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PR CTIA Wireless- MultiMediaCard standard expands presence in global mobile phone market

CTIA Wireless, New Orleans, LA, March 14, 2005 - The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) will demonstrate SecureMMC in Digital Rights Management (DRM) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) access applications, at CTIA Wireless 2005 in New Orleans, LA this week.

In addition, the MMCA is moving aggressively to address new requirements of the mobile phone market. Standardisation activity on a third MultiMediaCard (MMC) form factor, MMCmicro Card, is making progress through the MMCA standards body. The MMCmicro Card will be among the smallest memory card standards available today.

The DRM and VPN demonstrations, at the MMCA Booth 1066 in Exhibition Hall 1, illustrate the role of secure removable media in DRM on mobile devices, and show how the SecureMMC Card v2.0 with security features rooted in smart card technology complement the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) DRM specification v2.0 to offer the mobile industry the most robust DRM infrastructure for digital content distribution. SecureMMC Cards capable of DRM and VPN access applications will be on the market later this year.

The demonstration shows the new SecureMMC Card v2.0 capabilities that complement OMA DRM v2.0:

·      Backup and Restore:  How a list of encrypted content on the mobile device and the Rights Objects related to the encrypted content can be backed up and restored on a SecureMMC Card.
·      Move:  The ability to move the Rights Objects to the SecureMMC Card.
·      Playback:  How SecureMMC Card manages permission to playback the encrypted content.

The mobile VPN access demonstration shows SecureMMC’s capability to run IT security applications on mobile devices that are traditionally done with smart cards on PC platforms.  In the demonstration, the SecureMMC Card acts as the PKI token in a multi-factor authentication scheme to establish a secure connection between the mobile device and a VPN gateway.  Once a VPN connection is established, a user can access sensitive data from a backend server on his mobile device with the same assurance of security that is expected on traditional computing platforms.

According to MMCA Chair, Yves Leonard, “The MMC standard is taking the leadership position in small form factor removable media in the global mobile phone market, simultaneously addressing issues of speed, size and security”.

About MultiMediaCards
MultiMediaCards are the small, removable solid-state memory cards designed especially for mobile phones and digital imaging, among other applications. These convenient, reliable, rugged and lightweight standardized data carriers store up to 1 Gbyte, or approximately 640,000 book pages. MultiMediaCards use ROM or flash technology for read-only applications, and flash technology for read/write applications. The cards are fast for excellent system performance; energy efficient for prolonged battery life; and cost-efficient for use in systems sold at consumer price points. They also have an easy-to-install serial interface.

MMCplus, and MMCmobile  are product names and logos for memory cards built to the high-speed MultiMediaCard (MMC) standards that feature the highest data transfer rates among all existing memory card standards. MMCplus cards in the standard MMC form factor (32 x 24 x 1.4mm) are ideal for digital imaging as well as digital music on consumer electronic devices. MMC

www.mmca.org The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) is the open standard organization that defines the physical, functional and interface specifications of MultiMediaCards (MMCs), the postage-stamp size, removable memory cards used in mobile phone, digital imaging and portable consumer electronics applications. While removable memory cards are the primary focus, the MMCA also supports the adoption of the MMC interface standard in other embedded or removable components and subsystems, such as hard disk drives.

Founded in 1998, the MMCA now has 200 members and provides a global forum for memory card and semiconductor component suppliers, software vendors and manufacturers of mobile electronic devices who jointly endorse and promote the worldwide adoption of MultiMediaCards and the MMC standards.

MMCA Principles:
·      The organization is dedicated to open, royalty-free standards;
·      These standards are established consensually, with the equal participation of MMCA members;
·      Product interoperability and compliance are integral to the specifications and standards.

The MMCA mailing address is P.O. Box 303, Sunol, CA  94586; Ph: 925-417-0127; Fax: 925-417-0128. More information is at www.mmca.org

About The MMCA (MultiMediaCard Association

MMCplus, MMCmobile and MMCmicro are trademarks of MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA). Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Company/product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only.