Mobile momentum
Research forecast by Juniper suggests that at least 1 in 5 smartphones will have NFC by 2014. With increasing number of players entering the bandwagon, Juniper says the growth will be driven by network operators launching services in 20 early adopting countries before the end of 2012.
The forecast suggests that there might be almost 300 million NFC-enabled smartphones by 2014. Interestingly, North America will account for half of all NFC smartphones, followed by Western Europe.
In the NFC Retail Marketing & Mobile Payments Report, author Howard Wilcox noted: "Juniper's market analysis highlighted that, although there are still hurdles ahead, NFC prospects have been boosted by the succession of mobile operator and device vendor announcements. France is a case in point where operators expect to sell one million NFC devices this year."
NFC payments and marketing through coupons and smart posters will become the primary applications among users in Western Europe, North America and other developed regions.
Noting the number of telecom operators implementing NFC, Juniper's report also warned that business model structures will definitely require further development before rolling out NFC services.
The report contains six year forecasts for all key market parameters including users. It also pinpoints the drivers and constraints impacting the market. With banks, mobile operators, transport companies and merchants adopting the technology protocol, the report noted that service complexity might be a big challenge.
