Near Field Communication (NFC) is a fast emerging short-range wireless connectivity standard that significantly simplifies the interaction of consumer devices across a range of applications. Though fairly new, NFC has evolved from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies, most notably RFID. The technology can be implemented in mobile phones or other portable devices to enable secure electronic payments. As an example, take a look at DoCoMo's mobile wallet in action at the arcade from 2007.

Rather than being read-only like RFID (an RFID reader will let you read an RFID tag, but not write to it), NFC is a "read/write" technology that enables two-way free communication between two devices.

NFC provides intuitive, simple, and safe communication between electronic devices occurring when they are brought within four centimeters of one another: a simple wave or tap between devices can establish an NFC connection. Products with built-in NFC – including handsets, mobile computers, cash registers, and information kiosks – will dramatically simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people speed connections, receive and share information and even make fast and secure payments.

Secure? It's serendipity, really. Since the transmission range is so short, NFC-enabled transactions require a user to swipe or tap an NFC client on a reader themselves instead of passing it to a clerk. In the end, it is all about retaining control over the NFC client. If you never let go of it, it's harder to lose, and harder to defraud.

While use in mobile phones is expected to be the primary driver for the deployment and evolution of this technology, there's no reason to expect NFC technology to stay only with mobile handsets. Contactless banking, transport ticketing and "smart poster" applications could be used on other existing consumer devices or could generate newer innovative devices as well.

In early 2007, ABI Research predicted that by 2012, some 292 million handsets — just over 20 percent of the global mobile handset market — will ship with built-in NFC capabilities.

In early 2008, a report from Juniper Research forecast that by 2011, around 12% of all mobile phones in circulation will offer support for contactless payment, specifically NFC -- equating to nearly 470 million NFC-enabled handsets worldwide. ABI Research predicted that more than 419 million NFC chipsets will ship in 2012. Any way you slice it, NFC is about to arrive in a big way.

At MWC Barcelona in Feb 2008, quite a few handset manufacturers displayed NFC-enabled handsets – indicating that the manufacturers recognize this as an emerging trend and that this market will soon be demanding innovative applications to take advantage of the new feature.

The excitement in the industry does not stop there – Chip manufacturers like NXP and SIM Card vendors like Gemalto are also working on the definition of standardized SIM-based NFC products, speeding up the availability of SIM-based NFC phones that meet the requirements of telecom operators. The two firms are working to define and develop SIM-enabled NFC solutions based on the Single Wire Protocol (SWP).

From a consumer perspective, NFC is useful for

• Banking
• Check-out cash registers or "point-of-sale" equipment
• Turnstiles, Transit Systems
• Multimedia
• Personal computers, WiFi Routers
• Posters, street signs, bus stops, local points of interest (with NFC-readable tags only)

But perhaps the label "emerging technology" is a bit inaccurate: NFC has really already made its debut, with wider adoption happening around the world daily. The Asia-Pacific region is a booming area where NFC is already being widely adopted, while Europe and North America are beginning to follow the lead set by the Asian markets. Consider the following:

• Parrot Cellular demonstrated a chain of cutting-edge consumer electronics technologies based on NFC at the Consumer Electronics Show 2008, including a digital photo frame, a stereo speaker system, a conferencing system and a car kit. All of this gadgetry works with an NFC-enabled phone as its hub.
• Weeks ago, STMicroelectronics announced a complete NFC system contained on a single chip, opening the door to fast and easy NFC technology implementation in mobile phones and consumer products.
• In March 2008 - Residents of a Farglory Land Development housing project in Taiwan will be invited to test a new mobile phone that uses NFC technology to access home security systems and pay for items including subway rides.
• Crown Computing has developed a new monitoring system using NFC technology that allows caregivers to notify their company as to which patient they are with. This new home-care monitoring system will allow supervisors in control centers to know, in real time, that caregivers are arriving on time at each of their planned visits. Should a caregiver be late for a time-critical visit, Crown's system will generate an alert to inform the supervisor, who can then take care of the situation as needed.
• MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave are current examples of banking via NFC technology. Note that both companies tout the security of "total control" offered by allowing the user to keep the card during the whole transaction.
• Sprint, San Francisco's Bay Area Transit Authority (BART) and Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants are collectively offering a trial of NFC payments for train fare and burgers. Running from January through May of 2008, the test includes NFC tags in advertisements for custom content delivery to the 230 participants.
• The Commonwealth Bank has joined a similar pilot that will allow shoppers to buy from contactless-enabled retailers throughout Australia with just a flash of a mobile phone.

As these trials close out, and the effectiveness of the technology is proven, expect to see instant demand for NFC functionality in mobile applications from handset manufacturers who will build, individual operators who will market, and end-users who will drool over the simplicity and ease that NFC offers.

The best news is that Java is ready for early NFC-capable application work. Java™ ME, through JSR 257, provides the javax.microedition.contactless package that allows Java ME developers to start writing applications that use NFC.

Stay tuned, and expect to hear much more about NFC as the industry moves forward. Motorola is actively engaged in several trials with banking systems, carriers, and transit operators around the world. As a leader in innovation and NFC technology, Motorola has an M-Wallet solution that enables high-speed, secure financial transactions via NFC mobile phones in CDMA and GSM technologies. Key solution features include an easy to use "virtual wallet" interface and the flexibility to accommodate a variety of functions, such as bill payments, mobile banking, virtual coupons, person-to-person transactions, stored value cards, ticketing, and point of sale transactions. As part of the Motorola Global Applications Management (GAMA) framework, M-Wallet is device agnostic, interoperable with a mobile network operators' applications environment, and offered in a hosted business model.

Though the technology adoption is in its infancy, its growth is sure to be explosive and the potential for application development is seemingly limitless. With trials underway all around the world, and a few devices available right now, developers can make a difference by incorporating NFC innovations into their plans today, thus enabling faster adoption of NFC technology in the market. Remember, when it rains – it does pour!

– Asokan Thiyagarajan, Motorola Technology Evangelist

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