NXP wins Sochi 2014 Olympics tech trials

MANHASSET, NY -- Russian authorities have chosen NXP's contactless microcontroller for the Russian city of Sochi to power the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system of its ground transportation network at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

NXP's MIFARE Plus is currently in the pilot phase at Sochi. It is the first time MIFARE Plus is being implemented in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. NXP Semicodncuctors N.V. is working with partners Strikh-M, inlay manufacturer SMARTRAC and card manufacturer Novacard to provide a contactless AFC to both passengers and transport operators.

Large attendance venues in closed quarters like the 2014 Olympics in Sochi serve as testbeds for near field Communications (NFC). MIFARE-based applications can transform NFC mobile phones into transport or entry tickets, offering a range of sales and distribution, ticketing and validation services from a single device.

“This is a significant project for NXP, Strikh-M and the other partners involved in this project and serves as a role model for other similar projects in the region. We are confident that all residents of Sochi will benefit from this contactless solution and that it will enable the city to prepare for the upcoming Olympics,” said Henri Ardevol, general manager of secure transactions, NXP Semiconductors, in a statement.

Aredevol remarked that NXP is seeing increasing demand for contactless technology in Russia and the other CIS states. Major operators such as the Moscow Metro already use NXP technology.

MIFARE Plus-based systems will serve Sochi’s population of 500,000 residents and one million tourists annually.

The project is an essential part of Sochi’s preparation for building a highly secure AFC system for the Olympic Games. Currently the city expects to receive about 400,000 additional visitors to the city during February 2014. The MIFARE Plus-based AFC system can scale up for the larger number of passengers.

NFC-based applications allow consumers to avoid queues at ticket counters and access card information straight from the screen of their NFC mobile phones.

NXP’s latest MIFARE contactless IC enables systems integrators to add new security features and functionality into existing MIFARE infrastructures.

"We’re incredibly proud to be hosting the Olympic Games in 2014, and this project will be vital to the success of the games and provide an efficient transportation service for all visitors to the city," said Alexey Smaglyuk, director of the transport and communication department, Sochi City Administration.

MIFARE Plus was designed specifically for contactless applications which require additional layers of security such as public transport tickets schemes, road tolling, loyalty cards, closed loop micro payments and in access management in both the public and private sectors. It features 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and supports migration from existing MIFARE Classic implementations.