Smartspace Software Share Discussion Threads

[kc101] 26/6/2007 09:01

i'm a novice with shares so can anyone tell me what happens now with our shares? when do we get money etc?

[philjeans] 26/6/2007 08:59

Well it's a 125% uplift for me. so can't complain; but they're getting a bargain at 7.25p!

Don't suppose we can change it though.

[nyami] 26/6/2007 08:52

What will you do with yourself now, Garth? No, really, what WILL you do? 'cause with the research you put in on a company I'd like to follow and pick up the crumbs etc - well done, and thanks.

(Oh, and why aren't we on the 'leader board'?)

[spud] 26/6/2007 08:34

Undercalled it by 2.25p! Sorry Garth. Nice profit though!

spud

[wjccghcc] 26/6/2007 08:33

Interim sales down. Not surprised they want to develop the business away from the eyes of the market. Given the size and long lead times of smartcard projects, I suspect IGP will do the same thing within the next 12 months.

[mathematic] 26/6/2007 08:30

That's the reason the interims were at the printers so long then.

[mathematic] 26/6/2007 08:21

Still, a profit is a profit. hebgb

[balcony] 26/6/2007 08:21

Well done garth,

[wjccghcc] 26/6/2007 08:20

Trainline, huh? didn't see that coming. Good price in the short-term but a bit of a pain for the longer term. Nice one garth.

[hebgb] 26/6/2007 08:20

Well that was out of the blue. Shame really as I was looking forward to having this as a long term holding. It also seems rather cheap.

[garth] 26/6/2007 06:56

And how ITSO is already functioning as part of the citizen card in Scotland:

A Smart Programme
Friday, 04 May 2007
Scotland is leading the way in the provision of smartcards

In Scotland, the "Customer First" programme involves a unified, national approach in a partnership between the Scottish Executive, all 32 Councils and other organisations.


Among the "Customer First" priorities is the development of a single electronic record - a citizen's account - which will also provide a public services network that can ensure that changes to their basic circumstances - address change, name change, notification of death - will be accurately and securely handled.


The citizen's account is complimented by a standard National Entitlement Card (smartcard).


Around 1.2 million citizens have been issued with a National Entitlement Card and due to the scheme's progress there is a large and growing portfolio of applications. The card is enabled for council applications such as libraries, schools (catering, library, room access, registration, vending, etc) taxi card, leisure pass, staff cards as well applications for third parties such as universities.


The programme underpins the key Scottish Executive policies for Scotland-wide free bus travel for elderly and disabled people and for concessionary bus, rail and ferry travel for 16 - 18 year olds by including the relevant ITSO products on the chip.


All cards for 12 -25 year olds can be cobranded with the Young Scot / Dialogue Youth and Euro < 26 schemes. This gives cardholders access to a wide range of services including 1,800 discounts across Scotland, 42,000 discounts in 42 European countries, the Young Scot infoline for matters relating to money, health, travel or work, the Young Scot portal containing 2,500 pages of information updated daily, plus news, reviews and competitions. The card also has the PASS hologram included meaning it is recognised as an official proof of age card across the UK.


Crucially, citizens are not only being provided with joined-up services at the point of delivery (i.e. using the same card to access multiple services), but also have joining-up at the point of registration. The latter removing registration processes (and subsequent reauthentication) at individual service providers and placing these instead within one process.


At a time when the public sector in general is frequently criticized, this programme has proved the ability of the Scottish public sector to deliver major projects and make savings through joint procurement and shared services. The Customer First programme already has a premier position in the development of new standards in customer-focused electronic service delivery.

Further successful development of the National Entitlement Card will reinforce this position to the benefit of all and see it becoming the preferred delivery and access tool for services and facilities.


Council Services
Since April 2006 Fife has issued 80,000 cards to people aged 60 and over, and people with disabilities. The first section of the population to receive smartcards use them for concessionary travel on buses and trains, Carers go Free scheme (entitled users can take a companion into leisure facilities free of charge) and library services.


Fiona Armstrong, Fife Council's New Media Manager said: "We register people in face-to-face sessions, saving them from filling in complicated forms, and taking their photo at the same time.


"We also take the opportunity to ask if they want to set up a customer account."


Fife's customer account is an authenticated record of an individual's details. In time, transactions will be associated with the account, building up a picture of the resident's needs and preferences.


Customers will be able to access services that usually need proofs to be shown over the phone, or online, by quoting their unique account number or swiping their card. The account number is printed on their myfife card.


