The three top mobile operators in Japan have agreed to work together to plan out a roadmap for the adoption of multiple Near Field Communication technologies in the country.
NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Softbank Mobile Corp. have formed the Japan Mobile NFC Consortium to coordinate the adoption of multiple international standards for NFC incorporated in their mobile phones and services, according to a Dec. 21 press release.
Japan’s three mobile operators now offer the Osaifu-Keitai, an NFC-based mobile-wallet service based on FeliCa, a contactless smart card, according to the press release.
“However, mobile operators and service providers in other countries are adopting Type A and Type B standards to develop growing markets for NFC services,’ a KDDI spokesperson tells PaymentsSource.
Type A and Type B stand for the two primary methods of NFC data transmission over the 13.56MHz frequency band typically used in NFC ecosystems outside of Japan, including the U.S.
The consortium would work with the mobile telecommunication industry in Japan, which would include handset makers, to ensure compatibility with the Type A and B standards with the Japanese NFC ecosystem.
“This would make sure that travelers to and from Japan would not have to worry about different NFC standards when crossing borders,” he adds. “It would also facilitate an environment where NFC service providers can offer efficient, low-cost services based on common standards adopted by the three partners.”
