SoftBank Mobile has selected Gemalto to launch mobile NFC services in Japan.
The Japanese mobile giant will use Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Service Management (TSM) solution.
In August 2012, Gemalto announced the official go-live of NFC services management in Singapore. Hosted in its TSM data center, the Gemalto NFC services management is powered by its Allynis TSM solution. The project is being supported by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore.
For the SoftBank Mobile project, TSM infrastructure solution is hosted in Gemalto’s data center based in Singapore, providing 24/7 availability to ensure business continuity for SoftBank Mobile.
Japanese mobile subscribers will have access to NFC services which also include e-ticketing and loyalty programs. In addition, SoftBank Mobile will be able to offer NFC services in Japan and abroad.
ABI Research recently said that NFC-enabled device shipments will reach 320 million units across product categories in 2013, an increase of 118 percent over last year.
This will drive the market past the half billion NFC devices in use in H1 2013. The significant growth is despite the on-going delays affecting the launch of NFC payment services.
“Gemalto’s expertise in NFC, drawing on more than 40 commercial TSM projects in progress, brings unrivaled understanding in managing NFC complexity and underlying security,” said Hironobu Tamba, vice president, Product & Service Division, SoftBank Mobile.
According to IHS, this year the worldwide shipments of NFC-enabled cell phones will grow to 268.4 million units, up 123 percent from 120.4 million in 2012. Significant growth will continue over the next four years with NFC-outfitted handsets reaching an estimated 1.2 billion in 2017.
