Spanish soccer giant FC Barcelona has signed an agreement with the R&D arm of mobile network Telefónica that will see the club’s Camp Nou stadium being the first to test a wide range of leading edge mobile communications technologies... More
Vodafone
Europe’s mobile operators to create common NFC logo
Europe’s big five mobile operators are working together to create a new logo for NFC, designed to be clearly recognisable and drive usage of the technology. More
UK mobile operators form NFC joint venture
Everything Everywhere, which runs the Orange and T-Mobile networks in the UK, Vodafone and Telefónica O2 have agreed to establish a joint venture company that “will deliver the technology required for the speedy adoption of mobile wallet and payments.” More
Vodafone brings NFC payments to Hungary’s Sziget Festival
One of Europe’s premier music festivals has teamed up with Vodafone to provide visitors with contactless payment cards — and some will also get the chance to pay with NFC phones... More
Rabobank adds NFC stickers to MiniTix mobile wallet
Secure identification specialist Multicard is to provide an NFC-based payment system to Rabobank, one of the Netherlands’ largest financial services companies... More
Vodafone and EPT launch NFC bus ticketing service in Murcia, Spain
“This is a new opportunity to put technology at the service of citizens, improve public transport and encourage its use,” says the region’s minister of public works. More
Spain’s leading mobile operators sign NFC collaboration deal
Orange, Telefónica Movistar and Vodafone are to work together to “achieve maximum compatibility and uniformity in both the customer experience and the technology used in order to simplify the adoption of NFC services by customers, other companies and technology providers.” More
Transport operators Deutsche Bahn and RMV to co-operate on national NFC ticketing system for Germany
The two transport operators are to combine their existing Touch&Travel and HandyTicket services to deliver a single solution that lets passengers buy tickets on any service with their NFC phone. More
World’s leading mobile operators commit to NFC — with the SIM as the secure element and the operators in control
The GSMA has issued a statement outlining a commitment by leading global mobile network operators — many of whom have not previously been involved in NFC — to launch commercial services in 2012. “The operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability,” says the announcement. More
European telco CEOs agree to work together on NFC standards
Five of Europe’s largest mobile network operators — Orange UK, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom Orange, Vodafone and Telecom Italia — have agreed to work together to develop NFC standards, FierceWireless reports, “in hopes it will accelerate the technology’s prominence and make it easier for partners such as banks and retailers to deploy”:... More
NFC news in brief • 1 Nov 2010
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Czech mobile payments • Akbank pushes contactless • Visa opens up • The rich love a bargain • Germany moves to contactless ID • mFoundy’s mobile banking guarantee • Amsterdam shops to refuse cash • Starbucks expands 2D payments • M-Pesa adds supermarkets • WiFi goes P2P • and more… More
Dutch banks and mobile operators to launch national NFC service
T-Mobile, Vodafone, KPN, ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank have signed a letter of intent to jointly introduce NFC across the Netherlands from 2012. More
NFC bus ticketing trial to take place in Madrid
An NFC bus ticketing pilot is to be run in Madrid, Spain by Bankinter and Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT), beginning in mid-2010... More
Vodafone tests NFC with Spanish railway operator
Vodafone Spain has announced it is conducting an NFC pilot in Madrid with Spanish rail operator Renfe, with the aim of speeding up access to train stations during peak travel times... More
IP specialist produces who’s who of NFC patent holders
TechIPm, a research and consulting firm specializing in technology and intellectual property mining, has carried out an analysis of the strength of the patent portfolios held by companies in the NFC market... More
Transport and mobile operators begin NFC pilot in Lisbon
The Portuguese capital’s transport operators have begun a small scale NFC test in conjunction with three mobile operators, beginning on the Lisbon subway and with plans to expand to rail and bus services soon. More
Telefónica O2 joins Deutsche Bahn’s NFC ticketing project
The mobile operator has joined Vodafone and T-Mobile in the German rail company’s Touch&Travel NFC ticketing project, as it heads towards a major expansion of the pilot testing area and a future nationwide commercial launch. More
Citi launches NFC trial in India
The financial services giant has partnered with Nokia, Vodafone, MasterCard and Vivotech to launch an NFC field trial in the Indian city of Bangalore. More
GSMA calls for mass market NFC handsets by mid-2009
The mobile industry association has finalised its device requirements for NFC handsets and called on manufacturers to put phones incorporating the Single Wire Protocol interface into consumers’ hands by the middle of next year. More