The Standards GameIt's good to compete using brands. It's better to compete using standards. And China is gearing up to do just that. Having been burned by huge DVD licensing fees, China has tried its hand at controlling the standards on which the products it uses and manufacturers are based. China-only Wifi and CDMA standards were just a start, RFID standards will be the real showcase for what China has learned, to protect it's interests from MNCs.
Currently it's nearly impossible to roll-out an UHF RFID project in China because regulatory bodies have delayed opening up the market. Each project has to be individually authorized. And this may be due to numerous reasons. The official stance is that China is waiting for the EPC vs. ISO vs. UbiquitousID to harmonize. But there are also widespread rumors about an internal battle among the various government organs within the Communist Party for control over this lucrative market.
And of course there is the obvious strategy of sitting out the game until all the big players recognize the importance of China's buy-in, thereby gaining a seat at the table, albeit via a late and somewhat forced entry.
New Protocol or Just New Governing Body?
Current project that have rolled out have frequency spectrum ranges very similar to the US. Most appear to be 917-922MHz, and word is that the major US manufacturers have already quietly patched together firmware upgrades for this range, even shipping a few readers and printers to China. However the new China standard is by no means clearly outlined. Sparkice Labs has repeated announced the R1 alliance and how this will be the new standard. iPico and EM Marin have said that their iPx standard had gained popularity as a 3rd world standard, and suggested that they are creating a China version. And as yet unaccounted for is industry heavyweight Philips who accounts for an overwhelming majority of Chinese RFID IC comsumption. Surely that have an opinion of the matter. The question now is will China adopt one of these stepchildren or attempt to create a prodigal son alone?
Super Agile Readers and Multiple Network Subscriptions
Currently there is still no clear picture as to how yet another RFID standard will be integrated into the motley fold. Will we have to use one tag at the factory in China, another as product ships through Japan, and yet another when product arrives in the US or Europe?
Or can we slap on our tag of choice, and expect super-agile readers along the way to automatically switch protocol on detection? And if that's the case, will everyone simply pay subscription fees to join all networks. Maybe our databases will simply have to trawl through EPCIS, ISO, UID, and R1 to match the tag movements for each product depending on their protocol of choice.
Likely Compromises
Though there's a lot of grandstanding about which is the more important standard, which has got the best technology, and which has the most important users, the most likely result is that there will not be a single RFID standard. Rather there will be countless differing protocols, most serving closed or semi-closed systems, and a handful of truely global standards which share some degree of interoperability, but stopping short of being completely compatible in order to ensure the respective governing bodies can still charge fees for use of their networks. Afterall, it really does come down to standards bodies making money, doesn't it?
Re: China Tech News
