Dispatch from Joe Longo: RFID Under Scrutiny From Both Sides of the Pond

[Editor's note: The following viewpoint came in just yesterday from our own Joe Longo, head of International Sales-EMEA.]

You just know that RFID is starting to fly because it’s getting a lot of attention from regulators. Haven’t we seen this picture before? A new technology spreading across multiple verticals that has the potential to change business processes and consumers lives forever under government investigation before take-off!

In the USA, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Bryon Dorgan (D-ND) just started a RFID Caucus (July 13th ) in Washington, DC. The purpose is for US government officials to collaborate with business leaders to simply understand the technology and how it can be used effectively in business. Since there is a lot of hype out there, it seems everyone is confused on positives and/or negatives.

Paul Chang, Business Consultant from IBM who will be helping on the caucus, states “there’s a lot of wrong data out there. If we limit the progression of technology because of some mis-information, it could really hurt the industry and consumers”.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union (EU) has stood up and noticed the RFID technology too. They are funding more than $7.5 million to an organization called BRIDGE (Building Radio IDentification solutions for the Global Environment) which launched in Brussels. BRIDGE is a consortium of 31 global companies whose aim is to help government and consumers better understand the effectiveness of RFID. The group plans to spend three years in research, development, training, and demonstration on the effective use of RFID based on the EPC global standards.

"The project is about research that enables companies to implement RFID in Europe and beyond," said Henri Barthel, technical director at EPC global and BRIDGE project coordinator. "We'll look at networks, tags, readers, software and security."

Well, one thing is certain; both sides of the ocean will be sharing the information, research, and results –the good and the bad. And who said hurricane season is about to start?

From: Joe Longo
Loftware International Sales – EMEA
Email: jlongo@loftware.com
+1.603.766.3630 ext 464

Loftware is currently working with a number of global companies in Europe to build good barcode and smart labeling solutions. To learn more, contact Joe Longo.
Notes taken from the TechWeb article dated July12, 2006 titled U.S., U.K. Tag RFID For Scrutiny, Regulation