03 December 2015 – GlobalPlatform has released version 1.2 of its ‘System Messaging Specification for the Management of Mobile-NFC Services’. The specification, which defines the roles of actors in the NFC landscape, and the common language used between them, has been updated to recognize new actors within the NFC ecosystem. It also makes lifecycle management data more accessible to service providers.
Specifically, the role of device application manager has been introduced to address the increasing number of complex secure NFC applications which are being made available, such as mobile wallets and those being downloaded from app stores. The management of NFC services offered via these device applications has necessitated a revised workflow.
Additionally, service providers can now more easily access additional lifecycle management data, simplifying decision-making and the service development process.
“The mobile-NFC application landscape is very dynamic and as a result GlobalPlatform’s Specifications also have to evolve,” comments Gil Bernabeu, Technical Director of GlobalPlatform. “Since the original launch of this specification, application management has changed significantly. End users now increasingly download their own services to their mobile handsets, thanks to app stores which offer access to millions of apps, and new actors are emerging to make all of this work seamlessly. All of the updates made in v1.2 of this specification have been based on feedback from live NFC implementations, our membership and GlobalPlatform’s End-to-End Simplified Framework Working Group. The result is a document which meets the current and anticipated needs of the NFC ecosystem.”
First released in 2011, the GlobalPlatform Messaging Specification defines the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders within the NFC landscape. It also outlines the ‘language’ that should be used to ensure global consistency and clear communication when managing secure applications over-the-air or over-the-internet in a cloud environment. This ‘language’ is technically known as ‘messages’. By using this specification, messages can be exchanged between all actors in an NFC deployment in an interoperable, secure and reliable web services format.
The System Messaging Specification for the Management of Mobile-NFC Services, v1.2 is free to download from the GlobalPlatform website.