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Focus

Technology on show – the Olympic dividend

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are being viewed as an opportunity to showcase more than just sporting prowess to domestic and foreign visitors alike. For example, London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson, has pledged to spruce up the capital’s technology-friendly image by ensuring blanket WiFi support across the capital in time for the event, although it is currently unclear whether this will be free of charge.

TfL is playing its part by promising to introduce chargeable WiFi access at all Underground stations and bus stops by June 2012, following a successful trial at Charing Cross tube station.

Discussions are also taking place with mobile phone operators about the possibility of providing coverage at stations, but plans for both mobile and WiFi support in tunnel areas have fallen through.

London’s famous black taxicabs are also getting in on the act. A recently launched scheme will eventually give all 25,000 black cab drivers access to contactless payment technology. The solution will accept Chip and PIN and magstripe cards as well contactless, and will also feature value-added services such as mobile phone top-up.

At the Olympic Park, sponsors have guaranteed that visitors will be able to use mobile and contactless card technology to buy food and drink, as long as it is below the UK’s £15 transaction limit for contactless payments.

One sponsor, Visa, is also working with Samsung to develop an Olympics-branded, NFC-based mobile phone that includes a Visa-enabled SIM card and payment applications. For promotional purposes, the phone will be given free of charge to athletes sponsored by the two firms, but it will also be sold to consumers via retail outlets and mobile wireless carriers.

Meanwhile, Orange and Barclaycard have got together to provide mobile payment facilities to customers in time for the Games, while O2 likewise intends to launch a mobile wallet application as early as the second half of 2011. The wallet will comprise a suite of mobile payment options, including NFC-based contactless support and a shopping service to enable consumers to search for products and pay for physical goods. Individuals will also be able to transfer money to each other, and access phone top-up options that will be expanded over time to cover activities such as bill payment.