NFC Forum Issues Specifications

The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association advancing the use of near field communication (NFC) technology, has announced the publication of its first four specifications. NFC technology is a short-range, standards-based wireless connectivity technology which allows consumers to perform safe contactless transactions, access digital content and connect electronic devices with a single touch. The NFC Forum’s Sponsor Members include: HP, MasterCard, Microsoft, Nokia, NEC, Panasonic, Renesas, Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sony Corp., Texas Instruments and Visa Intl.

The new specifications make it possible for any manufacturer to create NFC-Forum-compliant devices that will be interoperable with other manufacturers’ devices and compatible with the NFC-Forum-compliant offerings of service providers, ensuring successful communication between devices and tags.

The four specifications now available at are:

– NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) Technical Specification (specifies a common data format for NFC Forum-compliant devices and NFC Forum-compliant tags)

– NFC Record Type Definition (RTD) Technical Specification (specifies standard record types used in messages between two NFC Forum-compliant devices or between NFC Forum-compliant devices and tags)

– NFC Text RTD Technical Specification (for records containing plain text that can be read by NFC-enabled devices)

– NFC URI RTD Technical Specification (for elements that refer to an Internet resource that can be read by NFC-enabled devices)

“The NFC Forum is committed to advancing the use of and delivering on the promise of the NFC technology, and the need for standard specifications is one of the critical factors in achieving this,” said Christophe Duverne, Chairman, NFC Forum. “Issuing the first four specifications signifies a huge step forward in creating the framework that is necessary to make NFC applications a reality and put NFC capabilities in the hands of consumers around the world.”

The full details available (as .PDF) in their Press Release section.