AMSTERDAM & RIO DE JANEIRO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Rio de Janeiro will be the first city in Brazil to launch a pilot program enabling mobile NFC ticketing for public transportation. This innovative initiative is a pioneering partnership between RioCard Tecnologia da Informação, Gemalto, Motorola Mobility and the country’s four leading mobile operators - Claro, Oi, Telefónica and TIM, supported by the GSMA. Two hundred users of buses, trains and ferries have been selected to collaborate with these companies in this three-month pilot, which is expected to conclude in December 2013.
For the first time in Brazil, smartphones will be used as mobile wallets with embedded NFC technology enabling secure payment for public transportation tickets. NFC allows safe contactless data exchange when two compatible devices are placed within a few inches of each other. Contactless technology was first adopted in Rio de Janeiro with RioCard transit card in 2003 and is now a part of the daily routine of millions of users.
To pay for the transportation, the user needs to place the smartphone Motorola RAZR D3 – which, as the first popular device offering NFC technology, has been exclusively selected for the pilot – within a few inches of the RioCard reader terminal. An app allows users to easily check balances on the screen at any time or place. Soon, RioCard will also offer prepaid charges on the device itself. "It is a practical and fast system that brings freedom to the customer." says Homero Quintaes, Director of RioCard TI.
Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, is providing its UpTeq multi tenant NFC SIM cards with embedded Mifare4Mobile technology. The card protects the users’ credentials enabling them to securely pay for their journey with nothing more than a tap of their handset. As technology needs evolve in the future, with the addition of Gemalto’s Trusted Service Manager (TSM) platform the solution will be able to support the introduction of an extensive range of value-added services.
“Transportation is emerging as one of the major applications for NFC technology, and our UpTeq multi-tenant NFC SIM card is fully scalable to host an extensive range of services now and in the future,” explains Damien Bullot, Telecom Director for Gemalto in Brazil. “As more and more banks, merchants and service providers introduce leading edge mobile payment technology, Gemalto’s scalable solution can seamlessly accommodate the addition of new service providers as the marketplace evolves.”
“The momentum we’ve seen in mobile NFC services continues to grow at a rapid pace,” said Pierre Combelles, Head of Mobile Commerce, GSMA. "This innovative pilot in Latin America shows mobile NFC digitizing ticketing, but this is just a starting point, as mobile commerce will drive demand for new services such as payment, vouchers, loyalty programs and access, among others. It's an exciting time in the region."
Partners involved:
RioCard Tecnologia da Informação – RioCard TI is an early-adopter of the NFC technology in electronic tickets in the Passenger Transport sector – For more information visit www.cartaoriocard.com.br
Motorola Mobility – Motorola Mobility, owned by Google, creates smartphones, tablets and wireless accessories that simplify, connect and enrich people's lives. For more information visit motorola.com/mobility
Gemalto – Gemalto is the world leader in digital security, and at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work – anytime, everywhere – in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. Gemalto develops secure embedded software and secure products which it designs and personalizes. Its platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible. Gemalto’s innovations enable its clients to offer trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals. Visit www.gemalto.com and follow on Twitter @gemalto
GSMA - The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organizations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and the Mobile Asia Expo. Visit www.gsma.com and follow on Twitter: @GSMA.
Claro – Claro is one of the leading wireless carriers in Brazil. It operates nationally and currently serves more than 66 million customers. In 2012, Claro started trading the 4G Max technology in Brazil. Currently, it is present in more than 3.600 cities in Brazil, with the GSM and 3GMax Technologies. Being a leader in the offer of innovative contents and services, Claro has roaming agreements in over 170 countries for voice services and more than 150 countries for data services across the five continents. Claro is controlled by América Móvil, one of the three largest wireless telecommunications groups in the world. In the corporate responsibility area, Claro sponsors the Instituto Claro, which aims to structure its private social investment and encourage the use of new technologies in education. For more information visit: www.claro.com.br
Oi - Oi is a pioneer company in the provision of bundled services in Brazil. Oi offers local and long-distance voice transmission, mobile telephony, broadband and pay TV throughout the country. In June 2013, the company had 75 million revenue-generating units (RGUs). This total includes 47 million in the personal mobile segment, 18 million in the residential segment, 9 million in the business/corporate segment and 667 thousand public telephones.
Telefónica - Telefónica is one of the world leaders integrated operator in the telecommunication sector, providing communication, information and entertainment solutions, with presence in Europe and Latin America. It operates in 24 countries. As of June 2013, Telefónica’s total number of customers amounted to 317.3 million. Telefónica has one of the most international profiles in the sector with more than 77% of its business outside its home market and a reference point in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking market.
The Group stands in ninth position in the sector Telco worldwide in terms of market capitalisation the 1st as an European integrated operator and in eighteenth position in the Eurostoxx 50 ranking, composed of the major companies in Europe (June 30st 2013). Telefónica is a listed company. It has more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its capital traded on the continuous market on the Spanish Stock Exchanges (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia) and on those of London, New York, Lima and Buenos Aires. In Latin America, Telefónica gives service to more than 214.9 million customers as of the end of June 2013 becoming the leader operator in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru and has substantial operations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. In Europe, on top of the Spanish operations, the Company has operating companies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia, providing services to more than 101.8 million customers as of the end of June 2013.
TIM - TIM is the fastest growing operator in Brazil. Today, it has more than 72 million clients and leads the pre-paid market. TIM also focuses on network and customer service quality. In the three-year period through 2015, around 90% of the company's forecast BRL 10.7 billion in investment will be spent on infrastructure in Brazil. TIM is still the only telecom company on the BM&FBOVESPA New Market for corporations with the highest level of corporate governance. It is also part of the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) and the Carbon Efficiency Index (ICO2), both on BM&FBOVESPA.