China Mobile outlines NFC roadmap

China Mobile has detailed its NFC rollout plans, with the launch scheduled for 2013 following an ongoing trial of the technology...

China Mobile has detailed its NFC rollout plans, with the launch scheduled for 2013 following an ongoing trial of the technology. The operator is using contactless technology provided by China Unionpay.

The trial and eventually the service will be supported by devices from six vendors – Coolpad, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, Samsung and ZTE. China Mobile has confirmed that another two brands will provide devices, but declined to name them.

China Mobile aims to sell 10 million TD-SCDMA handsets featuring NFC functionality over the next year. Twelve provinces will be able to access NFC services from February 2013, with a full commercial launch due to follow at some point next year.