Man City's mobile ticketing system awaits compatible handsets

English Manchester City completed a mobile ticketing trial but cannot offer the service until next-generation handsets are developed.

Thirty fans were given radio frequency-enabled (RF) phones that use near-field communication (NFC) technology at the beginning of the season to store ticket information and open stadium turnstiles when held against a scanner.

"The trial proved the technology works and the feedback from fans of all ages has been positive," said Duncan Martin, head of retail at Manchester City. "We must now wait on the development of mobile phones equipped to accept NFC.

"But the scheme is ready to launch and we believe that eventually more mobile phones will be used to gain entry to the stadium than smartcards."

NFC technology has been used in Japan for more than two years, and other clubs have experimented with it.

Season ticket data can be written to the RF chips, but supporters can also purchase single tickets where data is transmitted from the turnstiles to the phone.

"When a fan buys a single ticket, such as to a cup game, the information is sent from the database to the turnstile," said Martin. "When the fan passes through the turnstile, the information is written to the chip."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.