GSMA Publishes White Paper On Near Field Communications (NFC)
13 February 2007
Fourteen operators join initiative to develop global mobile payment enabled by contactless/NFC technology
13th February 2007 - Barcelona, Spain: The GSM Association (GSMA) has today published a white paper outlining operator community guidance for the eco-system parties involved in the development of mobile NFC (Near Field Communication) services. The GSMA aims to develop a common vision for mobile NFC services, promote the development of a stable and efficient ecosystem, and prevent market fragmentation.
The key findings are as follows:
- Mobile NFC will be successful, provided that the mobile NFC ecosystem is steady and provides value for all participants, in which the new role of the Trusted Service Manager is central.
- Mobile Operators promote and recommend the UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) as the most appropriate NFC 'secure element' in mobile phones, offering many unique advantages for mobile users, including: universal deployment, portability, remote management, standards based solution and a long operational lifecycle.
- Inter-operability, backwards compatibility and hence standardisation are essential to provide convenient and cost-effective mobile NFC services.
One of the goals of the GSMA's NFC program is to build on the secure authentication and identity relationship that operators have with their customers through the UICC/SIM card, which is situated inside the handset and contains users' unique profiles and information.
The NFC eco-system comprises mobile users, mobile operators, Trusted Service Managers, service providers, handset manufacturers, chipset manufacturers, UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) manufacturers, 'contactless' reader manufacturers and standardisation bodies, including ETSI-SCP and the NFC Forum.
The GSMA aims to communicate the key findings of the white paper with the broader industry to facilitate the development and implementation of a stable ecosystem; deliver a series of mobile NFC Technical Guidelines White Papers during the first half of 2007 and work with the key standardisation bodies such as ETSI and the NFC Forum to further provide input to the standardisation process.
The NFC white paper is available here.
About the GSM Association:
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than two billion customers - 82% of the world's mobile phone users. See: www.gsmworld.com & www.3gsmworldcongress.com
For more information please contact:
For the GSM Association: Mark Smith or David Pringle
Email: press@gsm.org
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