Wireless gets nearsighted

Do wireless carriers and their customers need a 10-centimeter technology? Companies such as Philips Semiconductors, Nokia and Samsung believe they do, and that technology capable of such extremely short-range wireless transmission and applications could be the key to making the mobile phone the next wallet.

The technology is called Near Field Communications. It operates at 13.56 MHz, and is based on an ETSI standard. Philips Semiconductors, which co-founded the Near Field Communications Forum last year along with Nokia and Sony, is among the first companies to develop an NFC chipset. NFC trials are likely to begin later this year in Europe.

Though it sounds similar to Bluetooth, that technology transmits over longer ranges — up to 10 meters. Also, NFC is capable of faster synchronization than Bluetooth, said Ton van Kampen, vice president and manager of business innovation communications for Philips.

“This could be used for micropayments, or the phone could be used as a ticket, or a secure access devices like a card reader,” van Kampen said.

Potential applications include purchasing tickets to a movie by simply holding a mobile phone up to a movie poster and getting a link to an online ticketing site. Or, the technology could eventually be used to transfer a digital rights license to the phone. A customer could than transfer the movie rights to an NFC-enabled TV at home.

“With the evolution digital rights management, you could see some interesting applications for Near Field Communications,” van Kampen said. “You could transfer content rights between all kinds of different devices.” Sounds like bad news for the neighborhood megacineplex.

transmission range

Near Field Communications: 10 cm

Ultrawideband: Less than 10 meters

Bluetooth: About 10 meters

Wi-Fi: Around 150 meters