Beginning of the end for FeliCa?
KDDI has become the first of the Japanese carriers to publicly go with an NFC based service.
It's a pretty big deal in a country that is many years ahead of the rest of the world in mobile contactless - but on a platform that no one else uses.
That platform is Osaifu Keitai (“Portable Wallet”), which is based on Sony’s FeliCa RFID smart card technology. It was launched in 2004 and became ubiquitous across Japan.
But it doesn't conform to the Type A and Type B standards used globally in NFC. And if Japan wants its systems to work for overseas visitors (and for its own citizens when travelling), it has to switch.
Last month the country's three big operators confirmed they would do just that, and now KDDI is ready to launch Japan's first contactless mobile service.
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It will begin commercial NFC services from the end of January with a platform designed to support mobile payments, including both credit cards and electronic cash, coupons, membership cards and tickets.
NFC tag reading and peer-to-peer transactions will also be supported.
It's given an indication of its partners and the kind of services it expects to launch. They include:
* Japan Airlines will begin offering NFC airline tickets and boarding passes from the summer
* Credit card payments from Orient Corporation, Credit Saison and JACCS
* An NFC-version of the Nanaco electronic cash service, which currently powers Japan's non-NFC standard Osaifu-Keitai mobile wallet service
* Loyalty card programmes from Bic Corporation and Culture Convenience Club, which owns the Tsutaya chain of rental stores
* Dai Nippon Printing will be providing mobile coupons and gift card services as well as information distribution services via smart posters.
* Movie theatre firm Tokyu Recreation
* NFC tags in Ueno Zoo,
* A 'clock-in' solution for employers, provided by Ivy Co and E-Works
KDDI is working with Gemalto on the development of NFC-supporting SIM cards and services, and DNP on apps, payment terminals and tag reading solutions.
MasterCard has also worked with KDDI to ensure its system is compatible with its PayPass readers.
Of course, for the moment, as with every mobile NFC project, there's scarcely any handset support; KDDI will start with the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Rival operators NTT Docomo and Softbank are said to be planning to introduce NFC commercial services this year.
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