EPCglobal Generation 2 UHF RFID Tag Standard Announced - Sans Encryption !

EPCglobal announces the much anticipated completion of the UHF Generation 2 air interface protocol as an EPCglobal standard. With the Generation 2 standard now in place, technology providers will create products that will meet the requirements of suppliers, manufacturers, and end users; and industries as a whole can drive EPC implementation with standards-based equipment. The protocol is the technical framework on which all future products can be built, including tags, readers and other technology.
The announcement follows successful testing of prototypes from several technology providers, which illustrated that the ratified standard can meet the EPCglobal community end user requirements, as well as final determination that all intellectual property presented on a licensed basis during the standards development process was not necessary to the standard. Commercially available products are expected the first half of 2005. This is the new standard for RFID tags favoured by both the US Department of Defense and the supermarket giant Wal-Mart for passive RFID tags working at Ultra High Frequencies of between 860Mhz and 960MHz. This promises faster reading of tags at greater ranges than the current generation of RFID tags which have been tested in various warehouse and, more controversially, supermarket shelf trials.

Here is a new perspective This is a global standard that uses frequency and power in a way that complies with the major regional regulatory environments. In addition to improvements in security of the data on the tag, the standard includes the ability to lock the identification fields in the tag, so that they can't be spoofed or changed without a password. It also includes a strong kill mechanism, so retailers and others have the option of automatically erasing all data from the tag as it passes through a reader. However, the standard does not allow for encryption, because one of the user requirements for the standard was that the tags be inexpensive. But security issues will continue to be addressed in the hardware and policy working groups. RFID tags can be thought of as bar codes on steroids. They contain a tiny transponder that, when it comes within distance of a reader, transmits its unique identifier, which can be matched to a database. EPCglobal envisions a unique EPC stored in an RFID tag attached to every item in a supply chain. As the transmission is automatic and doesn't require a line of sight, RFID technology could automate many processes in a supply chain and capture information at new points. Technology research firm IDC considers RFID a disruptive technology, and forecasts the market for related consulting, implementation and managed services to grow by 47 percent in 2004 and reach $2 billion worldwide by 2008. Stratton Sclavos, CEO of VeriSign, the company that won the contract to build the EPCglobal network infrastructure, says that RFID and the electronic product codes they'll contain could transform business as much as the Internet did. "In 1994, it wasn't clear why businesses would use the Internet vs. EDI or private lease lines," he said. "And many of the people who would be the biggest beneficiaries were the biggest naysayers. Right now, people question the value of EPC vs. building all the infrastructure themselves. Once we begin to develop the capabilities, people will wake up and say, 'Wow, that looks like the Internet.'" RFID has certainly crossed the tipping point - we can expect hugr advances in technolog and applications centered around RFID developments for the next five years - RFID product companies( across the spectrum) and professional service companies,well geared with supply chain consultants, RFID application consultants should see huge volume of Business - Without doubt industries employing RFID shall benefit a lot - in terms of increased efficiency and better returns on capital- an index of benefits in many streams like inventory, service levels etc.