READY or not — and some critics say not — the long-delayed Registered Traveler program is moving forward, with the single existing operator planning a succession of openings soon at four airports, while a competitor says it is about to join in.

Verified Identity Pass Inc., which began the first Registered Traveler program at Orlando International Airport in July 2005, is planning to open its second site, in Terminal 7 at Kennedy International Airport, with a target date of Dec. 19, said Steven Brill, the chief executive of the company, which markets its version of the expedited security program under the name Clear.

He said the company, which has more than 30,000 members at Orlando, is processing applications with the Transportation Security Administration for Kennedy and for San Jose, Calif.; Cincinnati; and Indianapolis.

“We have about 3,000 non-Orlando people signed up so far,” he said. “We’ve been sort of keeping it quiet because we find it much easier to talk about it once the lanes are open.”