| Press Release |
| For more information contact: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH Ulrike Zeitler, Press Officer Prinzregentenstrasse 159, D-81607 Munich Tel. +49 89 4119 1189, Fax: -2020 ulrike.zeitler@de.gi-de.com Or TOGEWAnet AG Bruno Chiarelli Tel. +41 31 341 1138 bruno.chiarelli@togewanet.com For Immediate Release |
| Secartis AG does the system integration for Swiss provider TOGEWAnet |
| Roll-out of WeRoam® as the first commercially applied WLAN authentication system via EAP SIM |
| Munich/Bern, 14 October 2003. Key factors behind mobile access to the Internet via wireless LANs are a user-friendly, secure authentication system coupled with an uncomplicated billing and settlement procedure. A secure and practical system to this end is what is known as the EAP SIM technology; this enables users to authenticate themselves to network operators by way of a SIM card as used in mobile phones. At the ITU Telecom World 2003 fair in Geneva the Swiss firm TOGEWAnet will be premiering WeRoam® as an authentication system working with EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) SIM. Secartis AG, a subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), was responsible for the development and technical integration of the requisite platform. The complete system is called WeRoam, and forms an open platform that provides support in WLAN roaming for key authentication technologies such as user-name / password and now EAP SIM as well. Secartis took on the task of implementing the overall solution for TOGEWAnet, using as basis a RADIUS platform supporting the standard user-name / password authentication procedure to realize a complete EAP SIM system. To this end, Secartis developed corresponding client software for the users which integrates servers for user authentication, authorization and billing functions as well as installing the connection to network operators via an appropriate gateway. Beside the basic equipment, a notebook with WLAN adapter, the application requires implementation of the appropriate client software. "That makes the system very easy to use", explains Oliver Pannke, head of Software Development at Secartis. Users connect their SIM card with a card-reader to a PC or laptop, and enter their PIN after starting the program. The card then takes care of authentication to the network operator and logon to the WLAN network. All user data are encrypted on their way through the air interface to protect them from any unauthorized accessing. Every time a connection is set up, the client computes a new, individual key on the basis of established GSM technology, and this is one of the reasons why the procedure is regarded as highly secure. Once the user has been logged onto the WLAN network the charge for the time spent on-line is then computed from that point, and WeRoam subsequently generates a corresponding billing data record as soon as the Internet connection is ended. This means that the network operator can simply charge for the on-line time via the user's mobile phone bill. "By way of the WeRoam® system, TOGEWAnet has once again confirmed its leading position in the field of WLAN roaming. Thanks to the superb collaboration with Secartis the integration of the EAP SIM-based authentication method was realized within the shortest of time frames, and represents the systematic implementation of our strategy towards an open roaming platform", says Toni Stadelmann, CEO of TOGEWAnet. Following authentication, the access to the wireless networks is provided by "access points" permitting users to connect to the desired service, e.g. the Internet or a corporate intranet. Secartis supplies a further important module for authentication: the RADIUS-protocol based standard authentication server. Here the data are checked against those in the HLR (Home Location Register), an operator-maintained database containing all relevant subscriber data. The WeRoam EAP SIM Platform efficiently combines existing standard components to form an effective, reliable and user-friendly authentication and billing system for WLANs. About SECARTIS AG SECARTIS AG is a service provider offering its clients support in the use of secure m commerce and eCommerce applications – from consultancy through integration and adaptation to outsourced processes in secure transaction systems. The company's expertise centers on the core areas of telecommunications, financial services and public administration. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Giesecke & Devrient technology group, SECARTIS AG maintains offices in Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, London, Barcelona and Singapore. About TOGEWAnet The Swiss company TOGEWAnet AG, established in 2001 and owned by TOGEWA Holding, specialises in mobility management and roaming optimisation solutions for the mobile and wireless telecommunications sector. TOGEWAnet' WeRoam service facilitates the seamless integration of WLAN and GSM network technologies, enabling global roaming for WLAN services and thereafter facilitating automatic and secure roaming between WLAN, GSM and GPRS. Key solutions found in GSM technology have been adopted to make up the WeRoam® service, which provides secure authentication, signaling conversion, clearing and settlement services (based on TAP - Transferred Account Procedure) and management of contractual roaming agreements. This positions WeRoam® as the only open roaming platform supporting all relevant authentication methods for WLAN Roaming such as SIM, Radius and EAP SIM. Registration is pending to patent WeRoam®' innovative SIM based WLAN roaming technology. The subscriber will benefit from greater roaming coverage and the convenience of swapping between different standards with the additional advantage of having a single identity, thus receiving only one bill from his home network operator despite having visited a number of operators and countries and having used different mobile standards. Close ties with its' sister company, Comfone AG, also founded by the umbrella company of TOGEWA Group, allow TOGEWAnet to benefit from Comfone' depth of experience in offering a wide range of roaming services to GSM operators. For more information, please visit www.weroam.com |
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