Microwave Engineering Europe - December 2008 - (Page 9) COMMENT 9 SALES OFFICES EUROPE Austria - Victoria & Norbert Hufmann Tel +49 911 93 97 64 42 - sales@hufmann.info Belgium - Nadia Liefsoens Tel: +32-11-224 397 - nadia@fivemedia.be France, Spain & Portugal - Geert de Vuyst Tel:+32 2 740 0050 - sales@eetimes.be Germany PLZ 0-3, 60-65, 8-9 - Victoria & Norbert Hufmann Tel: +49 911 93 97 64 42 - sales@hufmann.info Germany PLZ 4-5 - Armin Wezel Tel: +49 9568 897 097 - armin@eurokom-media.de Germany PLZ 66-69, 7 - Helle Pedersen Tel: +49 7131 2040396 - helle.pedersen@t-online.de Israel - Leslie Rose Tel: +972-54-5746990 info@elarco-intl.com Italy - Ferruccio Silvera Tel: +39-02-284 6716 - info@silvera.it The Netherlands - Mary Zaaijer Tel: +31-30-2291 799 - mzb@mzb-mr.demon.nl Scandinavia - Jeff Draycott Mobile: +46-(0)702 067636 - jeff.draycott@comhem.se Switzerland - Monika Ailinger Tel: +41-41-850 4424 - m.ailinger@marcomedia.ch UK & Ireland - Steve Regnier & Tim Anstee Tel: +44-1732-366555 - sales@starmediaservices.co.uk USA US East Coast - Karen Smith-Kernc Tel: +1 717 397 7100 - KarenKCS@aol.con US Central & West Coast - Alan Kernc Tel: +1 717 397 7100 - AlanKCS@aol.com ASIA Mainland China Bejing - Boyu International Advertising Co., Ltd. Tel: (86-10) 6505 9911 - mdong@globalsources.com Guangzhou - Weimei International Advertising Co., Ltd. Tel: (86-20) 3879 1454 (Extension: 105) sfung@globalsources.com Shanghai - Lianchuang International Advertising Co., Ltd. Tel: (86-21) 5306 8968 (Extensiont: 2131) mandypan@globalsources.com Shenzhen - Shenzhen ASM Advertising Co., Ltd. Tel: (86-755) 8828 2518 (Extension: 2518) xiongyh@globalsources.com Hong Kong - Asian Sources Publications Ltd. Tel: (852) 2831 2779 tfan@globalsources.com Malaysia - Promoexport Advertising Consultants Sdn Bhd. Tel: (60 - 3) 5634 8500 dong@globalsources.com Singapore - Export Advertising Consultants (Pte) Ltd. Tel: (65) 6547 2608 perrytan@globalsources.com South Korea - Export Media Ltd. Tel: (82 - 2) 3473 9200 (Extension: 201) rflanders@globalsources.com Taiwan - Asia Pacific Media Co. Ltd. Tel: (886 - 2) 2712 6877 (Extension: 370) ktsai@globalsources.com Japan - E2 Publishing Co Tel: +81-3-3556-3841 - sales@eetimes.jp What are the implications of NFC in the near future Once again operators are pushing handset makers to incorporate full NFC (Near Field Communications) functionality into their handsets. As the global economies slow down operators are looking to add revenue from other sources, if possible, hence the latest push for NFC, which is a relatively simple technology that shows at lot of promise but has been slowed down by conflicts of interest (who owns the service). This has now been greatly clarified through GSMA and ETSI initiatives. All this seems to be behind us now as recent trials have demonstrated both the viability and apparent public acceptance of the technology. The question here is when NFC becomes main stream, what are the implications? Firstly, consumers will benefit from not having to carry cash, but instead use their phones for transactions. To be successful, NFC enabled phones would need to have the ability to carry out micro-purchases without the overheads of a credit card. So far consumers seem to be OK with the idea — for example a recent trial by FarEasTone in Taiwan claims that 90 percent of people felt positive toward the service. An unintended consequence could be that banks will be able to further reduce their costs by cutting down on the number of branches and employees. After all this was the end effect of the ATM to a certain degree. Now we have another tool to communicate with both the ATM and shop. Coins and cash will disappear in this scenario, but will it remain anonymous — after all cash cannot be traced? Today internet banks operate without many or any branches, but its customers need to be online and feel comfortable doing their bank transactions via the internet. NFC brings this capability, though in a more limited sense, to everyone with a phone. If the technology is reasonably cheap, expect it to proliferate in developing countries as well, where banking facilities are far from ideal or even nonexistent. Jean-Pierre Joosting Editor mwee@eetimes.be Mobile:- +32-473-606005 TECHINSIGHTS A UBM COMPANY Paul Miller Group President Microwave Engineering ● November 2008 December ● www.mwee.com http://www.mwee.com
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