Smart Bits: Government Picks Gemplus for Promotion

Gemplus said it was the first card supplier chosen for the General Services Administration's Smart Card Technology Center, a collaborative effort with the Navy to demonstrate equipment and applications for government agencies.

The center, which opened Sept. 18 at the GSA's headquarters building, is designed to promote smart card use throughout the federal government. Several applications are running on a single smart card, including physical access, logical access, medical information, electronic purse, equipment tracking, and biometric security.

Gemplus views government as "an incubator for applications that will eventually move into the commercial market," said Magruder Dent, Gemplus' emerging markets marketing manager.

The French-owned manufacturer has also participated in chip pilots at Fort Sill, Okla., Fort Knox, Ky., Parris Island, S.C., the U.S.S. Yorktown, Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, West Point, the Air Force Academy, and the Defense Department's MARC (Multi-technology Automated Reader Card) program.