RFID development in Europe will not be hindered by frequency, says standards body

Citation

(2004), "RFID development in Europe will not be hindered by frequency, says standards body", Sensor Review, Vol. 24 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2004.08724dab.005

RFID development in Europe will not be hindered by frequency, says standards body

RFID development in Europe will not be hindered by frequency, says standards body

Power levels will be sufficient for successful RFID projects

Keywords: Standards, Radio

Differences in frequency and power levels for radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies between Europe and the US will be negligible and will not affect the competitiveness of UK businesses, according to not-for-profit standards body, e.centre.

Concerns were raised at a recent e.centre RFID conference, that European radio regulations could compromise RFID use across the continent, negating the benefits of the technology. Andrew Osborne, Chief Technology Officer for e.centre, said that the levels expected to be approved would enable European firms to closely emulate US reader systems, which are more powerful. He added that retailers and suppliers alike should therefore continue planning for the widespread adoption of the technology.

“There is a lot of confusion about the power and frequency of RFID tags and readers and this needs to be addressed”, he said. “However, there is a clear timetable for European frequency and power regulations to be finalised both at a continental and country level. This means that tags can move internationally and be easily read.”

European regulation of power levels will be resolved later this year, but they are likely to allow operation at 2 W effective radiated power (ERP) level, which gives 90 per cent of the range of the 4 W equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) level allowed in US readers. Power levels affect the distance at which tags can be read.

The proposed new regulations will enable tags to operate in the 865-868 MHz band. The same tags will also work in the 902-928 MHz range used in North and South America and in the bands expected to be used in China and Japan.

Osborne concluded, “What is important is that both retailers and suppliers get ready for the arrival of RFID. They should run pilot schemes within those power ranges and frequencies and find which products and systems work best for them ahead of a full deployment”.

About e.centre

e.centre is the UK authority on cross sector supply chain standards. Part of the worldwide EAN network we deliver supply chain standards and services for bar coding, electronic business messaging, data synchronisation and radio frequency technology using the EAN.UCC System.

We are a not-for-profit business association with over 16,500 UK members. e.centre's global standards achieve efficiencies and improved business benefits for companies and the supply chain as a whole. e.centre aims to make standards and the adoption of related technology accessible and affordable for the largest to the smallest UK companies.

The worldwide EAN International network currently boasts over 1 million member organisations, operating in 133 countries and support in excess of 5 billion transactions per day.

For further information, please visit the Web site: www.e-centre.org.uk