Mobile RFID

Mobile phones could have moved a step closer to being used as credit cards, car keys and concert tickets, after operators around the world said they would work together on the technology.

The GSM Association (GSMA), which represents operators serving more than 40 percent of the world's phone users, said on Monday that it was pushing for a global standard on near field communications (NFC).

The short-range wireless technology would be based on having a RFID chip embedded in the handset, along with some sort of NFC software. As for cost, a GSMA spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Monday that "we don't have a figure for it but we reckon it's a relatively modest cost to add it to the handset."