Russian mobile operators to begin joint NFC pilot in November

The NFC Test Zone announced in December 2009 by leading Russian mobile network operators is now set to go live in November, eMoney News reports, with a ticketing pilot on the Moscow rail-air link operated by Aeroexpress.

VimpelCom, MegaFon and MTS (Mobile Telesystems) have been working with Russia’s Infocommunication Union (ICU) trade association on their NFC plans and originally expected to begin the first joint pilot in mid-2010.

The Infocommunication Union‘s mobile payments project team has been tracking developments in NFC for some time — it launched its first near field communication research project in 2008 with the aim of gaining an understanding of the overall potential of NFC services in the Russian Federation. As well as mobile network operators, its members include research and development companies, technology providers, systems integrators, SIM vendors and investment and consulting companies.

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