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Sports Fans Use RFID to Pay and Play
Cingular Wireless is providing the cellular service for the phones, which includes an Internet link and Web browser, necessary in order to use the phones to download photos and other files. ViVOtech, an RFID payments specialist, is providing a software application that runs on the phone's main processor. This software directs the NFC chip on how to exchange data between the phone and the smart posters, as well as another application that runs on the phone's Smart MX microchip. This enables it to transmit encrypted payment data to the RFID interrogators linked to point-of-sale terminals in the arena, which ViVOtech is also supplying.
According to Lee, sports properties are not always the first to adopt new technologies. However, Philips—the title sponsor of the arena—approached the Atlanta Spirit two years ago with the idea. "They're a great partner for us, and they helped bring in the other partners to deploy the technology. We [Atlanta Spirit] became ground zero for these partners to dive in and see how the technology would work in the real world."
Philips and ViVOtech first announced their plans to collaborate on an NFC trial in September of 2004 (see Test Set for RFID-Enabled Phones). Philips says this is the largest NFC technology trial in the United States to date. Erik Michielsen, director of RFID and ubiquitous technologies for market research firm ABI Research, predicts that more than 50 percent of all mobile handsets will incorporate NFC technology by the year 2010. In Japan, mobile phone manufacturer Docomo sells NFC-enabled phones.
The Nokia 3220, the handset being distributed for the Atlanta trial, is the first phone Nokia has made commercially available that can be NFC-enabled, says Tom Zalewski, Nokia's head of payment and ticketing, Americas. The Philips chips are embedded in a shell that can be attached to the phone in place of its factory-issued shell. Right now, participants in the Atlanta trial are using these phones with this NFC shell, but only the software that runs the NFC chip is installed. Once the RFID payment systems within the arena are operational (which is scheduled for next month), the payments software from ViVOtech, as well as the participant's credit card data, will be downloaded to each phone's Smart MX chip, enabling it to be used to make purchases in the arena.
Mohammad Khan, president and COO of ViVOtech, says that consumers will eventually be able to order their phones with the ViVOtech software already installed, then use the phone's Web browser to download their credit card information securely to the phone.
According to Lee, sports properties are not always the first to adopt new technologies. However, Philips—the title sponsor of the arena—approached the Atlanta Spirit two years ago with the idea. "They're a great partner for us, and they helped bring in the other partners to deploy the technology. We [Atlanta Spirit] became ground zero for these partners to dive in and see how the technology would work in the real world."
Philips and ViVOtech first announced their plans to collaborate on an NFC trial in September of 2004 (see Test Set for RFID-Enabled Phones). Philips says this is the largest NFC technology trial in the United States to date. Erik Michielsen, director of RFID and ubiquitous technologies for market research firm ABI Research, predicts that more than 50 percent of all mobile handsets will incorporate NFC technology by the year 2010. In Japan, mobile phone manufacturer Docomo sells NFC-enabled phones.
The Nokia 3220, the handset being distributed for the Atlanta trial, is the first phone Nokia has made commercially available that can be NFC-enabled, says Tom Zalewski, Nokia's head of payment and ticketing, Americas. The Philips chips are embedded in a shell that can be attached to the phone in place of its factory-issued shell. Right now, participants in the Atlanta trial are using these phones with this NFC shell, but only the software that runs the NFC chip is installed. Once the RFID payment systems within the arena are operational (which is scheduled for next month), the payments software from ViVOtech, as well as the participant's credit card data, will be downloaded to each phone's Smart MX chip, enabling it to be used to make purchases in the arena.
Mohammad Khan, president and COO of ViVOtech, says that consumers will eventually be able to order their phones with the ViVOtech software already installed, then use the phone's Web browser to download their credit card information securely to the phone.
