The Role of the Mobile Phone in an ICT Environment

One of the problems with ICT, web based services, smartcards as data repositories and online access in general, is the need to have access to terminals. The mobile phone is fast developing to fulfil that role. SMS messages offer a simple but rather slow and expensive route for 2-way information flow, while Internet access and WAP based applications are able to take us to the next stage.

What has been established is the development of a new channel usable by most people. However, the capability to interact with a remote server provides only some pieces of the overall jigsaw. Others are:

  • Security is a key issue if use of the mobile is not to be restricted to simple low security tasks
    • A secure channel is required
    • A method of secure user authentication is required
  • Communication with other ICT devices is often required. For example, using the mobile phone to purchase a train ticket and have it loaded onto the phone is fine, but that ticket has to be presented at a gate or transferred to a smartcard ticket token (Oyster or ITSO in the UK).

Many companies are developing different solutions to these problems and it is no longer a problem of waiting for solutions, rather it is the problem of picking the right one. In the longer term de facto standards will develop leading to formal international standards. In the meantime, implementers have to choose from an array of different technical solution including secure VPN's, various encryption processes, 2-factor authentication, various biometrics, 2-D bar codes and NFC.

NFC is a fast developing technology, initially intended to allow any device to talk to any other device, for example fridge to freezer to television set to the Internet. When built into a mobile phone it turns the phone into a very powerful device linking the phone's mobile network to any NFC capable device. It is important to note that one of the modes of operation of an NFC device is to emulate the communications protocol of contactless smartcards (ISO/IEC 14443). This means a suitably equipped mobile phone can, as described above, have a train ticket written to it such that the mobile phone can either emulate a smartcard at a gate, or act as a contactless card reader/writer and transfer the ticket to a travel smartcard.

The above scenario is but one example of how mobile phones can operate in an ICT environment and certainly, over time many more uses will develop to make the role of the mobile phone ever more important in today's modern world of technology. ALCO Consulting specialises in understanding new technologies, tracking the winners and losers, and from this, providing good, long term, future-proof advice in advance of investment and implementation decisions. In addition, we sit on a number of international standards panels and are well placed to track developing standards at the earliest time. For more information contact us on info@alco.eu.com
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