To date, over 90 per cent of card users have opted to set up a customer account. The myfife team have also visited all the high schools in Fife registering pupils, teachers and support staff, using the same face-to-face process used for the over 60s.


Approximately 20,000 students and school staff now have smartcards to use for cashless catering. Credit is added to the card via cash loader machines around the schools or by cheque payments, with an online topup option online coming soon. Pupils who are eligible for free school meals have credit added to their cards automatically.


Everyone uses smartcards to pay for food in the canteen or from vending machines. This gives anonymity to the pupils who have free meals, reducing the stigma attached to the benefit. And less cash in school means less cause for bullying and theft.


Pupils and staff can also use myfife for: school and community libraries, school transport, discounts under the national Young Scot and local Young Fifestyle leisure schemes, and proof of age using the PASS hologram on the card.

[garth] 26/6/2007 06:52

Useful background read on ITSO:

[garth] 25/6/2007 14:20

Spud,

Happy with those - although I still think we should be looking at 6.5p this autumn with ITSO news beginning to roll and Hitachi beginning to ship. As Hitachi/Multefile cards begin to be bid into national ID projects there may be more attention turned upon SMRT.... It will be interesting to see what impact news of an ID project or an EMV contract would have on the share price.

Your 10p for 2008 should allow for some dilution between now and then. Current forecasts for 2008 are 0.74p - scaled back from .98p - 20X that would see the shares at 15p with 1.48p pencilled in the following year.....

On that basis I'll go for aspirations just a shade above your own. Perhaps I'm being greedy. ;0)

G.

[spud] 25/6/2007 13:58

Absolutely Garth.

I have been conservatively estimating a year end figure of 5p Bid with 10p on the cards for 2008. However, that 5p figure may just be too conservative..

Holding tight and very happy to do so.

spud

[garth] 25/6/2007 13:52

Exeter are setting aside several hundred £K this year for development of an ITSO travel scheme. It's in the appendix section:

Devon County Council - Committee Report
Code No: EEC/07/115HQ

Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee

19 April 2007

"Devon on the Move" - Devon Local Transport Plan (DLTP)

Proposed Programme for 2007/08

To EEC/07/115/HQ

Exeter Sub Regional Programme 2007/08

Summary of Programme & contribution to strategy

"Development of ITSO Smartcard scheme for bus & rail"

[garth] 25/6/2007 13:32

MM's moved the bid up to 4.25p but are actually quoting 4.45p for 50K. Offer still 5p and that is what they are quoting for 50K.

If they were raising cash and it was going to be at any significant discount then I believe we would have seen some weakness. The shares seem pretty robust heading into the results - they've been at the printers long enough for any bad news to have leaked by now, IMO.

And looking good for another move up if any real buying pressure develops?

G.

[garth] 25/6/2007 11:00

Full price being paid at 5p for 50K this morning. I tried to get more on friday at 4.6p but no takers.... 4.88p was the price then...

G

[garth] 25/6/2007 10:56

Mistertibbs,

If they raise any cash then lets hope they make a better job of it than IGE/IGP et al. They've raised very little so far.

G.

[mistertibbs] 25/6/2007 10:39

Oyster, squid, what next...muSell? Good post Garth.Brings water to your eyes that sort of comment. I suppose a similar card could also be usedfor parking tickets, always looking for change for a bloody ticket machine, especially when it's raining so a quick swipe with a prepaid card gets a ticket.

Reading our final results, we are definately only selling lower margin hardware if requested. More sales of multifile look, dare I say it, on the cards.

Well, this is the last week in June and I will be taken by surprise if a placing is not announced. Cash at year end was only £365k

[peterblok] 24/6/2007 17:23

Thanks as always for the info Garth

[garth] 22/6/2007 14:08

Assuming the information from the company is correct, then results can be expected next week..... Question is, how early next week.

The plan had been for Hitachi to begin production of MULTOS smartcards carrying Multefile within 3 months of being awarded the licence. Hopefully that might lead to some positive forward statements about the second half...

G.

[garth] 22/6/2007 12:57

OK, this is going to be a long post. Its primarily a digest of some very recent news on Smartcard projects in Norfolk and Bolton.

If you have a spare 15 minutes I believe it illustrates a conversion of travel, e-cash and e-government onto a single Citizen card. The common thread is ITSO. And that is good news for SMRT. SMRT look to be a winner on Local Government/transport cards. Whatever ultimately happens as regards National ID, SMRT are riding that horse too via Hitachi....

