Telecom Italia and SIA Group have bagged a deal to develop mobile purchasing and ticketing services for Italian transit companies TPER Transport Passenger Emilia-Romagna, ANM Napoli and Start Romagna
The service - which is to be rolled out for testing at the end of 2013 - will use NFC smartphones to store tickets on the mobile's SIM. Users will be able to use the phone to tap and pay at existing bus or metro ticket punching machines.
Telecom Italia will provide the storage area for loading tickets on the SIM as part of its virtual wallet application.
The SIA Group infrastructure will allow users to buy, reload and use travel tickets through a central NFC hub that the company is currently building for hosting interoperable bank and telecommunications applications.
SIA and Telecom Italia say the platform - which will conform to international mobile GSMA and UITP transport standards - will be made available to other public transport companies and local mobile operators.