ECAR RESEARCH BULLETIN | February 20, 2015

Near Field Communication

ECAR-WG Technology Spotlight

© 2015 EDUCAUSE.

CC by-nc-nd.

This bulletin is one of a series of papers from ECAR working groups designed to help

institutional leaders learn about and understand the implications of emerging technologies in

higher education. These technologies have been identified as the “Top 10 Confusing

Technologies” in the ECAR report Higher Education’s Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2015.

Other papers and related resources are available at the research hub for Higher Education’s

Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2015.

Near field communication (NFC) is a set of short-range wireless standards for smartphones and similar

devices. Based on RFID technology, it lets two devices (both equipped with NFC tags) share small bits of

information when they come into close proximity (somewhere between 4 and 10 cm or less). NFC is most

commonly used for mobile payments1 (one-way or passive communication) and for sharing information

between devices, such as contact information or photos (two-way or active communication). NFC is

similar to Bluetooth, though it works in a much shorter range (limiting the bandwidth, at least for now, to

106–424 kb/s, somewhat slower than Bluetooth), is easier to use,2 and, importantly, typically consumes

less power.3 This allows for a wide range of applications, including data sharing between devices and

keyboards, but disallows, for instance, high-resolution screen sharing or typical data backups. Because of

the inductive methods used to couple the devices, NFC further allows devices such as keyboards to be

powered by the paired device.4

Importance to Higher Education Mobile devices are ubiquitous, and students are coming to colleges and universities expecting to use

those devices to conduct business transactions just as they do outside academia. Android devices,

devices compatible with Google Wallet, and, with the launch of Apple Pay in October 2014, the iPhone 6

and 6 Plus all work with NFC. NFC is what makes MasterCard’s PayPass function. As usage of these

devices and their capabilities grows (consider, for instance, the uptake of wearables), we should plan to

provide services that allow NFC on our campuses. Bookstores, dining facilities, coffee shops, printers,

libraries, and others will want to be NFC capable. Just some examples of how NFC might be used in

universities and colleges include taking roll during exams,5 providing location-based information in

museums or offices,6 enhancing teaching and learning,

7 supporting use of lab equipment,

8 and facilitating

library borrowing.9

One consideration to note, however, is that as higher education begins to use NFC with HIPAA-protected

data or other personally identifiable information, the risks will change. For credit cards, companies have a

well-honed risk-management model that doesn’t work for protected university data. NFC provides

“security by obscurity” (insofar as you need to be close), but it is quite easy to grab data by proximity. As

2

the risk profile changes, there will be a strong need for improved encryption, as well as for integrating

these devices into security plans. After all, once connected to our networks, mobile devices come under

network or computer-use policies.

Current Landscape Currently, NFC is most commonly used by digital wallets. However, NFC tags are starting to become

more widely employed for a variety of other purposes, such as keyless door entry10

or loyalty programs

(no more hole-punches on that sandwich card!). Other innovative applications include:11

Automatically adjusted settings: Imagine putting your phone on your desk and automatically the

phone is changed to silent mode, your to-do list is displayed for the day, and a text message is sent

to your partner to let him know you’ve arrived at the office. Or when a student checks in on an NFC-

capable phone during an exam, the device is triggered to go into airline mode.

Replacing paper tickets: Use NFC instead of paper tickets for movies, transit, and other event

check-ins (including, for instance, in a language or computer lab).

Health care applications: Check in at the health center and store prescriptions by using NFC.12

Marketing: Use it on event promotions and let users download the info to their calendars or register

for events by clicking on the poster; tap it at specific locations to get discounts on real merchandise

(e.g., at the bookstore); include it on infotags with the latest announcements.

Paired with devices: Pair NFC with Bluetooth speakers, headsets, or keyboards or with smart home

appliances (so you know when that load of clothes is finished drying).13

Gaming: Use it for multiplayer games (educational or otherwise) or to collect points, move up a level,

or get other in-game rewards by tapping specific locations in the real world.14

In the survey of the top 10 strategic technologies for 2015, 9% of respondents already had NFC in place,

implemented, or planned, while another 12% were tracking it. Another 52% indicated they didn’t have

NFC in place, and 27% weren’t familiar with the technology (figure 1).

Figure 1. Results of the 2015 Top 10 Strategic Technologies survey, when asked about NFC

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When You Should Expect It NFC is being used now; its use, particularly for mobile

payments, is expected to increase now that Apple

Pay has launched and as more vendors and mobile

devices integrate NFC chips. Higher education should

expect that it will reach their campuses soon—it will become the norm as devices being used at the cash

register are updated and as students come armed with NFC-capable tools. Colleges and universities

should begin now to develop an understanding of how this technology might apply in innovative ways

across the campus and what security risks it might entail.15

Reviewer

ECAR would like to thank Peter M. Siegel, CIO and Vice Provost, University of Southern California, for his

helpful and significant contributions to this paper.

Notes

1. NFC security is considered better than the magnetic strip on standard credit cards. See “Benefits of Smart Cards versus

Magnetic Stripe Cards for Healthcare Applications,” Smart Card Alliance. See also “Smart Technology Credentials” and

Odysseas Papadimitriou, “Goodbye Magnetic Stripe, Hello Security,” CreditUnionTimes, April 15, 2012.

2. See “Near Field Communication versus Bluetooth,” NearFieldCommunication.org.

3. For a more detailed side-by-side comparison, see Fred Donovan, “Infographic: Bluetooth vs. NFC Wireless Technologies,”

FierceMobileIT, February 18, 2014.

4. For an example of a battery-less keyboards using this technology, see the one2TOUCH.

5. Marcos J. López Fernández, Jorge Guzón Fernández, Sergio Ríos Aguilar, Blanca Salazar Selvi, and Rubén González Crespo,

“Control of Attendance Applied in Higher Education through Mobile NFC Technologies,” Expert Systems with Applications 40,

no. 11 (September 1, 2013): 4,478–4,489.

6. See “NFC at the Museum of London.”

7. See “How Can I Use NFC to Engage My Students?” Jisc Inform 38 (Winter 2013), and David W. Middleton and Michael Taylor,

“Mobile Connections: QR and NFC for Higher Ed,” presentation from the EDUCAUSE 2012 Mid-Atlantic Conference, Baltimore,

Maryland, January 12, 2012.

8. Karin Clavel, “Scansistant: An App for Mobile Learning Using Near Field Communication,” Delft University of Technology, May

19, 2014.

9. See “Ease of Borrowing in RFID Libraries through Use of NFC Phones.”

10. In 2011, Arizona State University piloted the use of NFC as dorm keys. See “No More Lockouts: ASU Students Use Phones as

Keys,” ASU News, September 16, 2011.

11. Some examples of other ways NFC is being and might be used can be found at Sharon Profis, “The Most Practical, Creative

Ways to Use NFC with Your Android Device,” CNET, July 25, 2012.

12. Sarah Clark, “Dartmouth Researchers Develop Continuous Authentication Service Based on Smart Wristbands,” NFC World+,

September 29, 2014.

13. Sharon Profis, “Everything You Need to Know about NFC and Mobile Payments,” CNET, September 5, 2014.

14. For more on gaming and NFC, see “Games” at NFC World+.

15. For more on the use of NFC in higher education, see “Using NFC to Replace Campus One-Cards with Smartphones,” University

Business, March 2013.

When Early Adopters Mainstream

Now ✓

1–2 years

2–3 years ✓

3–5 years

More than 5 years