Orange, which has already launched NFC-based services in France and the UK, is hoping to press ahead with a further commercial deployment in Poland and Spain, according to Simon Best, the operator’s strategy director. Best was speaking at a GSMA-organised webinar on NFC technology (see video). “Apart from France and UK we are also trialling the service in our other major markets in Europe, Poland and Spain. We are moving forward with plans to launch live services in those markets,” he said during his presentation. In Poland Orange has been conducting a trial with bank WBK this year ahead of a planned commercial launch in 2012. The operator has also been trialling the use of NFC technology for transport tickets in the Spanish city of Malaga. In Madrid, the operator has also conducted a trial with the city’s public sector of waste management services.

Orange launched its Cityzi NFC service in the French city of Nice last year offering transport, payment and tourist information to users. The operator plans to extend the service to a number of other French cities next year. In the UK, Orange launched a service called Quicktap in May this year with Barclaycard. The service emulates payment cards on mobile devices.