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NFC SIM Interface NXP Semiconductors retracts its S1C Proposal
NXP Semiconductors announced at ETSI SCP TEC#11 meeting in La Ciotat, France this morning, it will be retracting its recent proposal to ETSI-SCP for a one-wire connection named DIOCTL (for Digital Interface on 1-wire to enable contactless communication), or so-called S1C (Signal One Connection). That important decision means SWP (Single Wire Protocol) is becoming de facto the standard interface to link the SIM card (secure element) and the NFC front end in the next generation of hansets. No one can see how respectively the Sony (SCPt060763) and Nokia (MPI, SCPt060778) emerging proposals could seriously compete with the so proven and mature SWP (SCPt060718), designed and developed by Axalto and Inside Contactless, then by Gemalto, and now supported by Giesecke& Devrient and Sagem-Orga, and a majority of MNOs. The SWP is now ready to be included in the next ETSI Release 7.
Here is the official NXP text to explain its decision :
“As the co-inventor of Near Field Communication (NFC), NXP is extremely pleased to see strong market demand from telecom operators for the technology. Regarding this development, we expect a significant part of NFC mobile phone applications, such as payment and ticketing, to be based on the SIM-Card.
Concerning the connection between the SIM-Card and the NFC chip, NXP has looked at many solutions that can enhance the technology, with a view to accelerating the market, driving standards and creating applications that end-users will find attractive, and ultimately adopt. Given that time to market is most important to SIM-based contactless implementations, NXP has decided to contribute to SWP discussions (within ETSI) and to ensure it becomes a standard compatible with widespread payment and contactless infrastructure.
Consequently NXP will be retracting its recent proposal to ETSI-SCP for a one-wire connection named DIOCTL to avoid a slow-down of NFC adoption in mobile phones due to competing interconnection solutions.
NXP believes that this decision will provide the industry with one standardized solution enabling the rapid deployment of NFC devices and implementations, as well as seamless interoperability with existing contactless applications and services around the world.”