Good day for non-U.S. companiesGood day for non-U.S. companies: Federal Court reinstates OTI to ePassport program

Published 4 January 2006

It is not easy for non-U.S. companies to be awarded U.S. defense or homeland security contracts; a judge’s decision in the case of an Israeli smartcard company eager to participate in the U.S. ePassport program may make it a bit easier

Good news for non-U.S. homeland security companies eager to do business in the United States: The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has reinstated Israeli company On Track Innovations (OTI) as a potential provider of contactless identification chips for the federal government’s electronic passport project. A couple of months ago the judge issued an injunction against the Government Printing Office’s (GPO) in the matter. Now Judge Charles Lettow has set aside the GPO’s decision to eliminate OTI from the competition to provide the RFID devices which will be embedded in U.S. passport covers. The judge directed GPO to resume testing of OTI’s chips at the point where the agency halted the testing. Oded Bashan, OTI CEO, said, “We are pleased with the judge’s decision. We are looking forward to continuing work with the government on this project.” He added that OTI was ready to begin mass production of the RFID chips.

OTI’s Saturn 5000 contactless reader

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