As mentioned the other day in our FeliCa usage survey article, new services for FeliCa-equipped mobile phones are starting to appear. KESAKA System, Connect Technologies, Itochu Techno-Science and NTT DoCoMo Kyushu have got together to offer a service that allows i-mode FeliCa handsets to be used as apartment door keys. Among other things, the service will allow forgetful users to check if they locked the door from their mobile phone. Convenience such as this comes at a price, of course - there are quite a number of fees that apply to the service.

KESAKA System, Connect Technologies, Itochu Techno-Science and NTT DoCoMo Kyushu have begun offering a service that allows i-mode FeliCa handsets to be used as apartment door keys. A new apartment building that includes the new service has been completed in inner-city Fukuoka and will begin accepting tenants from late November.

The "kesaka service" allows an i-mode FeliCa handset to be used as the door key for an apartment. It can be utilised by users living in an apartment building that has the service installed. Since apartment doors that support the service have no key cylinder, changing of the cylinder when moving in/out is not necessary and the lock is also more difficult to pick. Furthermore, each tenant will be provided with three FeliCa chip cards so that opening/closing the door will also be possible without a mobile phone. If the power is cut-off for some reason, the door-reader unit is also equipped with a backup battery that will allow the door to opened and closed approximately 200 times.

Services that will be offered to users include an "un-lock notification service" that will notify by users by mail when the door is un-locked, a "lock state confirmation service" that will allow users to check whether the lock is open or closed while they are out, a "lock history confirmation service" that will allow users to check the door's lock/unlock history when they are away for a long period and a "message notification service" for users to receive notification by mail from workmen on days when building maintenance such as fire system checks are necessary.

In addition, a "duplicate key issue service" will also be offered to allow tenants to issue keys to other users such as acquaintances or family members. The duplicate key will be issued by the tenant using a special i-appli to send a mail to the third party, who will then certify the duplicate key by downloading the special i-appli. To prevent misuse that might occur if a duplicate key is accidently issued to an unknown person, the tenant will have to personally confirm that they wish to issue the key at the time of issue. Furthermore, it will also be possible to issue duplicate keys that have an expiration date.

The service will have a monthly usage fee of 420 yen and an application fee of 3,150 yen. Issue of a duplicate key will cost 315 yen/key. In addition, 24-hour monitoring and maintenance will cost the apartment owner or body corporate 1,050 yen/month. If the handset is changed, key re-issue will costs 315 yen.

Inspired by:
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/21370.html