Gemplus USIM Cards Chosen by 3 Italia for the First Commercial Launch of Mobile TV

Luxembourg (ots/PRNewswire) -

- GemXplore Generations Cards Lead the Mobile TV Market for
Security and Flexibility

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and
NASDAQ: GEMP), a world leading provider of secure card-based
solutions, today announced that it has been selected as the exclusive
USIM partner of 3 Italia, the leading Italian Mobile Media Company,
for its world first Mobile TV service. Based on DVB-H technology, the
service will be launched on 3 Italia's network prior to the FIFA
World Cup in June 2006.

GemXplore Generations cards provide high security for TV content
delivered to mobile phones and therefore protect 3 Italia's Mobile TV
revenue streams. The cards host the end-user's access rights and
protect the access to the encrypted TV content, thus securing the
actual service. 3 Italia can also easily upgrade the security and
functionality levels of the CAS (Conditional Access System) applet
located on the user's USIM card once it is deployed in the field. The
conditional access solution is provided by Gemplus's partner
Nagravision, the leading independent provider of open conditional
access and integrated solutions for digital TV operators and content
providers.

"We strongly believe in DVB-H and for this reason we have selected
technologically advanced partners that believe, as we do, in this
business and offer the highest levels of reliability," said Dina
Ravera, Chief Operating Officer of 3 Italia.

GemXplore Generations cards will enable 3 Italia to dynamically
manage each user profile, thus creating a highly flexible Mobile TV
service. This will strengthen their one-to-one relationship with
their customers and improve their direct marketing campaigns.

"The arrival of multimedia technologies in the mobile space,
combined with the launch of 3G networks, force mobile network
operators to constantly offer more innovative services to their
end-users," said Philippe Vallée, Chief Technology Officer, Gemplus.
"In this context, SIM cards play a key role in establishing mobile
operators' brand across all communication channels while enabling the
management and control of these new services".

About Gemplus

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and
NASDAQ: GEMP) is a world leading player in the secure card industry
in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005,
Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5.5 billion smart
cards.

Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions
in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public
Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WiFi, Pay-TV,
e-government, and access control.

Gemplus' revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros.

www.gemplus.com

About 3 Italia

3 Italia - It is the Mobile Media Company controlled by the
Hutchison Whampoa Group shareholder of 95,4%. Its other shareholders
are NHS Investments S.A (San Paolo IMI), RCS Media Group, Gemina and
3G Mobile Investments (Franco Bernabé Group). 3 Italia won a UMTS
license in Italy in October 2000, commenced offering of its services
in 2003 and is now the leader of the UMTS market in Italy, with 5,5
million clients at the end of 2005, thanks to a wide offer of
multimedia, video communication and internet services, besides
entertainment, music, information, cinema, sport and TV on the move.

For more information:

Barbara Maigret Jenny Taylor
Gemplus Edelman PR Agency
Tel: +33-4-42-36-51-92 Tel: +44(0)20-7344-1253
Email: barbara.maigret@gemplus.com Email: Jenny.taylor@edelman.com

LUXEMBOURG, May 2 /PRNewswire/ --

(c)2006 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, the Gemplus logo,
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forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events
or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown
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reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot
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contained in this release include, but are not limited to: trends in
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develop new technology, and the effects of competing technologies
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and maintain strategic relationships in our major businesses; our
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ots Originaltext: Gemplus
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Barbara Maigret, Gemplus, Tel: +33-4-42-36-51-92, Email:
barbara.maigret@gemplus.com; Jenny Taylor, Edelman PR Agency, Tel:
+44(0)20-7344-1253, Email: Jenny.taylor@edelman.com