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Top1. Introduction
Near field communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology which is the advanced development of RFID technology. NFC’s fundamental advantages compared to other wireless technologies like Bluetooth is the availability of the data storage facility known as the NFC tag. NFC is not just a replacement data cable as Bluetooth, but also as a means of store of data. Referring to the NFC Forum, NFC technology is currently used in three areas, namely sharing, pairing, and transaction. NFC operates between two devices over a very short communication range. NFC communication uses the 13.56 MHz spectrum as in RFID. Currently data transfer speed options are 106, 212, and 424 kbps. NFC technology operates in different operating modes; reader/writer, peer-to peer, and card emulation where communication occurs between an NFC mobile on one side, and a passive RFID tag (NFC tag), an NFC mobile or an NFC reader on the other side. Michahelles et al. (2007) and Ondrus, J. and Pigneur, Y. (2009) gives a good overview of NFC, Context and Foundations of RFID and NFC.
NFC is a bidirectional and short range wireless communication technology. The communication occurs between two NFC compliant devices within a few centimeters. A 13.56 MHz signal with a bandwidth not more than 424 kbps is used. NFC technology operates in different operating modes; reader/writer, peer-to-peer, and card emulation where communication occurs between an NFC mobile on one side, and a passive RFID tag (NFC tag), an NFC mobile or an NFC reader on the other side, respectively (Vedat Coskun et al., 2012). Cho, J. Kim, J. and Kim, S. (2009) and Mair, R. G. (2010) gives a good description of NFC Infrastructure (i.e. about Tags, Antennas, Readers and NFC chip). Miraz, G. M. Ruiz, et al. (2009) gives good overview of Card Emulation Mode Applications in NFC such as payment, mobile coupons, ticketing, and electronic key. The NFC interface is composed of an analog/digital front-end called an NFC Contactless Front-end (NFC CLF), an NFC antenna and an NFC controller to enable NFC communication. The NFC controller enables NFC communication of the mobile phone with the external NFC device. An NFC enabled mobile phone requires an SE for performing secure transactions with the external NFC devices. The SE provides a secure environment for related programs and data. It enables storage of sensitive data of the user. It also enables secure storage and execution of NFC enabled services such as contactless payments.
Various standards have already been defined for NFC communication between two NFC enabled devices, and data transfer within the NFC mobile phone such as Single Wire Protocol (SWP) or the NFC Wired Interface (NFC-WI) (Vedat Coskun et al., 2012). There are various SE alternatives but the most popular ones are a) Embedded hardware; b) Secure Memory Card (SMC); and c) Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) (Vedat Coskun et al., 2012). Mobile commerce literature reviews are also good sources for creating suitable NFC taxonomy. E.Ngai and Gunasekaran, A. (2007) gives good review for mobile commerce research and its applications. E. Ngai et al. (2008) identified the gaps between theory and practice and future research directions for m-commerce papers clearly through a well structured classification framework and analyses. Keng Siau (2001) discusses the challenges and promises of Mobile Commerce. Thomas F. Stafford (2003) provides an overview of mobile commerce.