Joint Venture for Smart Cards in Mobile Phones

NXP Semiconductors, formerly Philips Semiconductors, and Sony have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish by mid-year 2007 a joint venture (JV) that will drive global adoption of contactless smart card applications in mobile phones. The anticipated JV will plan, develop, produce and market a secure chip that will include both MIFARE and FeliCa operating systems and applications, as well as other contactless card operating systems and applications.

By combining this secure chip with an NFC chip a universal contactless IC platform can be created for mobile phones. As a result, mobile device manufacturers and service providers around the world will be able to design products and services which are compatible with the different contactless IC protocols and operating systems that are already deployed in different countries. Therefore consumers will be able to enjoy multiple applications such as payment and transport ticketing from various service providers on one device.

Mr. Hiromasa Otsuka, Corporate Executive and SVP, Sony Corporation commented "With FeliCa, Sony has established a contactless IC business model whereby mobile phone wallet services are deployed in multi-application, multi-handset and multi-carrier modes. The new JV will introduce customers around the world to a new lifestyle where simply touching a terminal with a mobile phone gives access to a wide range of services. And it will contribute to Sony's vision of a network consumer electronics entertainment world."

NFC is a combination of contactless identification and interconnection technology that enables wireless short-range communication between mobile devices, consumer electronics, PCs and smart objects. NFC has proven popular in trials around the world. Its interoperability with MIFARE, FeliCa and ISO14443 infrastructures promises to make mobile phones become wallets and transport tickets.

MIFARE is the most widely installed contactless smart card technology in the world with about 1.2 billion smart card chips and more than seven million reader modules sold. Current shipments of FeliCa ICs stand at 170 million units and of these 30 million are mobile FeliCa chips for use in mobile phones in Japan. Sony is creating a unique business model for the use of contactless IC for mobile phones. NXP and Sony will individually offer chips and applications based on their respective technology platforms MIFARE and FeliCa, while both companies will continue to develop NFC technologies jointly."

Posted to the site on 22nd November 2006