Radio-frequency Identification - Regulation and Standardization

Regulation and Standardization

A number of organizations have set standards for RFID, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ASTM International, the DASH7 Alliance and EPCglobal.

There are also several specific industries that have set guidelines. These industries include the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) which has set a standard for tracking IT Assets with RFID, the Computer Technology Industry Association CompTIA which has set a standard for certifying RFID engineers, and the International Airlines Transport Association IATA which has set tagging guidelines for luggage in airports.

In principle, every country can set its own rules for frequency allocation for RFID tags, and not all radio bands are available in all countries. These frequencies are known as the ISM bands (Industrial Scientific and Medical bands). The return signal of the tag may still cause interference for other radio users.

• Low-frequency (LF: 125–134.2 kHz and 140–148.5 kHz) (LowFID) tags and high-frequency (HF: 13.56 MHz) (HighFID) tags can be used globally without a license.
• Ultra-high-frequency (UHF: 868–928 MHz) (Ultra-HighFID or UHFID) tags cannot be used globally as there is no single global standard.

In North America, UHF can be used unlicensed for 902–928& MHz (±13 MHz from the 915 MHz center frequency), but restrictions exist for transmission power. In Europe, RFID and other low-power radio applications are regulated by ETSI recommendations EN 300 220 and EN 302 208, and ERO recommendation 70 03, allowing RFID operation with somewhat complex band restrictions from 865–868 MHz. Readers are required to monitor a channel before transmitting ("Listen Before Talk"); this requirement has led to some restrictions on performance, the resolution of which is a subject of current research. The North American UHF standard is not accepted in France as it interferes with its military bands. On July 25, 2012, Japan changed its UHF band to 920 MHz, more closely matching the United States’ 915 MHz band.

For China, there is no regulation for the use of UHF. Each application for UHF in these countries needs a site license, which needs to be applied for at the local authorities, and can be revoked. For Australia and New Zealand, 918–926 MHz are unlicensed, but restrictions exist for transmission power.

standards that have been made regarding RFID technology include:

• ISO 14223 – Radiofrequency identification of animals – Advanced transponders
• ISO/IEC 14443: This standard is a popular HF (13.56 MHz) standard for HighFIDs which is being used as the basis of RFID-enabled passports under ICAO 9303. The Near Field Communication standard that lets mobile devices act as RFID readers/transponders is also based on ISO/IEC 14443.
• ISO/IEC 15693: This is also a popular HF (13.56 MHz) standard for HighFIDs widely used for non-contact smart payment and credit cards.
• ISO/IEC 18000: Information technology—Radio frequency identification for item management:
  • Part 1: Reference architecture and definition of parameters to be standardized
  • Part 2: Parameters for air interface communications below 135 kHz
  • Part 3: Parameters for air interface communications at 13.56 MHz
  • Part 4: Parameters for air interface communications at 2.45 GHz
  • Part 6: Parameters for air interface communications at 860–960 MHz
  • Part 7: Parameters for active air interface communications at 433 MHz
• ISO/IEC 18092 Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems—Near Field Communication—Interface and Protocol (NFCIP-1)
• ISO 18185: This is the industry standard for electronic seals or "e-seals" for tracking cargo containers using the 433 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies.
• ISO/IEC 21481 Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems—Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol -2 (NFCIP-2)
• ASTM D7434, Standard Test Method for Determining the Performance of Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Transponders on Palletized or Unitized Loads
• ASTM D7435, Standard Test Method for Determining the Performance of Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Transponders on Loaded Containers
• ASTM D7580 Standard Test Method for Rotary Stretch Wrapper Method for Determining the Readability of Passive RFID Transponders on Homogenous Palletized or Unitized Loads

In order to ensure global interoperability of products several organizations have setup additional standards for RFID testing. These standards include conformance, performance and interoperability tests.

Groups concerned with standardization are:

• DASH7 Alliance: international industry group formed in 2009 to promote standards and interoperability among extensions to ISO/IEC 18000-7 technologies

• EPCglobal – this is the standardization framework that is most likely to undergo International Standardisation according to ISO rules as with all sound standards in the world, unless residing with limited scope, as customs regulations, air-traffic regulations and others. Currently the big distributors and governmental customers are pushing EPC heavily as a standard well-accepted in their community, but not yet regarded as for salvation to the rest of the world.