'ID card' idea for pensioners
SHAUN LOWTHORPE

21 June 2007 06:15

A new-style council "ID card" for pensioners, giving access to services such as libraries and leisure centres, looks set to be introduced in Norfolk on the back of government plans to provide free bus travel across the UK next year.

From April the over-60s will be able to travel free on buses as the concessionary fares scheme, currently run by district councils, goes nationwide.

The government wants councils to issue "smart cards" containing information including a digitised photograph of users, similar to the popular Oyster card scheme used on public transport and the underground in London.

Each card would contain enough extra memory to be able to store personal details beyond those needed for the travel card.

And council officials in Norfolk are discussing whether the scheme could be used as a "My Norfolk" card, allowing access to other services such as libraries and leisure centres.

But the authorities are also wary of a civil liberties backlash against the proposals if the cards are seen by the public as a "council ID card" by the back door.

Other issues which need to be thrashed out include minimising the risks if cards are lost or stolen.

Daniel Cox, leader of Norfolk County Council, said the idea was to provide more of an "access" than an "ID" card and it made sense for councils to work together for a county-wide solution.

"I can't see the need for us to have more information than is currently contained," he said. "But a lot will depend on the technology and what information we will need to hold in the future.

"Whatever system the districts come up with, we are quite keen that it could be used across Norfolk, and have had some early thinking about other possibilities the card could be used for," he added.

In the next few weeks, district councils are set to write to existing concessionary fare card-holders asking them to send in their details and a photograph for the new card.

With nearly 100,000 pass holders, councils are keen to begin collecting the information needed to give them time to scan in the pictures and make the new card work. There are also hopes that the contracts to produce the new cards can be agreed by August.

Supporters feel a smart card would offer a fairer system to work out the costs of the bus scheme.

In Norfolk councils have been forced to spend about £600,000 more on funding concessionary fares in the last financial year than was originally forecast after bus firms successfully appealed to the government that the scheme was unfair.


CABINET
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 4 JUNE 2007

Page 8
We are also investigating the possibility of working in partnership with District councils over the use of smartcard technology as Government is proposing, through the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill, that Older People's bus travel passes to be used for the national concession, from April 2008, will conform to certain technical specifications. The proposal is that all passes must be in the format of ITSO compliant smartcards although further time will be allowed for the implementation of full smart ticketing systems.




BOLTON:
SMARTCITIZEN GET ITSO SCHEME OFF THE GROUND
SmartCitizen worked closely with Bolton Metropolitan Council to get their new ITSO scheme fully functioning and off the ground. The Bolton scheme is one of very few ITSO implementations in the UK, making it a landmark achievement for all involved.
Owen McLaughlin, Director of Smart Citizen, commented: "The launch of a sophisticated, multi-function citizen card with an ITSO capability is an important step forward for local authority schemes. This has been a challenging and rewarding project for all participants".
The Bolton smartcard scheme has been established using products and software created by the National Smart Card Project. For more information contact Wendy Reddington at Bolton Council.
Related websites:
Bolton Council Website
SQUID CARD
Bolton lines up sQuid card scheme Back to News


Jun 13 2007 5:20PM

The north-west town of Bolton looks set to introduce a new facility to its smart card scheme whereby consumers can pay for lower-priced items at various retailers across the region.

Utilising a 'tap and go' method, the sQuid e-money option allows holders to pay for goods after they have loaded the card with an amount up to £50.

Council chiefs have given the go-ahead for sQuid to be incorporated into the town's existing system - the Bolton Smart card - which can be used at leisure and library services and was originally introduced last November.

However, the addition of the sQuid service would enable cardholders to make purchases without having to use small change or keeping money in their wallet.

Under the proposals for Bolton's smart card scheme, retailers and services which accept the method of payment would display the sQuid logo and allow shoppers to use the electronic format.

"The involvement of sQuid opens up an extremely useful new facility for users," council leader and executive member for corporate strategy and finance councillor Cliff Morris said.

"It's not a credit card so people would not be running up a debt and can only spend the amount they have credited to it."
Other smart cards used in the UK include the Oyster card for use on London's transport network.
TUV Product Service, part of the TÜV SÜD Group of companies with 1bn Euros turnover, in excess of 9,500 employees and 500 locations worldwide, is a leading producer of Compliance and Assurance Solutions for the smart card sector. Please contact us ([e-mail]) for further information.


Get ready to forget cash...

sQuid's 'Tap-and-Go' smartcard given the go-ahead by Bolton Council
June 11 2007
sQuidcard, the cash replacement smart card operator, has been given the go-ahead by Bolton Council chiefs to incorporate its sQuid e-money purse on Bolton's Smart card, so users will never again have to scramble for change when buying newspapers, coffee or a sandwich.
The Bolton Smart card has been available since last November and gives people living in Bolton access to local services. The new sQuid scheme will allow Bolton residents to load their Bolton Smart card with sQuid's e-money 'purse', enabling them to purchase 'small change' items at premises displaying the sQuid logo. The Council is also working with Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTE) to have the sQuid-enabled card accepted on buses as well.
sQuidcard is also fully compatible with transit cards, such as London's Oyster card, conforming to the national ITSO standards for transit cards, meaning that a sQuid eMoney 'purse' could be added to any UK transit card and provide a 2-in-1 travel and cash card.


Welsh adoption of ITSO

The Forum for Citizens' Cards in Wales
Members' Quarterly Meeting No. 21
Wednesday 20th June 2007

11.45 Concessionary travel in Wales
This session will address the impact of the upcoming
concessionary bus travel arrangements in England upon
the plans for a Welsh smart travel card, and will also
cover the impact of adopting the ITSO specification.
Peter Johnson
P J Associates

The Forum for Citizens' Cards in Wales (FCCW) is a unique organisation with membership open only to Local Government Authorities and other interested public bodies in Wales. The FCCW has been created with the objective of achieving a shared understanding of smart citizens' card schemes and working towards a common, cost effective platform for their adoption by members when and if they so choose, without having to initiate proprietary and fragmented projects.

www.fccw.org.uk/?download=FCCW21Agenda.pdf


The Scottish Scheme to be mirrored in England?

Scottish Improvement service May 2007 Newsletter

Page 9

The Programme Office is working
closely with colleagues in England and
Wales and with the DfT in relation to
the Concessionary Travel scheme for
Elderly and Disabled to be introduced
next year. The proposed scheme will
use a Mifare 4K card dual encoded
for ITSO and non-ITSO applications.
Discussions are ongoing regarding the
possibility of a "mirror" scheme being
adopted down South.

www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/Documents.ashx?doc=SIS001&agency=573

NERSC Project Citizen and Transport card
NERSC Project Statement
The North East Regional Smart card Consortium (NERSC) plan is to offer a citizen centric Regional Multi Application Smart card to all citizens living in the area between the River Tweed in the north and the River Tees in the south of the region. The card will facilitate citizens' authenticated, secure access to a number of applications including concessionary travel & pre-paid ticketing schemes, and government applications such as schools and student management, library enrolment, borrowing, reservations and payment, and leisure centres. It will also act as a low-value banking and payments card, especially important in the North East where a high percentage of the population does not have a bank account. It will also enable, via the provision of a secure identifier for the citizen, participation in e-consultation and e-voting, loyalty schemes and integrated access to other services such as health and banking. The infrastructure and systems such as clearing houses networks etc to support the cards are an essential part of the project.
The NERSC project, a Pathfinder in 2001/02, includes 26 Local Authorities – all Tyne & Wear and Tees Valley districts, County and districts in Northumberland and Durham. Transport operators including NEXUS(PTE), Network Ticketing, Go North East, StageCoach, Arriva, and Arriva Trains Northern are also members of the Consortium. The project will assist all Councils in achieving the Government's e-government targets by providing the wide deployment of a smart card with the capacity to introduce an electronic citizen identifier that will be an essential part of the re-engineering of service delivery to the citizen and delivery of e-government.
The card will be technically compatible and interoperable with other UK smart cards through NERSC's participation in the National Smartcard Project and the LASSEO Group and will be deployed through access channels such as government gateway and via kiosks, digital TV etc. The card will also be compliant with ITSO standards.

[garth] 22/6/2007 12:52

Ram,

Thanks for that. As we know - one condition of the tender is provision of ITSO compatible smartcard ticketing.....

G.

[rambutan2] 22/6/2007 10:58

22 June 2007

STAGECOACH GROUP WELCOMES EAST MIDLANDS RAIL FRANCHISE WIN

Stagecoach Group today (22 June 2007) welcomed the decision by the Department
for Transport ('The DfT') to award it the new East Midlands rail franchise.

Fares and Ticketing

•Investment in Smartcard technology to make ticket purchasing much easier
•Promotion of internet purchasing and telesales
•Introduction of megabus.com fares
•Flexible ticket options, with different prices depending on the time of
travel, including a trial to attract passengers to the shoulder peak using
Smartcard

[theo13] 21/6/2007 22:58

Bungler - I've copied your very interesting post 753 across to the VIY thread where I think it's relevant -hope that's ok ;0)
Cheers
Theo