex and FastOS based on Java API.

13.4. Applications
The ultimate utility of smart cards is in the functions they carry out–for example, payment process, identification, network computing, health care management, benefits distribution and so on. Application programs handle data read by smart card readers and forward them to central computers located at the other end of the smart card infrastructure such as payment servers in banks, traffic control centers or mobile phone centers, credit card companies, transit authorities, governments, Microsoft and other service providers. Market players and stake holders in this end game for smart cards include a wide variety of firms and institutions including card issuers, content providers, Visa and MasterCard, banks, government agencies, security implementers such as Lucent Technologies, electronics manufacturers such as NEC, and service providers who want to exploit advantages of smart card technologies.