NFC is a wireless technology used to establish communication between two objects. When integrated into a mobile phone, a host of new uses becomes possible. As this technology works with no contact and over short distances (just a few centimetres), it is particularly well-suited to payment, access and other similar services. As the information exchange can only take place when the mobile is almost in contact with the reader terminal, this physical constraint constitutes an initial level of security. The terminal itself also contains a second level: its SIM card based architecture is a fundamental component of security. The mobile can thus be used to store a set of virtual payment or access cards that the user can manage and personalise on the mobile's screen and keypad. Acquisition and distribution is dematerialised and the interface with the user is enriched by the mobile's environment. It therefore becomes easier to store and manage a whole range of "virtual cards" in the mobile (activation, confidential codes, personalisation).

A wide range of innovative services
The terminal then replaces the physical cards, with or without contact, that are normally used. It thus becomes possible to use the mobile to pay for something in a store, provided that the till is also equipped with an appropriate reader, recognisable by its special logo. The transaction is validated with the keypad. Similarly, to open a garage or building door, we would simply press the mobile against a dedicated NFC terminal. This first range of NFC uses in mobiles is referred to as the "card emulator" mode. But NFC technology can also read wireless barcodes, a sort of electronic tag containing digital information. The NFC compatible mobile hence becomes a collector of tourist or cultural information about its immediate environment. To do this, simply present the back of the mobile at specified points showing the special logo, integrated into the urban furniture. These areas contain small chips certified by the operator. In the future, this type of chip will no doubt be fitted into an ever-expanding range of products. The mobile phone will then become a means of consulting extra information in stores. Similarly, at home, in the event of a problem with a product, the mobile will be able to collect information concerning product recycling conditions if it requires disposal, or the number of the customer service department if it can be repaired.

Two complementary types of usage
By combining these two "card emulator" and "reader" modes, a large number of services becomes possible. A concert poster could for example carry a special logo containing an active electronic tag. By placing his phone near it, the user could thus collect a web address. Using the web browser in this phone, he would then be able to contact the content provider concerning the artist in question (logos, wallpaper, etc.). If the user chooses a concert ticket, he could make his payment online and receive his e-ticket on his terminal. On the day of the concert, he would simply need to present his phone against the concert hall access point.

In the longer term, post-NFC, other longer-range wireless technologies will make it possible to collect information automatically within a perimeter of several tens of metres. When passing a bus shelter, a mobile user could have the timetable directly sent to his phone, provided of course that he is a public transport user.

Controlling the domestic environment
The mobile phone could even become a remote control for the domestic environment. By bringing it close to a VCR, washing machine or other domestic appliance, it would then be possible to use the keypad and a screen menu to operate it. Apart from actually controlling the appliance, the mobile would also give access to detailed information about its condition, the level of washing machine scaling for instance, or any other information to which the user does not have access owing to the lack of a screen. The operating instructions could also be accessible in this way. The mobile would then become a tool for broadening access to information and for obtaining help in using all the appliances in the domestic environment.

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a wireless technology, implemented notably by Philips (MIFARE technology) and Sony (FeliCa). The specificity of NFC is that the communication is established at a distance of a few centimetres, or sometimes even on contact between two objects. This is the main difference with other wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and WiFi, which offer far greater communication ranges. NFC is one of the large family of applications operating with "electronic tags", or RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier). The principle of this system relies on reading of an identifier, sometimes called the "radiotag" and by analogy, the "radio barcode". Their particularity is that one of the two elements involved in the information exchange does not need its own power source. The power is in effect supplied to the passive element by radio waves. Optimum operation of these technologies thus depends directly on the distance between the "reader" and this passive element.

However, there are also "active" electronic tags, which themselves become transmitters. So, although passive tags only release their information when stimulated (explicit interaction), these active tags can transmit their information within a given perimeter (a few tens of metres). We then talk of implicit interaction. These solutions can for example help locate an object containing an active radio tag within a particular area. For product inventories, this could be extremely useful in locating one of many hundreds of other objects. Similarly, using these active tags, we could be automatically recognised by all our electronic tools on reaching the office.

A commercial service using the FeliCa contactless technology - similar to NFC - was launched in Japan in July 2004 by NTT DoCoMo. In collaboration with more than 28 service providers (airlines and railway companies, finance houses, food vending machines, department stores, etc.), two major applications were proposed: electronic wallet payments, and transport using a "contactless pass". Industry was then encouraged to integrate this contactless technology into mobile terminals.

For France Telecom, the first experiments build around NFC began in Caen on 18 October 2005. 200 Orange subscribers in this city who also held the Cofinoga credit card and/or were VINCI Park car park subscribers, tested new uses with a Samsung D500 terminal containing a Philips Semiconductors NFC chip. This telephone enables them to pay in complete security for items in certain stores of the Cofinoga network such as Galeries Lafayette, Monoprix and certain Caen town-centre stores which are network partners. Furthermore, the testers who were already car park subscribers are able to open the VINCI Park barriers. Their NFC terminal also gives them a variety of information via the "reader" mode. They can download film trailers, access practical information (exhibitions, bus or tram timetables, and so on), or tourist information concerning the town's main historical sites. This six-month trial should then be extended to other towns and other fields, in order to broaden still further the range of potential services. The number of trial users will also increase.

In order to encourage deployment of this technology, the NFC Forum was created by Philips, Sony and Nokia in 2004. One key goal of this body is to ensure rapid standardisation of NFC and guarantee that it is perfectly interoperable. This body today has 47 members (industry, service providers, operators, etc), including France Telecom, enjoying "Principal Member" status.