Inside NFC Release 15: Why Extended Range Is So Significant – From Those That Developed It

Earlier this year, NFC Forum announced its newest specification, NFC Release 15, which will extend the operating range for compliance of NFC Forum certified devices and tags from its current 5mm to 20mm. Extending the range of the connection and defining the new operating volume, refers to the larger effective or functional volume in which an NFC reader can communicate with an NFC device or tag.

Extended range was one of the key priorities outlined in NFC Forum’s Five-Year Roadmap, published in June 2023, but why is it so significant? In this blog, we speak to those involved in driving this activity forward to understand the motivations to establish a new baseline in 2025 and learn how significant its impact will be.

Why did the NFC Forum decide now was the time to increase its range requirements?

“There has been a long-term desire to increase the operating range within NFC Forum Standards,” explains Preeti Ohri Khemani, NFC Forum’s Board Chair and Infineon Technologies representative. “While we have witnessed some markets define their own ranges, such as EMVCo®* for payments, we recognized the significant benefit a range extension could bring to improve performance, speed and consistency across the vast range of use cases and form factors.”

“One of the key appeals of NFC technology is its ability to support aesthetic design, which means keeping the physical size of the NFC interface – the chip and the antenna - small and compact ,” continues Michael Stark, NFC Forum Board Vice-Chair and NXP Semiconductors representative. “Extending the range of NFC devices while keeping the NFC design compact requires careful consideration of physical and technical constraints, to maintain a stable communication and energy transfer at larger distances.”

Jean-Rémi Ruiz, NFC Forum Board Vice-Chair and STMicroelectronics representative, also explained how NFC Forum Standards have always aimed to enhance market applications and improve reliability, without compromising design and innovation freedom: “The benefits of any technical mandates and compliance requirements always need to clearly outweigh cost implications or practical restrictions to those implementing NFC technology.”

One such historical restriction is shared by Frank Dawidowsky, NFC Forum Secretary and Sony representative. “Ensuring battery longevity and limiting charging requirements has traditionally been a key concern as technology advances,” he explains. “But consumer behaviour around battery charging has now changed significantly. Charging points are more readily available in a range of locations, and many users now carry portable wireless charging battery packs when on-the-go. While we still need to be mindful of battery usage, it is no longer a fundamental constraint.”

Which industries are expected to benefit from the changes?

“NFC already performs well when used in card emulation mode,” clarifies Frank. “The real value of the larger range is for NFC when used in reader mode, making it more tolerant and capable to communicate in a larger area. We are focused, therefore, on the area in which an NFC reader – which could be a smartphone for example – can connect with an NFC chip or tag.”

“This vastly improves how NFC technology can be used in everyday consumer settings such as automatically sharing data readings from a blood pressure monitor to a smartphone, or allowing for quick tap-to-pair connections between two Bluetooth devices. It also facilitates industrial applications such as the Digital Product Passport,” he continues. “But perhaps the two most exciting use cases for extended range are how it will support the use of smartphones as a payment acceptance terminal or as a digital key.”

Linyi Gao, a representative from the Intelligent Car Connectivity Ecosystem Alliance (ICCE) and member of the NFC Forum, agrees. He recognises that to enable NFC to be used effectively within a digital key use case, there was no choice but to increase the range: “When considering the diverse positioning of an NFC chip within a smartphone and the range of a car door handle or side mirror design, the angle in which the smartphone needs to be positioned to unlock the door will vary considerably. ICCE research showed that 47.4% of Chinese car manufacturers needed the operating volume to be 20 mm at a minimum to ensure a reliable connection.”

What do the changes mean for end users of NFC products? Will consumers notice a difference?

“Yes,” says Michael, reflecting the views of his peers. “This is about an improved user experience. The enhanced communication range between two NFC devices, one in reader mode and the other in tag mode, makes the NFC action more seamless, whether that’s to open a lock, pair two devices or access information. The larger operating volume will allow for a less exact alignment of the devices and thus result in an improved user experience.”

Preeti adds that delivering this improved user experience in a consistent manner is an important first step to support new applications for NFC and reach new industries: “The introduction of the increased operating volume is a significant milestone for NFC technology and NFC Forum Standards. It sets a new expectation and technical baseline for the entire ecosystem, which will inspire and power new NFC innovations.”

“The change from NFC Forum is welcomed by the ICCE,” states Gao. “The value of NFC within the digital car key sector is unparalleled, as no other technology can remain operational even if the smartphone has no battery. But to ensure global implementation, our digital car key model must be scalable, reliable and trusted. NFC Forum Standards offers this baseline, promoting performance consistency and meeting user expectations.”

So how quickly can we expect to see the benefits of extended range?

“Adoption to 20 mm won’t happen overnight”, explains Michael, highlighting that he believes it will take around two years for the market to fully adopt the offering. “There are many NFC devices already operating at this increased range,” he says. “Our focus now is to bring all NFC readers up to this standard to improve the overall baseline and ensure consistency for all NFC devices in line with NFC Forum’s certification requirements.”

Jean-Rémi adds: “Our compliance programme will soon offer certification testing for the new operating volume (OV20), providing depending parties with trusted proof that products will perform at the expected level. I am also delighted that we have been able to bring this range extension to market using a modular approach, meaning no needless requirements are forced upon all NFC tags when many of these are deployed in passive operational modes. This also helps preserve backwards compatibility for legacy devices. By keeping the focus on the NFC reader, we have ensured NFC remains a viable and cost-efficient solution for all use cases.”

Preeti concludes: “This really is an exciting advancement that leads us to a host of new opportunities. We call on all those working in the NFC industry to become part of our discussions within the NFC Forum to continue to push and evolve the technical capabilities of this impressive and globally adopted contactless technology.”

The future of Near Field Communication is here

NFC Forum Associate, Principal, and Sponsor-level member companies can download the Technical Specifications included in NFC Release 15 today. Adopter-level members and the public can access and begin certifying compliance to NFC Release 15 from Fall 2025.

To learn more about NFC Release 15 and how it will enable extended range, the circular economy and expansion of use cases, watch NFC Forum’s recent dedicated webinar on demand.

*EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC.