CCID Consulting, China’s leading research, consulting and IT outsourcing service provider, and the first Chinese consulting firm listed in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: HK08235), recently released its report on China’s smart card market.
In 2008, although mobile communications cards’ shipment exceeded that of 2007, with the gradual maturity of the arget=”_blank” title=”smart card”>ID card market, the number of new cards issued has been decreasing sharply which limited the market’s growth. Affected by this, the sales volume of China’s smart card market had negative growth in 2008, which was the first time for the market to have negative growth in the past five years. In terms of application, mobile communication cards were still the largest application field in China’s smart card market, and would remain the most important sector in the long run. In non-telecom field, traffic cards and social security cards were picking up fast, and social security cards became the main driving force for CPU card market’s sales
revenue to a certain degree.
Mobile Communications Cards Experienced Product Shift in 2008
In the past few years, mobile communications cards occupied the largest
segment of smart cards, comprising SIM cards, UIM cards and PIM cards. SIM
cards occupied a mainstream position among them, which were widely applied in
the G network. In 2008, with the restructuring of China’s telecom industry,
China Unicom’s C network merged into China Telecom, with China Telecom’s PHS
users being gradually transferred to CDMA. However as China’s C network’s
users was already shrinking in 2008H1, these new PHS users failed to drive a
significant growth of UIM cards’ shipment as expected.
Compared with 2007, the largest change in China’s mobile communications
card market was adding USIM cards, which are applied in TD network. Because
China’s 3G network were still in its trial period, currently, only a few
cities started to provide 3G network services. Although USIM cards’ shipment
is not large, it broke through China’s mobile communications card market’s old
structure.
ID Cards Market Brought Opportunities and Challenges to Local Manufacturers
By the end of Sep. 2008, the second phrase of smart ID cards’ had reached
750 million sets since Mar. 29, 2004. The promotion and application of second
generation ID cards conformed to the trend of social informatization
construction. This project not only injected vitality into China’s smart card
market with rapid development in the past two years, but also provided
powerful platform for China’s smart card industrial development. Because of
this project, China’s domestic IC card design, manufacturing and assembly
enterprises acquired enormous opportunities. IC design enterprises such as
Datang Microelectronics Technology, CEC Huada Electronic Design, Tongfang
Microelectronics Company and Shanghai HuaHong benefited from ID cards project,
with surging sales revenue in the past two years. With regard to smart cards’
module assembling enterprises, Datang Microelectronics Technology, Shanghai
Chang Feng Smart Card, China Electronics Smart Card, and Shandong Shanlv
Electronic Technology also benefited from ID cards project. Besides, ID cards
project’s promotion brought rare opportunities for China’s local smart cards
read and write equipment manufacturers.
Although ID cards’ smart cards’ project’s promotion brought huge profits
to manufacturers in China’s smart card industry chain, with the market’s
maturity, many enterprises were affected by this situation, which considered
ID cards project as support business, even some enterprises’ sales revenue had
decline. ID cards project won business opportunities for China’s local
enterprises; meanwhile, it also brought new challenges to these enterprises.
Smart Cards’ Technical Trend in the Future: Better Technology, More Functions
Currently, mobile phone is not only a simple communicator; the
strengthening of data service functions and multi-media functions speed up new
requirements for storage ability. As operators’ provide more services through
their platforms, smart cards are very important for mobile phone users. The
increase in storage capacities allow operators to integrate more customized
services to smart cards. Smart cards using flash technology have the
advantages of bigger capacity, faster speed, lower cost and power consumption,
compared with intrinsic EEPROM storage unit technology. Flash technology has
become mainstream technology of smart card chip manufacturing. With regard to
chip manufacturing process, 0.13 um has been mainstream technology, and
smaller size technology has been used in smart card ICs. For example, 65nm and
45nm technologies are used in NOR flash in high density SIM card solutions
jointly developed by Intel and Infineon.
As smart card technologies and applications becoming more mature, smart
card technology with single function and no compound product and integrated
system integration solutions is unlikely to get a firm foothold in the market.
Smart card with multiple functions has been the focus of major smart card
companies. Function integration lies in the integration of smart card and
mobile payment. Mobile phone will be the major application platform to smart
card, and mobile payment will be an important part of mobile phone payment,
which will not only promote the convergence of smart card and electronic
money,but also bring new opportunities to smart card companies. On the other hand,
security-monitoring and OA will be important applications. Smart card
application will extend to personal identification and automatic management to
facilitate enterprise informatization.
For more smart card information, please find: product.yktchina.com
Watch the video related to Smart Card Technology
Mr. Patrick Chu gave a speech in Frost & Sullivan Award Presentation on 05 Nov, 2009. Advanced Card Systems Ltd. (ACS, wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Card Systems Holdings Ltd., SEHK: 8210), founded in 1995, is Asia Pacific’s number one supplier of PC-linked smart card readers (Source: Frost & Sullivan). One of a select group of global companies at the forefront of the smart card revolution, ACS develops a wide range of high quality smart card reading/writing devices, smart cards and …
Help answer the question about Smart Card Technology
Would it be possible to deconstruct economies so we could live in a cashless society?Consider smart card technology and microchips.
I think its very un-likely
Deep M says………
i don't think that it will be possible, coz it is nature of us, that we want to maintain our status.
and u can't think about status without money, or say economy.
and as now we are very civilized, it's pretty tough to tell deconstruct economy.
Its types like this that are blatently destoying the planet under a false guise that money is a power, respect and status rating. Im afraid your terribly wrong!!!!
money is paper and plastic that allows options. at this stage i dont really feel mankind needs it. All you want to do with it is make your life simpler and buy a new plasma screen TV!!!!!!
Do you really think "we are very civilised" .
the managment of funds through electronic means ensuring that all transactions can be traced and located to ensure money laundering can only be accessed by banks, government agencies or any business floating on the US stockmarket all of which are NOT required to submit currency transaction reports on amounts over $10,000
end apdu commander for manager card? good video .
COS SMART CARD IS LIKE A DISK YOU SAVE THINGS ON IT