Developments in Near Field Communication (Technical Insights)

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Developments in Near Field Communication evaluates the key stakeholders in the near field communication (NFC) value chain. It provides key industry challenges, and the industry initiatives to address these challenges. It analyzes the main product innovations by the primary stakeholders and their impact on various applications of NFC. Lastly, the research service benchmarks the leading technologies that compete with NFC in their utilization in the mobile payment application sector. The primary market sectors covered in this research service include NFC controller chips, application development platforms, NFC tags, readers, and trusted service management platforms.

Overview

NFC is a technology that is built on radio frequency identification (RFID), working at shorter ranges of up to 10 centimetres. It is a wireless technology that can be integrated into most handheld devices, such as smartphones, and can be used to secure data transmission over a very short range. NFC tags embedded into devices can be either active or passive, and can transmit as well as store data. Fast communication, reliable data transfer, ease of use, contactless information exchange, and ubiquitous usage are some of the key benefits of NFC. Near field communication is compatible with most existing RFID tags and readers, and point of sale systems with existing payment systems. With more and more mobile handset manufacturers embedding NFC tags in their mobile devices, NFC is expected to be a key enabler in many applications.