Samuels said at the CC that he saw WGAT as a potential customer.
PubliCARD, General Instrument and WorldGate Communications To Deliver Smart Card-Based E-Commerce Applications for Cable TV
FAIRFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 1999--
Consortium of Leading Companies Enables Consumers to Use the
Internet to Securely Perform Personal Financial Transactions
Directly From Their Cable Set-Top Terminals
PubliCARD, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARD; www.publicard.com), today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC) and WorldGate Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: WGAT), to deliver smart card-based electronic commerce applications to consumers through cable television. The consortium will tap into the smart card capabilities of Tritheim Technologies, Inc., a PubliCARD subsidiary and manufacturer of intelligent personal smart card reader/writers for electronic commerce, Internet and computer security and software copy protection.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Tritheim's SmartCOMMERCE(tm) software solution will deliver e-commerce applications through the consumer's set-top terminal supplied by General Instrument with WorldGate's Internet on-TVSM technology, which will be marketed to cable companies. SmartCOMMERCE uses a television to serve as an Internet purchase terminal that enables secure electronic value transfer for pay television, as well as retail and banking transactions. Tritheim also will supply smart card readers that will be used to make transactions.
How it works
The system will allow consumers to use the Internet to purchase a product or service securely, and display the results of each transaction - all while watching TV. The SmartCOMMERCE solution will provide consumers with an ATM interface through an Internet browser made available by WorldGate's Internet on-TV application. Then, using Tritheim smart card readers and software, consumers will be able to make secure withdrawals, deposits, transfers and payments from GI's CFT-2200 advanced analog cable set-top terminal using Mondex or Visa electronic cash.
"This is truly a step forward for the smart card industry and the consumers who will need, want and use this convenient technology," says Marc Postlewaite, president and CEO of Tritheim. "The core competencies of each partner in this consortium complement each other. This marriage of Tritheim with these market leaders will provide a tremendous business opportunity for all involved."
"This professional match is perfectly in tune with our goals at PubliCARD to provide a broad range of smart card products and technologies across a wide range of markets," says Richard Phillimore, executive vice president of smart card businesses at PubliCARD. "We're teaming with market leaders like General Instrument and WorldGate to stay on the cutting edge of smart card technology by providing convenient, Internet-based smart card applications."
Tritheim's SmartCOMMERCE software solution is an open system that supports MasterCard's and Visa's standards for electronic cash, as well as other smart card applications such as loyalty, software copy protection and authentication.
"Since WorldGate offers an additional capability to the native GI advanced analog set-top terminal, the smart card application would be best suited for the Internet TV-enabled CFT-2200. With PubliCARD, adding smart card applications becomes a reality because of the company's ability to provide a total hardware and software solution," said Dave Wachob, vice president and general manager of WorldGate.
Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the consortium initially plans to deploy the SmartCOMMERCE solution in the Asia/Pacific region in the third quarter of 1999.
"This region of the world was selected as a trial location based on the fact that it has a history with smart card technology," says John Burke, vice president of marketing for General Instrument's Advanced Network and Telecom Systems business unit. "GI views the addition of smart card technology as a natural extension of the advanced features offered in our open platform CFT-2200. This is yet another example of Internet technologies driving advanced applications into our everyday lives."
About PubliCARD, Inc.
Headquartered at Fairfield, CT, PubliCARD develops and deploys smart card systems and technology. With a presence in the U.S. and international smart card markets, PubliCARD specializes in many areas of smart card technology, including chip card manufacturing, smart card readers, electronic commerce security software, components for applications in cable and broadcast access, unattended point-of-sale equipment, chipsets, web filtering systems, a complete range of PCMCIA and digital photography products and more. You can find more information at www.publicard.com.
About General Instrument Corporation
General Instrument is a worldwide provider of integrated and interactive broadband access solutions, teaming with its business partners to lead the convergence of the Internet, telecommunications and video entertainment industries. You can find more information at www.gi.com.
About WorldGate Communications, Inc.
Headquartered near Philadelphia, PA, WorldGate is the first and only completely bi-directional service currently providing cable TV viewers with fast, easy and inexpensive access to the Internet and e-mail using their television sets. You can find more information at www.wgate.com.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the applicable statements. For more information on the potential factors, which could affect the company's financial results, refer to the Company's most recent SEC reports, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.
CONTACT:
Environics, Fairfield
Megan McDonnell, 203/325-8772 x14
mmcdonnell@environics-usa.com
or Ben Trounson, 203/325-8772 x16
btrounson@environics-usa.com
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