Near-field payments and ticketing via the SIM offered by the True Corporation.

by: admin Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Rating: Freaking cool!!!!!!!

Thailand’s mobile users will be able, from Friday, to sign up to to the latest technology offering users proximity services for payment and ticketing.

Mobile technology and service companies have been talking about services like this for some time. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigebee and even GPS have been touted as solutions but TrueMove, the mobile arm of Thailand’s media conglomerate the True Corporation, have released a version using SIM’s.

“Embedding the technology into the SIM gives the operator complete control, and means it will work with just about every handset on the market. But getting a radio connection from the SIM to the outside world isn’t easy, especially as most SIMs are sandwiched between the battery and the circuit boards” reports The Register. The solution: to attach an antenna firstly to the SIM and then to the outside face of the battery. This wont work with every handset apparently but True believe it will work with a great many.

The end user interacts with the technology through the geeky sounding SIM Toolkit applications, which is a simple text based menu driven UI which means even basic handsets will be able to run this. Deals have already been put in place with fast food operators, cinemas and shops. A sponsorship deal has even been done by TrueMove with the local version of Fame Academy, Academy Fantasia. The contestants will use the system to open doors, lockers and rooms, and fans will be able to vote by placing their phone near a picture of their idol in TrueMove shops.

We say: I have to say I love this, yes I know, I’m a geek, shoot me why don’t you!!. It will be fascinating to see how TrueMove’s solution develops over the next few months. I would love to see this in the UK (anybody??) Hats off to TrueMove, for not only have they developed and deployed this technology they are using it themselves with their staff using it to get into their office. There is always something reassuring about a technology being used by the developer daily.

Anybody want to use it for a music festival???? Go TrueMove!!!!