
NTT Docomo announced  an agreement with South Korea’s KT Corporation to use near field  communication (NFC) technologies to develop cross-border services for  mobile payments, mass-transit ticketing, promotional coupons and other  services. If everything goes as planned, the two market-leading  operators will launch in their respective markets from around the end of  2012.
Through the joint Business & Technology Cooperation  Committee, Docomo and KT will develop NFC common specifications to be  incorporated in devices, networks and billing platforms for mobile NFC  services. As a result, customers travelling between South Korea and  Japan will access the services using compatible Android handsets  embedded with contactless IC chips.
But the buck may not stop  there – Docomo also plans to submit an outline of the common  specifications to global industry associations and standardization  bodies, such as the GSMA, with the ultimate goal to build an  international environment for compatible NFC services. In that sense,  the company has formed strategic tie-ups with Visa, NFC chip and mobile  handset manufacturer Samsung Electronics, and SIM card vendor Gemalto.  Additionally, DOCOMO will collaborate with Sumitomo Mitsui Card and  bitWallet for enhanced cross-border services.
For the record,  Docomo has been providing NFC-based Osaifu-Keitai mobile-wallet services  in Japan since 2004, while KT has been operating a post-paid mass  transit service in South Korea since 2002.
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