Last week, members of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute selected the software protocols to control communication between the handset’s NFC (Near Field Communications) chips and the SIM card, completing the standards necessary for handset makers to begin production of NFC-enabled phones in large volumes.
As part of the GSMA’s Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative, 13 mobile operators are running, or preparing to run, trials of contactless mobile payment services using NFC technology. These trials are the precursor to commercial services that will enable consumers to use their handsets to pay for goods and services in shops, restaurants and train stations.
‘ETSI’s approval of the specification for a dedicated interface, or ‘Host Controller Interface’ (HCI), helps end uncertainty, complete the core mobile NFC standards and is an crucial milestone for the plans of the GSMA and its members to deploy contactless mobile payment services,’ said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer of the GSMA. ‘The software protocol solution chosen by ETSI will make these new services easier to use by enabling consumers to access all the secure applications on their handset, no matter where they are stored, through one common interface.’
Last year, ETSI adopted the Single Wire Protocol as the hardware standard for communication between a user’s SIM (or UICC) card and their handset’s NFC chip. Following a vote on February 22nd, 2008, members of ETSI have now selected the standard for the Host Controller Interface ‘ the software layer that runs on-top of the Single Wire Protocol hardware layer.
The Host Controller Interface software chosen by ETSI routes all secure applications stored on the handset and peripherals, such as memory cards, through the SIM card. This approach, supported by the GSMA and mobile operators, enables the user to access all these secure applications through one menu on their phone.