NFC Forum selects Integri for Near Field Communication (NFC) conformance test tools

 

 

 

Brussels, 15 September 2009 – Integri, a Clear2Pay company and leading provider of test tools and related expertise, announced today its selection by the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, to collaborate in the development of conformance test tools for digital communication between NFC devices and tags. Additionally, the NFC Forum is providing financial assistance for validation of the test tools by a qualified third party test laboratory.

Near Field Communication (NFC), is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that is used with devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or smart phones to enable fast and secure short-distance data transfer services such as payment and ticketing applications. The NFC Forum advances the use of NFC technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market.

A key condition for commercial success is interoperable interconnectivity between devices and tags. To facilitate this interoperability, all NFC equipment must be compliant with the NFC Forum specifications. Under the scope of the collaboration agreement, Integri and NFC Forum are working closely together to develop the necessary tools for testing NFC implementations at communication and timing levels (digital layers).

Integri is developing three different tools to enable the industry to validate their NFC devices against the NFC Forum test specifications. The first test solution, “Listen Mode” will be launched end of September 2009 while the “Poll Mode” and “Peer-to-Peer Mode” are planned for a later phase. These tools are vital for manufacturers who want to test their NFC products in the near future to be able to go to market fast and offering high quality products.

Jan De Meester, CEO at Integri said: "Shortly after announcing the joint development of a NFC Level 1 test tool with our partner MicroPross, we feel privileged and rewarded for our hard work in research and development. The fact that we are selected by the NFC community, represented by the distinguished NFC Forum, is another major achievement in our 17 years of existence. We feel that this is a major step for wide industry adoption of NFC technology in a wide area of applications."

"Today's announcement represents another key milestone on the path to global interoperability of NFC solutions," said Paula Berger, NFC Forum Executive Director.  "We are pleased to work with Integri in developing test tools that ensure NFC solutions comply with Forum specifications."

Once validated, the digital layer conformance test tools are targeted for use by certification laboratories, following selection by the NFC Forum, and will also be available for in-house pre-certification purposes.

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The NFC Forum, http://www.nfc-forum.org, was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. The Forum’s mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum’s 140 global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery and device capability.

The NFC Forum’s Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Innovision Research & Technology plc, INSIDE Contactless, MasterCard Worldwide, Microsoft Corp., NEC, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, Renesas Technology, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Visa Inc.

Integri specialises in test tools and expertise for payment, ticketing and mobile applications. The company offers a number of dedicated platforms for specific applications, each with a number of Off-the-Shelf Test Suites. These test suites are fully prepared solutions that include simulation and test scripts and are based on international open standards. Integri’s expert centre assists companies worldwide with professional services within the various areas of the payment industry. Integri employs 45 staff, has +150 customers and sold +3000 licenses in 35 countries since its inception in 1992. The company is located in Belgium and France. Integri’s clients are mainly financial institutions, smartcard manufacturers, terminal manufacturers, ticketing operators, mobile operators and system integrators active in e- or m-business.

Integri is a subsidiary of Clear2Pay, an international financial technology company focused on delivering globally applicable solutions for secure, payments technology, systems and consultancy. Clear2Pay operates from 14 international offices and currently employs over 400 staff. Integri is part of Clear2Pay’s Card Division which covers other card payment related solutions and services such as e-commerce solutions and chargeback software.