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Japanese operators launch NFC consortium
22 December 2011
NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank work together to coordinate NFC introduction in Japan
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NFC
Japan
NTT
DoCoMo
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FeliCa
Osaifu-Keitai
The three big Japanese mobile operators — NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank — have established a consortium — Japan Mobile NFC — to coordinate the adoption of international standards for near field communication technologies in their devices and services.
The firms said that they aim to “free mobile users in Japan” from having to concern themselves about different NFC service standards. They also said that the consortium will look to offer enhanced and low-cost NFC services based on rules adopted by the three operators
Japan’s three mobile operators already offer wallet phone services under the Osaifu-Keitai brand, based on the contactless-IC smartcard called FeliCa.
Overseas, however, mobile operators and service providers are increasingly adopting alternative standards — called type A and type B — to develop growing markets for NFC services.
In view of this worldwide trend, the consortium intends to work with mobile industry groups in Japan, including service suppliers and handset makers, to incorporate compatibility with the type A and B standards in the Japanese mobile business. GTB
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