Near Field Communication (NFC): What does it mean for me?

What is Near Field Communication (NFC) and will the electronic wallet (smart phone) replace our current credit cards, rail tickets, and business cards?

According to the NFC Forum NFC “is a standards-based, short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables simple and safe two-way interactions among electronic devices” (NFC Forum, 2011).

NFC traces its roots back to Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), which allows a reader to send radio waves to a passive electronic tag for identification and tracking, with the first RFID patent in 1983 (Wikipedia 2011). But it was in 2004 when Japan introduced ‘The Digital Wallet Services’, which are virtual versions of your credit or debit cards. It was this that brought NFC into the main stream for smart phone manufacturers.  Developing this theme mobile network operator NTT Docomo, (Japan's Osaifu-Keitai mobile wallet service), has confirmed that it will make the move to NFC standard technology from "around the end of 2012", in partnership with Korea's KT (mobile network operator). Thus: "Customers travelling between South Korea and Japan will access the services using compatible Android handsets embedded with contactless IC chips”

NFC Features:

•       Operating at 13.56 MHz

•       Transferring data at up to 424 Kbits/second

•       Two way communication (“read” and “write”)

•       Designed for short distance wireless communication

•       NFC works in dirty environment

•       NFC does not require line of sight

•       Easy and simple connection (tap to start)

•       Provides communication method
to non-self powered devices

NFC works using magnetic induction (Air-core transformer): a reader emits a small electric current, which creates a magnetic field that, in turn bridges the physical space between the devices. That field is received by a similar coil in the client device, where it is turned back into electrical impulses to communicate data such as identification number, status information, or any other information. So-called 'passive' NFC tags use the energy from the reader to encode their response, while 'active' or 'peer-to-peer' tags have their own power source and respond to the reader using their own electromagnetic fields (Braue 2011)

NFC has three modes of operation:

1) Card Emulation Mode (Secure)

• Contact-less mobile payments (The electronic wallet)

2) Peer to Peer Communication Mode

• Synchronise calendar
• Share/transfer content (e.g. business cards)
• Easy network setup & configuration
• Smart key for automotive industry

3) Reader Mode

• Tickets (per paid), cinema, theatre, train, etc.

(Jackson 2011)

The future market for NFC looks very bright. Jupiter Research projected that up to 700 million NFC-enabled mobile phones will be sold by 2013, and mobile payments will exceed $30bn by 2012 (Jupiter 2009). It will not be in the too distant future that a NFC enabled device will be in your pocket.

References

Jupiter 2009 – Research mobile device sales <online> http://www.forrester.com/rb/research/

NFC Forum 2011 – Definition <online> http://www.nfc-forum.org/home/

Jackson 2011 – NFC, Wolverhampton University 2011

Wikipedia 2011 – NFC History <online> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#History

Braue 2011 - Inside NFC: how near field communication works <online> http://apcmag.com/inside-nfc-how-near-field-communication-works.htm