“But as European companies look to use UHF EPC in their supply chains, they face new and unique challenges. The European Union’s regulatory authorities have only allotted a small sliver of the radio spectrum for use by UHF RFID systems. In North America, UHF RFID systems can use 26 MHz of bandwidth, compared to just 2 MHz for Europe. So if a company has many readers, or interrogators, in the same location, they will all compete to use the same narrow band, thereby creating bottlenecks — think of data from tags as cars driving on a two-lane highway in Europe, compared to a 26-lane highway in North America. Simply put, European companies are not going to get the same performance from their UHF systems as their North American competitors. “

“The Identity Information Protection Act of 2005 is one of several proposed pieces of legislation in 10 states that deal with emerging uses of RFID, a signaling technology that has existed for decades. Like California, other states are also grappling with the growing use of RFID technology and related privacy concerns. A South Dakota bill prohibits anyone from implanting an RFID device in a person. A Rhode Island bill bars government agencies from using RFID to track the movement or identity of an employee, student or client as a condition of obtaining a benefit or service.”

“Shares of Unova Inc. (UNA) leapt 17.1% after the company said Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) agreed to license radio frequency identification intellectual property from Unova’s Intermec unit. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.”

“The revisions to the act, known as Senate Bill (SB) 682, would allow the use of RFID technology in some identification documents issued by the state or local governments if specific security controls are applied to the RFID chip used in the documents to safeguard it from being surreptitiously read. However, because the act still prohibits the use of RFID (what it calls contactless integrated circuits) in driver’s licenses, student IDs, government health and benefit cards and public library cards, the industry coalition is still voicing strong opposition to the act.”

“Before you decide to deploy an RFID system, think about your company’s long-term needs. Passive tags are less expensive, but sometimes a situation calls for the very best. If you start with less-expensive passive tags only to discover that what you really wanted were the more capable active tags, you’ll end up spending more or having to settle for a limited solution.”

“The market for RFID software, hardware and services will reach $2,195m in 2005, making for a growth rate of 68% over a market in 2004 reckoned to be worth $1,306m. Revenues from the manufacturing industry were said to be more than all other verticals combined in 2004, and still double any other by 2010 according to market researchers at Datamonitor, ComputerWires parent company, who estimate that by 2010 the global RFID market will top $6,138m. For this reason, vertical expertise from vendors will be a key differentiator between those that are successful, and those that are not.”

“Earlier this month, the European Commission confirmed reports that it is in the process of investigating the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This investigation was prompted by concerns that ETSI rules might enable companies to get their own patented technology surreptitiously included in ETSI standards, leaving firms that adopt the standards open to demands for royalty payments to the patent owner - a practice dubbed “patent ambushing.” The European Commission says it is examining ETSI’s intellectual property rights (IPR) rules with a view to ensuring that these rules are framed so that patent ambushes can be avoided. ”

Note the banner ad for the “Intermec Rapid Start Licensing Program” above the article…