Japanese Carriers Establish Consortium to Promote NFC

A new Japan Mobile NFC Consortium has been established by NTT DOCOMO, KDDI and SOFTBANK MOBILE to coordinate the adoption of multiple international standards for near field communication (NFC) technologies incorporated in their mobile devices and services.

Japan’s three mobile operators already offer Osaifu- Keitai™(wallet phone) mobile services based on the contactless-IC smartcard called FeliCa.

Overseas, however, mobile operators and service providers are increasingly adopting Type A and Type B standards 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 manufacturers, to incorporate compatibility with the Type A and B standards in the Japanese mobile ecosystem.
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