2006-2011: the first experimental projects with NFC
Since 2006, approximately 15 experimental projects have been carried out in France. Caen and Strasbourg have tested payments using mobile phones. In Paris, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Marseille, Rennes, and Toulouse, public transport passengers were able to use their mobile phones to validate travel tickets and access geolocalized information using the tags provided. All of these experimental projects have been analyzed by the Mobile Contactless Services Forum (click here to read the document in French).
These experiments were all carried out with a small number of testers and provided the opportunity to test user interest for these new services (90% of users were satisfied). They helped French players in the NFC market to validate the technical specifications for payment solutions and the use of mobile phones in the urban transport environment.
In particular, the test convinced them of the clear need to carry out a pilot project on a larger scale involving all members of the NFC ecosystem: industrials, banks, mobile network operators and regional authorities.
2010-2011 : Pre-deployment in Nice and then in Strasbourg
In 2010, the Urban Community of Nice was selected to stage what up
until now (end of 2011) represents the largest deployment of mobile NFC
services in Europe.
What is particular about the Nice project is that it gathered
together a large number of players* and succeeded in deploying
transport, payment and tourism services which are expected to last. The
deployment of the services is based on mobile NFC phones which are
commercialized (and not lent out) by the mobile operators or banks. In
the beginning the choice was limited to just one mobile phone, but a
range of approximately ten phones is expected by the end of 2011. These
mobile phones are marketed under the common Cityzi brand name, which was
created by the mobile operators. The Cityzi label offers the consumer
the guarantee of compatibility between the NFC phone and the services
marketed under the same name.
At the end of 2011, the services which will be operational in Nice include:
- Payments using NFC mobile phones or contactless payment cards in almost 1,000 different outlets.
- Possibility
to purchase and validate transport tickets using a mobile phone. The
1,200 ticket validation machines scattered around the urban transport
network in Nice are NFC enabled.
- From a
culture point of view, it is possible to visit the Contemporary Art
Museum and the old town of Nice by following the NFC tags. All
transport stations, approximately twenty monuments and as many works of
art are equipped with NFC tags enabling access to multimedia content.
After the pilot project in Nice, an announcement was made by the 3
major mobile operators Orange, SFR and Bouygues Télécom, in which they
declared their intention to market a million NFC mobile phones in France
in 2011. They also decided to gradually expand the deployment of Cityzi
services to other major cities in France. At the same time, the Mobile
Contactless Services Forum was mandated by the French government to
accompany approximately ten major French cities who wish to officialise
their NFC service projects. For this reason, we have designed two
methodology guides (to view them in French, click here).
In September 2011, Strasbourg was the second city to launch Cityzi
services in parallel to the introduction of NFC mobile phones and
payment cards by mobile operators and several banks. Strasbourg has the
particularity of being the first city in France to offer car parking fee
payments with a mobile phone or contactless card. Other services will
also be available in the coming months.
Caen is also preparing to launch Cityzi services. For this reason,
since the summer of 2011, NFC tags coupled with QR codes have been
installed on bus shelters throughout the city’s public transport system,
as well as on self-service bikes, to provide users with information.
Caen is also contributing to the European Smart Urban Spaces project
alongside several towns in Spain and Finland.
*approximately ten banks, four mobile
network operators including the three market leaders, several dozen
retailers and transport operators…
2012: a move towards global coverage in major cities
In 2012, NFC services should really take off in the major cities and be boosted by several factors.
First of all, mobile operators are preparing to offer more than ten NFC mobile phones, including latest generation smart phones designed to meet the high demands of mobile users. This sudden influx of NFC mobile phones will ensure the wider use of Cityzi services where they are already exist, but will also lead to the emergence of new applications accessible to all users of NFC mobile phones.
In addition, France has decided to declare NFC technology as an area of French excellence and has devoted a budget of 20 million Euros to support a call for proposals to invest in the Digital City. This money will be used to finance large scale projects and NFC service deployments (at least 200,000 inhabitants) to help ensure their rapid expansion. It will also be put towards solving some of the technical constraints such as the updating of the contactless validation machines in the transport sector to comply with the NFC norm compatible with mobile phones.
The areas of activity targeted by the call for proposals include intelligent transport services (ticketing, parking, self-service bikes and car-share schemes...), public services (access to buildings or sports facilities…) and smart information (provided by tags offering practical, touristic or cultural information adapted to a geographical location). About forty regional authorities have applied and the results are expected at the end of this autumn.