Qualcomm has upgraded its membership of the NFC Forum, the industry association which is promoting the use of near field communication (NFC) technology.

As a result the mobile chip company gets a seat on the NFC Forum Board of Directors, which manages the organisation.

Qualcomm has already been a contributor to technical committees within the NFC Forum.

"We firmly believe that NFC technology drives seamless user experiences in the mobile, computing and consumer electronics markets and look forward to advancing that goal with this expanded role," said David Favreau, v-p of product management, Qualcomm Atheros.

"We will all reap the benefit of the company's wireless technology expertise and visionary perspective as we work to facilitate the development of the growing NFC market," said Koichi Tagawa, NFC Forum Chairman.

Qualcomm will also participate in the NFC Forum testing and certification programme.