Germany Qualifies Gemalto for World's Largest Microprocessor Card-Based Healthcare Initiative

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (ots/PRNewswire) -

- In Germany, 80 Million Patient Cards Will be Renewed Over the
Next 5 Years

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital
security, today announces it is taking part in Germany's first
healthcare pilot program based on highly secure microprocessor cards.
The Gemalto product is fully compliant with the latest specifications
from Gematik, the organization in charge of defining and approving
the healthcare infrastructure, which enables the company to deliver
cards to the pilot regions. Gemalto received first orders to supply
and personalize patient cards for the regions of Bavaria,
Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine Westphalia and Saxony. The first trial
phase commenced in December 2006, involving 70,000 units in 7
regions. A larger scale experimentation of 300,000 cards is due to
start in 2007, which will be followed by mass deployment. This new
advanced digital healthcare solution aims at reducing administrative
costs and ensuring better delivery of services and benefits to
citizens.

The German authorities are implementing this new infrastructure
based on high-end microprocessor cards to provide better quality of
service to insurance beneficiaries while increasing the security of
access to personal data. This latest-generation card will act as an
active security device to perform strong authentication of the
patient therefore contributing to reducing fraud costs and increasing
privacy. It will enable access to an electronic medical file, and
will include emergency data such as blood group, allergies alerts and
ongoing treatments records. In addition, the new health card will be
able to carry electronic prescriptions, which will reduce
significantly paperwork. Authorized healthcare professionals can read
personal information only if the patient consents by entering the
card's Personal Identification Number.

For insurance funds, the deployment of this new generation of
highly secure health cards will significantly trim administrative and
operational costs. It will avoid duplicate examinations and lessen
unnecessary use of healthcare services. Furthermore, by allowing
automatic data update once the card is in the field, the new system
will enable insurance funds to decrease their cost of ownership and
optimize their investments.

"The healthcare sector has tremendous growth potential and we are
really pleased to enable secure and convenient solutions for citizens
of Germany" commented Jacques Seneca, President Europe at Gemalto.
"Our strong historic presence in Germany and our high level of
commitment to this project, combined with our experiences in similar
programs around the world has prepared us well in this market."

This new reference strengthens Gemalto's positioning in the
healthcare sector, following previous achievements in Algeria,
Belgium, China, Finland, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, UK and
Slovenia.

Note to editors

The German government is launching what it describes as the most
extensive e-health project in the world, involving 80 million
patients, 350,000 doctors and dentists, 2,000 hospitals and 22,000
pharmacies.

The German health service is highly decentralized, with some 250
different insurance companies, each having their own infrastructure
and supply process. The health insurance plans are either
state-regulated or private. Around 90 percent of the population is
covered by the state health insurance and the rest opt for private
medical insurance. State health insurance beneficiaries do not have
to pay for the visit to their doctor, nor for their medication (apart
from a small fixed fee).

With the current system, insurance funds need to issue their
customers with a new card whenever their administrative data change,
whereas the microprocessor card-based system allows to update the
information once the card is in the field, thus reducing operational
costs. The electronic health card will carry the prescription and
should make about 700 million handwritten prescriptions redundant.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital
security with pro forma 2005 annual revenues of EUR1.7 billion ($2.2
billion), operations in about 100 countries and 11,000 employees
including 1,500 R&D engineers.

In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly
transforming our lives, Gemalto's solutions are designed to make
personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.

Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the
development of software applications through design and production of
secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and
tokens to the management of deployment services for its customers.

More than a billion people worldwide use the company's products
and services for telecommunications, financial services,
e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights
management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.

As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with
the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world,
the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and
Gemplus.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com

Gemalto
Media Investor Relations
Emmanuelle Saby Stéphane Bisseuil
T: +33-1-55-01-57-27 T: +33-1-55-01-50-97
M: +33-6-09-10-76-10 M: +33-6-86-08-64-13
Emmanuelle.saby@gemalto.com Stephane.bisseuil@gemalto.com
TBWA�porate
Emlyn Korengold
T: +33-1-49-09-66-51
M: +33-6-08-21-93-74
emlyn.korengold@tbwa-corporate.com

ots Originaltext: Axalto S A
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Gemalto, Media, Emmanuelle Saby, T: +33-1-55-01-57-27, M:
+33-6-09-10-76-10, Emmanuelle.saby@gemalto.com, Investor Relations,
Stéphane Bisseuil, T: +33-1-55-01-50-97, M: +33-6-86-08-64-13,
Stephane.bisseuil@gemalto.com, TBWA�porate, Emlyn Korengold, T:
+33-1-49-09-66-51, M: +33-6-08-21-93-74,
emlyn.korengold@tbwa-corporate.com