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TC51

Access systems and information exchange between systems

Upcoming meetings
  • DateNameLocation
  • 25 September 2025TC51 49th meetingTokyo, Japan

Activities

Technology for real-time access control is widely used in many situations. Sophisticated cloud, virtualisation, database, networking technology and services and the evolution of authentication technology such as biometrics, NFC, QR codes used in distributed and modular access control systems enable previously underserved users and operators to innovate around new use cases.

ECMA-412 defines a framework, a common module architecture and the message exchanges between each module common to various services such as cloud computing and virtualization. ISO/IEC published ECMA-412 as ISO/IEC 20933 in May 2016. The 2nd edition of ECMA-412 introduces new functionalities on performance management mechanisms. Performance management mechanisms allow an Access system to be evaluated for performance by using specific elements and metrics. ECMA-412 2nd edition was also published as a revised edition of ISO/IEC 20933.

ECMA-417 specifies the architecture of a distributed real-time access system, i.e., the layered concept of the system, the functions of each layer, and the interfaces. Additionally, the 3rd edition introduced Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Vaccine Passport as additional examples of complex authentication. The 1st edition was published in December 2018, the second edition in June 2019, and the third edition in August 2021. ECMA-417 was also published as ISO/IEC 24643 in December 2020.

TC51 is currently working on the next phase of the standard and the expectation is that current access systems for particular services can easily expand their services to wider areas and also easily interoperate with various other service systems. TC51 is also studying various use cases that would benefit from a distributed real-time and secure access system.

TC51-TG1 studies NFC (Near Field Communication) and the possible improvements of NFC technology in the payment field in particular. Recently, Ecma published revised NFC standards including ECMA-340 (4th edition), that specifies NFC interface and Protocol 1 (NFCIP-1), ECMA-362 (3rd edition), that specifies NFCIP-1 protocol test methods, and ECMA-403 (2nd edition), that specifies NFCIP-2 test methods. TC47 originally developed NFC standards before the NFC topic was transferred to TC51-TG1.

This table provides a cross reference to their ISO/IEC and ETSI equivalents.