About Us
The ITSO Organisation was founded in 1998
as a result of discussions between various UK Passenger Transport
Authorities concerning the lack of suitable standards for
inter-operable smartcard ticketing. These discussions grew to
include other authorities, transport operators and
Government.
In the UK some smartcard schemes had been emerging
in the transport industry commonly on a restricted geographical
basis. Advances in technology were starting to make
inter-operability of these schemes viable.
Introduction |
ISAM |
Rules & Regulations |
Members |
Security Management |
Accreditation |
Back Office |
Board Members |
Committee Structure |
User Groups |
ITSO was formed to build and maintain a specification for secure 'end to end' inter-operable ticketing transactions, utilising relevant ISO and emerging CEN standards.
ITSO is a Member controlled organisation that maintains the ITSO Specification for Members and the Crown. The Membership of ITSO is broadly based and includes PTE's, Local Authorities, Passenger Transport Operators and Suppliers of equipment, systems and services.
Presentation
This is a PowerPoint presentation providing
background information on what ITSO is all about; it's aims,
objectives, and includes what ITSO provides and who
benefits.
Please click on the link to download the complete
"What is ITSO"
presentation.
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Introduction
This is a quick guide to what ITSO does, how
it's structured and how organisations and individuals can become
involved. In particular, it looks at what it means to be an ITSO
member, how to become a supplier of ITSO compliant equipment,
systems and services, and what's needed to operate key processes
within an ITSO branded environment.
Please click on the link to download the complete
Introduction to ITSO
guide
ISAM
The specially commissioned ITSO Secure
Application Module (ISAM) resides in all ITSO compliant point of
sales equipment and ticket franking terminals. It is similar in
appearance to a SIM card and is fundamental to the operation of an
ITSO environment.
The ISAM provides a number of key elements:
- Operation of all levels of key management / usage thereby allowing different operators to have their products work with the ISAM and provide interoperability;
- Certification and validation of card data and transaction data in turn ensuring correct information is relayed to service operators for subsequent settlement;
- End to end loss less transactions;
- 4 Mega Bytes of secure data storage (primarily transaction data) providing ample scope for collecting transactions even in the busiest locations.
The ITSO SAM is designed and supplied by
Ecebs
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Scheme Rules / Regulations
ITSO is an organisation controlled by its
Members. The ITSO Specification sets out the technical means by
which interoperability of contactless smartcard systems can be
facilitated. In addition to the Specification, each Member agrees
to abide by a set of Regulations. The Regulations ensure that all
parties behave consistently and fairly, both in interactions with
each other and with users of ITSO smartcards.
The ITSO Regulations do not cover any commercial considerations of
Members.
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Members
ITSO is a non profit sharing organisation
owned by its members.
These members cover the breadth of the Transport arena - Bus
operators, The Train Companies (ATOC), suppliers to the industry
and Local Authorities. Supported by the Department for Transport,
ITSO now has links with major organisations working in local and
national government as well as established smartcard schemes in the
UK and overseas. The Board and committee structure of ITSO are
representative of the membership through direct
elections.
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Security Management
ITSO provides a Security Management Service
(ISMS) for the generation and distribution of security keys within
an ITSO environment. These keys are the means by which Members
equipment and systems can recognise and accept other Members
products.
The ISMS allows ISAM's to be updated remotely with new products,
amended products and other operational changes as required by the
Member. As a result ITSO products can be field updated without
service disruption and whilst still maintaining high levels of
security.
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Accreditation
All equipment (cards, point of sales, back
office etc.) which claims to be ITSO compliant, will be accredited
by ITSO.
The certification process is one of mutual working with suppliers
- ITSO will provide test tools and scripts for use in the
development environment, prior to formal testing. However ITSO goes
further than certification against the specification. ITSO will
operate a test warehouse, which will contain all accredited kit
against which new items will be tested to ensure that
inter-operability is achieved. The certification and testing
process is performed by Integri.
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ITSO and the Back Office
ITSO is unique in transport smartcard schemes
in that it covers all components - card, point of service and back
office systems.
Security of data transmission is a key aspect of
'inter-operability'. The consequent handling and transmission of
data between POS devices, operators and settlement organisations is
crucial to genuine inter-operability. This is one of the primary
reasons for the formation of ITSO and accordingly the ITSO
Specification includes Back Office System
requirements.
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Board Members
The ITSO Board comprises representatives of
the various Membership sectors of ITSO .
These sectors currently include:
- Government
- Rail Industry
- Bus Industry
- PTE's
- Suppliers
Each sector has equal representation on the Board
and the structure of the Board will evolve with changes to the
Membership structure. In this fashion all Members can ensure they
have representation at Board level in addition to any other
avenues.
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Committee Structure
The ITSO Board can choose to create and
authorise various bodies to undertake specific tasks. This has
resulted in the establishment of a number of committees with
distinct tasks. The committees will not continue indefinitely but
be reviewed as each task is completed. Where possible, ITSO
includes Member representation on these committees by asking them
to provide expert resource in discussion and review.
The most significant committee currently in operation is the
Technical Committee. The Technical Committee is responsible for
ensuring the next version of the ITSO Specification complies with
any agreed changes and is updated in a fashion commensurate with
the practical implementation of ITSO environment. In addition, the
Technical Committee maintains close relationships with standards
bodies so as to convergence with relevant emerging
standards.
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The Suppliers Group
This Group has been formed by members of
Commercial Organisations who have been working together and
developing equipment and systems to the ITSO Specification whilst
in its development stage. This Group has provided valuable feedback
on the use of the Specification which has now been incorporated
into the final version.
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Membership Organisations
ITSO are members/associates of a number of organisations:
