NFC TimesThe premier source for news, analysis and commentary on
Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

NFC Times Exclusive: SIM vendors shipped a little more than 31 million NFC SIM cards to mobile operators during the first half of 2013–equaling the number of NFC SIMs during all of 2012–and shipments are projected to hit 80 million for all of 2013, according to figures and forecasts obtained by NFC Times.

NFC Times Exclusive: Anne Bouverot, director general of the mobile operator trade group, the GSMA, talks with NFC Times about issues facing telcos for NFC and progress they are making in their NFC rollouts.

The GSMA mobile operator trade group is proposing a global standard for how point-of-sale terminals talk to NFC-enabled mobile wallets to enable consumers to redeem coupons and rewards.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 240 airlines worldwide, plans to finish its evaluation of NFC technology this year and could propose standards to its members in October, the group has told NFC Times.

The 10-year anniversary of the official birth of NFC came and went quietly on Sept. 5, 2012.

The GSM Association has named its new point man for NFC, Pierre Combelles, vice president for open innovation at France Telecom-Orange group, the GSMA told NFC Times.

Dave Wentker, considered the No. 2 man in Visa Inc.’s mobile-payment unit and a former vice chairman of the NFC Forum, has left the payment network after more than 15 years, NFC Times has learned.

With the help of NFC technology, airline passengers will routinely tap their mobile phones to pass through security checkpoints and boarding gates by 2018, predicts major airline industry IT and communications services provider SITA.

Mobile trade group the GSMA today announced that major mobile operators "have voiced their commitment" to launch NFC and called for more standards to ensure interoperability of NFC services.