NFC Scores High at Atlanta Arena

Holmes says that while consumers didn't express many negative opinions about using the phones, a key discovery from the trial was that the salespeople lacked enough training to feel comfortable processing transactions made with NFC phones at the concession stands. According to Holmes, NXP will address this issue in future NFC trials involving payments.

With the Atlanta pilot complete, the RFID payment terminals and smart posters will remain active in the arena, usable by those consumers who own NFC-enabled phones. Holmes says he doesn't expect many patrons to use NFC phones during the upcoming hockey and basketball seasons, since there is only one NFC-enabled phone model, made by Nokia, available in the United States. Still, as NFC technology becomes more commonplace—which he says is likely to happen in coming years—more and more patrons will begin using such phones for payments and data exchange.

NXP says it will continue to make NFC products and assume Royal Philips Electronics' role in the NFC Forum, an industry association cofounded by Philips Electronics, Nokia and Sony in 2004.

The NFC Forum currently has 85 members. This organization promotes the development and deployment of NFC technology, and is establishing NFC technology standards. Philips Electronics has retained ownership of 19.9 percent of NXP, with the remainder held by a consortium of private investment firms that paid a combined $10.2 billion in the leveraged buyout. NXP will continue its product development in other types of RFID chips, such as those used in passive RFID tags for supply-chain applications.

Last week, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) said it has selected NXP to provide chips for its new RFID-enabled electronic passport (e-passport) program. The United States is also using chips from Infineon Technologies and Gemalto (see RFID News Roundup). NXP chips are being used in a number of other nations' e-passports, as well.