International. OT (Oberthur Technologies), has just announced its collaboration with the French Association Française du Sans Contact Mobile (AFSCM) to launch NFC services in France with the three main mobile operators: Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR.
According to data from June 2016, there are already 11.5 million French users who have an NFC-compatible device, which represents a growth of 47.1% compared to last year. In this market context, AFSCM together with the three main French mobile operators have decided to develop a common centre to facilitate the mass launch of NFC services in France. OT is the exclusive provider for the implementation and administration of this center.
Smartphones are an integral part of our daily lives. Thanks to this new initiative, French users will be able to use secure digital cards on their smartphones, which will make them an all-in-one tool for transport, with digitized tickets and passes on the device, both for local and national transport, or to pay very simply by passing the phone in front of a contactless terminal. Among the many services that can use NFC technology are access control to companies or events, urban services (parking lots, libraries, swimming pools, etc.), digital keys and many more. These digital cards are stored in NFC SIM cards with a very high level of security.
The provision of all these NFC services will be done through a single interface implemented and managed by OT. The multi-user architecture of the OT solution offers the possibility of fully mutualizing resources and connections for service providers between the three mobile operators. In addition, it allows a very fast integration of new mobile network operators (MNOs) or virtual mobile network operators (MVNOs).
