The Qtel Group, a telecommunications company based in the Middle East, met with Research in Motion (RIM), a Canadian telecomm group, to discuss opportunities regarding the expansion of NFC technology in the Middle East. Mobile commerce is seen as a particularly lucrative industry in some parts of the Middle East, such as Qatar, where the popularity of smart phones continues to soar. Mobile commerce is made possible through NFC technology, which can turn ordinary smart phones into payment devices. The two companies are looking to expand their global relationship to make the adoption of NFC more seamless worldwide.
The two companies teamed for the first time near the beginning of the year, where they outlined a plan to educate businesses about NFC technology. Their efforts helped define standards for using the technology in the Middle East and Canada and introduced the concept of mobile payments to both regions. The partners are now looking to make mobile commerce a reality with the help of a new generation of smart phone based on the Blackberry 7 operating system.
Blackberry’s new operating system is a marked improvement, in terms of performance and features, from the previous operating system. Both Qtel and RIM will use the system to construct NFC-enabled handsets that will be introduced to the commercial market in the Middle East. Depending on the success of the new smart phones, they will be brought to Canada at a later date.