Orange and China Mobile team up on NFC

Intent on making the prevalence of near-field communications (NFC) a reality, Orange and China Mobile have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The two operators are aiming to accelerate the commercialisation of mobile contactless services and said they will adopt internationally recognised standards for embedding the secure technical protocols directly into the SIM-card.

The firms said they aim to participate in the development of a market in which users can access NFC services regardless of their device or operator.

“Orange and China Mobile share a common belief that, for [NFC] services to take-off on a global scale, the industry needs to work  together in order to adopt a common set of standards that operate within  a fully-interoperable business platform,” the firms said in a joint statement.

The two companies have agreed to work together to ensure: the large-scale adoption of SIM-based NFC services and the availability of compatible devices; the interoperability of such services in a way that will facilitate the emergence of a wide range of applications; and the development of standardised solutions that will provide consistency across eco-systems.