More RFID questions... more answers

Following the money...again...
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Last week leading RFID technology supplier Alien Technology Corp. filed a proposed IPO (Initial Public Offer) with the SEC of some $120 million worth of common stock. Alien has received more than $200 million in eight rounds of venture capital, including $66 million last July.

RFID technology is expected to take off in coming years, with analysts predicting a large boom in unit shipments and revenue for RFID tags and readers.

HF v. UHF?
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Moving beyond pallet and case tagging, a debate has opened up over whether to use High Frequency (HF) or Ultra High Frequency (UHF) for RFID item level tagging to identify and track individual items in the supply chain. Currently, there is no agreement among end users as to which is preferable. In the pharmacuetical industry, for example, Pfizer is pilot tagging bottles of Viagra with HF tags while Purdue is using UHF tags on bottles of Oxycontin shipped to WalMart.

WalMart's new CIO, Rollin Ford, said he had committed to switching to the EPC Gen-2 standard RFID tags (on June 30) that support ultra-high frequency (UHF) tags; from the 'old' Gen-1 tags that support HF - after "...our team and our technology partners proved that the new UHF Gen-2 tags could, in fact, be read in water and on metal.... that's nothing short of a breakthrough."

Ford went on to say... "RFID will transform the way we do business, and I am privileged to be a part of this technology that is bringing positive change to Wal-Mart, the retail industry and many other sectors as well."

Which frequency will your firm embrace - HF or UHF for RFID item level tags?

This choice has implications for global organizations because, unlike HF, UHF does not have a dedicated band across the world. This may necessitate the creation of country-specific tags and readers which in turn may inhibit the goal of end-to-end supply chain visibility.

How will this affect the costs of RFID deployment in your organization?

Get the latest information to help you to make the right decisions about this and many other aspects of this potentially disruptive technology. Hear from the experts at RFID Solutions 2006 - the premier independent conference in Canada for interested decision makers who need to understand Radio Frequency Identification technology, standards and mandates and how to make the right choices about investing in this technology for their organizations and trading partners.

Agenda and Registration at www.softmatch.com