Sagem to Embed GPS Receiver into SIM Cards

Published on: 18th November 2008

Smartcard vendor, Sagem Orga has announced a partnership with BlueSky Positioning to integrate A-GPS positioning technology on to conventional SIM cards. Sagem Orga and BlueSky Positioning's new approach incorporates a GPS receiver and a proprietary antenna into the SIM card, enabling mobile operators to deploy applications with no need for software or hardware changes.

"We're delighted to be working with Sagem Orga to bring our exciting technology to market," said Risto Savolainen, BlueSky Positioning's CEO. "Since unveiling our technology concept to the world last year, mobile operators serving more than 1.8 billion subscribers have approached us to learn more. This announcement takes our patented technology out of the lab and puts it into the hands of millions of consumers around the world."

The primary purpose of A-GPS SIM is to provide accurate positioning information of the phone to emergency services in case of an emergency call as required by E112 and E911 legislation in the EU and the U.S. respectively. In addition to this, it can support generic location-based services such as navigation, 'find a place or person' services, location-aware games, and many more.

This technology partnership with BlueSky Positioning is an example of Sagem Orga's Partner Program strategy. The Partner Program aims to identify and collaborate with third parties capable of enhancing the product portfolio offering to network operators. Continually finding the right solutions externally and assisting in bringing them to market has become a crucial part of supplying SIMs and USIMs to network operators.

 

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