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The trials, which are to be conducted with the British Radiocommunications Agency (RA), an executive agency of the British Department of Trade and Industry, will establish the electronic signature technology that will underpin mobile commerce. This latest technology will offer customers the abilities to sign transactions securely at any given time or place.
The necessary information for electronic signing will be contained on phones that have inbuilt SIM smartcards. At present, regular SIM cards do not have the functionality to enable electronic signatures.
The encrypted signatures are generated through security techniques developed by a number of security companies, including SmartTrust and Globalsign. When prompted users will enter a PIN number to release a cryptographic signature that is, according to Vodafone, more secure than hand-written signatures, as it guarantees that the signature is unique and ensures the integrity of the data being signed.
"Whereas today we write cheques, pay by credit card, sign mortgage or stock trading contracts, in the future these transactions could be completed just using a mobile device," Peter Bamford, chief executive officer, Vodafone Northern Europe said.
It is thought that other industries will also conduct trials on cryptographic signatures in the future. Already some banks have begun testing the services.
Vodafone operates in 24 countries worldwide and has a customer base of over 65 million.
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