Confidex to provide 125 million contactless tickets to Chinese railway operator
By Mark Johnson, RFID Tribe
Nokia, Finland (August 29, 2006) - Confidex, a Finland-based RFID tag design and
manufacturing specialist, announced today that Guangshen Railway Company Ltd.
(NYSE:GSH), part of the world's largest public transport operator, Ministry of Railways of
China, has selected Confidex as the supplier of contactless limited use tickets. Confidex is to
provide 125 million RFID tickets, with deliveries to start in October 2006.
The Chinese railway system carries over 3 billion passengers annually and relies exclusively
on single trip tickets. Guangshen Railway Company (GSRC) operates the railway between
Guangzhou and Shenzhen in southeast China. The railway company currently uses
barcode-based tickets using barcode scanners to process the passenger tickets. Ticket fraud
is a problem for these types of barcode-based ticket systems that can be reproduced using
photocopy machines. RFID-based contactless tickets will drastically reduce counterfeit ticket
fraud. As the railway transitions to contactless tickets, railway personnel will process tickets
with handheld readers. Using contactless tickets allows the railway to automate boarding at
turnstiles or at other portals used by the railway system.
The RFID-based contactless tickets that Confidex is providing are made from paper containing
an RFID inlay that contains a Phillips MiFare semiconductor chip. The ticket uses the high
frequency (HF 13.36 MHz) spectrum and the ISO 14443 air interface standard.
RFID Tribe talked with Timo Lindström, Confidex CEO and member of RFID Tribe. According
to Lindström, the GSRC will be handling the systems integration of infrastructure for hardware,
software and services for the contactless ticket system.
Confidex will set up a subsidiary named XinTag based in Guangzhou, China. XinTag will
market Confidex products under the XinTag brand. Commenting on establishing operations in
China, Lindström said, "We will have technical experts from Finland, but will recruit a number
of people including a general manager." He commented to RFID Tribe that the greatest
challenge for the Confidex is "scheduling and finding the right people in China."
Lindström said that Confidex will pursue applications for RFID ticketing applications in China
and throughout the world.
In recent months the RFID trade press has highlighted seemingly slow RFID technology
adoption in China due to lack of RFID standards endorsed by the China government. Much of
the focus has been on UHF (866 MHz - 960 MHz) RFID standards and speculation regarding
China setting an independent UHF standard.
The Guangshen Railway Company project is an example of an existing international standard
(ISO 14443) that is accepted in China and is being adopted for general use. As ISO-based
UHF RFID standards become accepted worldwide, it appears that RFID market forces may
move faster than the Chinese government.
Confidex press release
Guangshen Railway Company Ltd. (NYSE:GSH)
Map of Guangzhou and Shenzhen area
MiFare website
ISO 14443 standard
By Mark Johnson, RFID Tribe
Nokia, Finland (August 29, 2006) - Confidex, a Finland-based RFID tag design and
manufacturing specialist, announced today that Guangshen Railway Company Ltd.
(NYSE:GSH), part of the world's largest public transport operator, Ministry of Railways of
China, has selected Confidex as the supplier of contactless limited use tickets. Confidex is to
provide 125 million RFID tickets, with deliveries to start in October 2006.
The Chinese railway system carries over 3 billion passengers annually and relies exclusively
on single trip tickets. Guangshen Railway Company (GSRC) operates the railway between
Guangzhou and Shenzhen in southeast China. The railway company currently uses
barcode-based tickets using barcode scanners to process the passenger tickets. Ticket fraud
is a problem for these types of barcode-based ticket systems that can be reproduced using
photocopy machines. RFID-based contactless tickets will drastically reduce counterfeit ticket
fraud. As the railway transitions to contactless tickets, railway personnel will process tickets
with handheld readers. Using contactless tickets allows the railway to automate boarding at
turnstiles or at other portals used by the railway system.
The RFID-based contactless tickets that Confidex is providing are made from paper containing
an RFID inlay that contains a Phillips MiFare semiconductor chip. The ticket uses the high
frequency (HF 13.36 MHz) spectrum and the ISO 14443 air interface standard.
RFID Tribe talked with Timo Lindström, Confidex CEO and member of RFID Tribe. According
to Lindström, the GSRC will be handling the systems integration of infrastructure for hardware,
software and services for the contactless ticket system.
Confidex will set up a subsidiary named XinTag based in Guangzhou, China. XinTag will
market Confidex products under the XinTag brand. Commenting on establishing operations in
China, Lindström said, "We will have technical experts from Finland, but will recruit a number
of people including a general manager." He commented to RFID Tribe that the greatest
challenge for the Confidex is "scheduling and finding the right people in China."
Lindström said that Confidex will pursue applications for RFID ticketing applications in China
and throughout the world.
In recent months the RFID trade press has highlighted seemingly slow RFID technology
adoption in China due to lack of RFID standards endorsed by the China government. Much of
the focus has been on UHF (866 MHz - 960 MHz) RFID standards and speculation regarding
China setting an independent UHF standard.
The Guangshen Railway Company project is an example of an existing international standard
(ISO 14443) that is accepted in China and is being adopted for general use. As ISO-based
UHF RFID standards become accepted worldwide, it appears that RFID market forces may
move faster than the Chinese government.
Confidex press release
Guangshen Railway Company Ltd. (NYSE:GSH)
Map of Guangzhou and Shenzhen area
MiFare website
ISO 14443 standard
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Confidex to provide 125 million contactless tickets to Chinese railway operator