The French national railway, SNCF and Orange have announced that they are experimenting contactless services by mobile phone to facilitate travel for passengers of SNCF, Keolis (bus) and Effia (inter-modal operator), the latter two being subsidiaries of SNCF in the region surrounding Rennes.
Over a two-month period, 50 subscribing passengers will test a prototype contactless telephone integrating NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in the SIM card and providing access to various services, including transport ticketing, payment of purchases, timetable information and car-park access. Customers will be able to take the TER train (suburban train), bus or metro of the local network, using the mobile as the sole medium for all transport tickets. They will also be able to buy and receive their coupon on line.
In addition, SNCF Proximites will install NFC labels (the size of a calling card) on posters in the stations where the trial takes place. All test customers will have to do is position their mobiles against the NFC label. They will then receive direct timetable information on the next trains arriving and departing.
Orange and contactless technology
Orange's strategy in NFC began in Caen, in October 2005, with a trial involving nearly 200 customers provided with a Samsung NFC mobile phone. Customers had the possibility of paying with their Cofinoga card and entering Vinci underground car-park. They could also pay for their purchases at Galeries Lafayette, and Speedy. Using NFC labels, Orange customers were able to receive information on tram timetables or historic monuments, as well as trailers for films.
From June 2007, in Bordeaux, Orange has offered companies the possibility of providing their customers with contactless services in urban transport, payment and loyalty programmes. A commercial offer will be available for Bordeaux residents at the beginning of 2008.
On October 19, 2007, Orange announced a new trial in the field of ticketing in the United Kingdom. This experiment, which will start at the beginning of 2008, consists in providing around fifty Manchester United supporters with NFC mobiles, which will give them access to the Manchester stadium simply by swiping their mobile phone in front of an NFC device.
Posted to the site on 5th November 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/27169.php