China Telecom Selects Gemalto for Commercial Launch of NFC Services

Gemalto announced that it is one of the suppliers selected by China Telecom for its UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIM to support its commercial rollout of mobile contactless services. China Telecom is a leading operator in China with more than 183 million subscribers. The high-end SIM is embedded with Gemalto’s LTE management software, enabling China Telecom subscribers to enjoy NFC services with the convenience and speed of mobile broadband.

China has a population of 1.4 billion, half of whom now live in urban areas. This rapid concentration of populations in mega-cities means users have more services to access, while the speed of daily life demands fast NFC solutions. At the same time, China’s banking services are moving to EMV, especially in its contactless form, with more than 400 million contactless chip payment cards issued at the end of 2013. China Telecom’s massive NFC roll-out is happening just as the contactless ecosystem is being deployed.

China Telecom subscribers will be able to choose from multiple types of NFC-enabled mobile phones to make payments for transportation, dining, shopping and petrol throughout the country. Airport check-ins, personal authentication services and employee ID services will be introduced in the future. The Gemalto UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIM has been specially developed and customized by Gemalto for China Telecom.

“With smartphone penetration in China surpassing 66% and over 3 million contactless POS terminals in the field, the mobile payment ecosystem is in place. The major players in China are launching NFC initiatives, enabling China Telecom’s subscribers to experience a rich variety of contactless services,” said Suzanne Tong-Li, president of Greater China and Korea at Gemalto. “The UpTeq SIM’s additional LTE feature will enable China Telecom to deliver an enhanced NFC experience to their customers, leveraging the accelerated download of NFC applications using their LTE network.”