Japan cellcos form NFC consortium

Japan's mobile operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank, have established an consortium to ensure the international interoperability of Japan's NFC standards.

 

The operators have announced the formation of the Japan Mobile NFC Consortium.

 

The Consortium will seek to work with members of the Japanese mobile ecosystem to ensure interoperability with the so-called Type A and B NFC standards being increasingly adopted in international NFC systems.

 

The group aims to engage with service providers, handset makers and other members of the ecosystem.

 

The three operators have for some time each been offering Osaifu-Keitai (wallet phone) services using the contactless-IC smartcard FeliCa, but this is not compatible with the Type A and B standards.

 

One goal of the collaboration is to ensure that residents of Japan can use international NFC systems, and vice versa for international visitors to the nation.

 

But according to its members, the Consortium also aims to “create an environment in Japan where service providers can offer... NFC services based on common standards and rules” adopted by the three operators.