14 DAY TRIAL // Cellular South and Kyocera Wireless announced a collaboration to launch a multi-city consumer trial for Cellular South's new Wireless Wallet technology. Scheduled for the middle of May 2007, the Wireless Wallet trial will take place in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi.
Cellular South and Kyocera Wireless will begin the first community-wide Wireless Wallet trial that allows participants the opportunity to use the technology at multiple retail locations in multiple trial cities. Participants will be equipped with a Wireless Wallet-enabled Kyocera cell phone, acting as a digital credit card that allows Cellular South customers to make payments and purchases by simply tapping it against a NFC-enabled wireless reader. The company plans to complete the trial by August 2007, with an anticipated widespread consumer roll-out of Wireless Wallet in the fourth quarter of 2007.
"Cellular South sees an enormous opportunity in m-commerce technology and is committed to driving Wireless Wallet adoption throughout our service area." said Greg Latour, senior vice president of technology development for Cellular South. "Kyocera has proven to be a great supplier in the past by delivering the devices and technology customers demand. We are looking forward to working with them again to make the Wireless Wallet consumer trial an overwhelming success."
The prototype Kyocera Wireless handset employs the latest in Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to enable the Wireless Wallet functionality. It also serves as a fully functional mobile phone, offering a full suite of voice and data features via Cellular South's CDMA2000 1xEV-DO cellular network. The companies, which have a long-standing business relationship, are working closely on a commercial handset strategy to support the consumer launch in the fourth quarter of 2007.