Record Participation Expected for NFC Forum’s December San Diego Meetings as Participants Look Ahead to Commercial NFC Deployments in 2007

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The next all-members meeting of the NFC Forum is expected to draw a record number of companies and attendees – a sign that momentum is accelerating for the Near Field Communication (NFC) marketplace and for the Forum. The week-long meeting takes place in San Diego, Calif. from Dec. 4 through 8.

The San Diego event will provide an opportunity for NFC Forum committee, working group and task force members to advance initiatives in more than two dozen face-to-face working sessions. Members will also have the option to participate in an NFC interoperability testing plugfest. In all, more than 150 representatives of the Forum’s nearly 100 member organizations are expected to attend.

Forum members attending the San Diego meeting will continue the Forum’s work on NFC technology specification development. The Forum recently released its first five specifications, giving developers a roadmap for building Near Field Communication-enabled devices and services that will be interoperable with those produced by other manufacturers.

Each week-long NFC Forum meeting also includes a plenary, which allows members to catch up on the full spectrum of Forum activities and gain market insight from experts planning NFC product or service deployments. The Forum’s last meeting, held in Helsinki in September, featured presentations on "Access Control and Event Ticketing" by Forum member companies NXP Semiconductors and SKIDATA AG. Facilities access management is expected to become one of the leading applications of Near Field Communication technology, along with contactless financial transactions and sharing digital content between devices.

Organizations must be members in good standing of the Forum by November 30 in order to attend the San Diego meetings. Forum membership information and application materials, as well as schedule and registration information for existing members, are available on the NFC Forum Web site at www.nfc-forum.org. New members may attend an orientation session to quickly learn about Forum activities, policies and procedures, and opportunities to get involved in the work of the Forum.

About Near Field Communication Technology

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a standards-based, short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables simple and safe two-way interactions among electronic devices. NFC technology allows consumers to perform contactless transactions, access digital content and connect devices with a single touch. NFC also simplifies setup of longer-range wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology evolved from a combination of contactless identification and interconnection technologies. NFC operates in the 13.56 MHz frequency range, over a typical distance of a few centimeters. The underlying layers of NFC technology are based on ISO, ECMA, and ETSI standards. NFC technology is supported by the leading mobile device, infrastructure and technology manufacturers and by all major payment providers. It is also compatible with millions of contactless cards already in use worldwide.

About the NFC Forum

The NFC Forum was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. The Forum’s mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum's nearly 100 global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability.

The NFC Forum's Sponsor Members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor Members are: HP, MasterCard International, Microsoft Corp., Nokia, NEC, NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, Renesas Technology, Samsung, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments and Visa International.