The GSMA today announced that leading Sri Lankan operators Dialog Axiata and Mobitel will launch a beta trial of the GSMA Mobile Connect service that will allow consumers to conveniently, securely and consistently access a wide array of digital services by using their smartphones and feature phones as devices for authentication. The service will be launched in conjunction with select Sri Lankan online service providers including Kapruka, MyDeal and WoWand will be made available to participating subscribers by the end of June. The GSMA also announced that leading SIM technology providers Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho, OberthurTechnologies, and VALID are working with the GSMA and mobile operators to develop authentication applets to accelerate the widespread deployment of Mobile Connect services.

“Consumers are increasingly concerned over the security of their digital identity and mobile operators are ideally positioned to enable consumers to manage this by ensuring they can interact and access services in a private, trusted and secure way,” said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. “Both the trial and the support of the major SIM technology providers are important steps as the industry works in cooperation to accelerate and establish a consistent and standardised set of services for managing digital authentication and identity globally.”

“Dialog Axiata is honoured to be a partner in this first beta launch of GSMA Mobile Connect, alongside Mobitel and leading service providers from Sri Lanka’s digital services eco-system,” said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata Sri Lanka and Axiata Group Digital Services. “Through this trial we intend to actively demonstrate the power and convenience of a trusted digital authentication method, centred on the mobile phone. Dialog and the Axiata Group are collectively committed to further innovation in mobile digital identity and look forward to playing a lead role in the evolution of this inclusive and consumer friendly alternative to web-based authentication technology.”

“Mobitel is pleased to be cooperating with Dialog and renowned service providers for another world’s first enabled by the GSMA. The launch by both Mobitel and Dialog marks a first implementation of the Mobile Connect service anywhere in the world and demonstrates interoperability of services across operators,” said Kapila Chandrasena, CEO Mobitel. “Consumers today yearn for more on-line, on-demand services from a multitude of service providers and this requires them to manage many different log in credentials which can hinder the convenience and seamless accessibility for the user. We are certain that GSMA Mobile Connect will provide a rich user experience, leveraging readily available and ubiquitous mobile technologies, while ensuring security for both the consumer and the service provider for a convenient and safe transaction.”

SIM Technology Providers Support Mobile Connect

The world’s leading SIM technology providers, including Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho, OberthurTechnologies and VALID, are working with operators and the GSMA to develop authentication applets that can be downloaded over the air using SMS, a step that will facilitate the rapid rollout of Mobile Connect services on a global basis. The SIM applet provides the challenge/response mechanism through which the user interacts with the Mobile Connect service. By using the security of the SIM, twinned with the secure mobile channel, operators are able to provide a high level of assurance for authentication and identity assertion services. Furthermore, the use of the SIM as a secure repository and verification engine supports user privacy by ensuring that the user’s PIN is never stored centrally or accessible to any third party, including the mobile operators.  The SIM technology providers will include this applet as a standard feature in the SIMs offered to mobile network operators with a targeted availability by end of 2014.

The Sri Lankan launch marks a first implementation of the Mobile Connect service anywhere in the world and demonstrates interoperability of services across operators,and with the support of major SIM technology providers paves the way for further launches of the Mobile Connect service over the next year. In addition, Etisalat Group is expected to launch Mobile Connect services in the third quarter of 2014, and, in line with their commitments to providing customers with the highest possible level of security, Orange intends to provide Mobile Connect-based solutions across Europe and Africa and the Middle East by 2015. Ooredoo is also aiming to provide similar services in South East Asia in the same time frame.

For more information on Mobile Connect, please visit www.gsmamobileconnect.com.