This year there's more to look forward to than a line up of Daft Punk and the Kaiser Chiefs at the 02 Wireless festival. Now you can feel smug and eco friendly as well with the paperless system in operation. Using Near Field Communication (NFC), 02 is able to let you use your mobile phone as a ticket- whereby you swipe your phone as if it were an oyster card on special screens, getting rid of the need for fiddly bits of paper to remember.
If all goes as planned, you will be able to use your phone for more than entry- a wave could pay for your drinks at the bar, download information, or even file share selected information. This sounds appealing, but would you really want to cut out the middleman of cash- especially considering the inebriated states people get to at these events? The problem of security and unauthorized phone usage also arises- and people will be a lot less likely to let you use there free minutes if that means you have access to their bank account.
02 is using the NFC technology to provide access to its VIP area, providing selected festival goers with a special wristband that's NFC enabled, which works by swiping it against a compatible NFC phone to register. It will also be Swarovski studded and limited edition, so I'm guessing this is going out to those celebrity guests rather than the likes of you and me.
It's exciting that mobile technology is advancing this far, and implementing itself in such a way as to make life easier for the consumer. "Mobile phones have become even more integral to people's lives, providing a host of information readily available at their fingertips", said Stuart Galbraith, Managing Director of Live Nation. "Mobile ticketing provides the consumer with an effective tool to prevent ticket touting and above all else is an environmentally friendly way to enjoy their favourite concert".
Our friends at Hippy Shopper would agree with the green sentiment, an issue which is increasingly important to people today, and through systems such as NFC and mobile ticketing, we can cut down on our wastage of natural resources. Last year the Wireless Festival spearheaded the large scale use of mobile ticketing, and this year the number of tickets bought this way has doubled, with £200,000 sold this way so far. The lack of overheads involved in purchase this way also saves you money- no hidden booking costs or P&P, just a simple text message- the new letter of the 21st century.
Get ready to dance the day away- just don't forget your phone!
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