Check your sources!
Dear BIll (Ray),
Your article "Air of desperation encircles SIM Summit" is very negative about the SIM card industry and I believe some details need to be added to counter balance some of your points.
The SIM Summit in Prague was replaced by the European SIM industry by the SIMposium event in Berlin. It seems that Informa did not accept the move from the industry and maintain the event in Czech Republic. As a consequence, no European SIM actor is present in Prague, which probably led to the rather unpleasant experience you report.
Yet, it seems fair to make a difference between the current SIM industry evolution and your experience of SIM2007.
Secure Banking
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Unlike written in the article, there are mechanisms widely deployed on the market that allow Telecom operators and other industry (like banks) to store their secrets on the card. Mainly based on Global Platform, consortium originally led by a financial institution...
Contactless
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I would like to see your sources! All current pilots being deployed on contactless mobile services utilise the SIM cards to guarranty the security and the user interface (See France Contactless pilots press release of the last 6 months just as an exemple).
Content
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Again, check your sources. There is no need for a specific user GUI in the handset to access SIM content. The same interface as the one use for external memory card is enough.
Conclusion
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At last a mention of the SIMposium! Next year, book your time to Berlin, not Prague...
Regards.