Delays and Uncertainty Challenge RFID Standards in China, says ABI Research.

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- Silence from the national government and aggressive marketing by EPCGlobal are combining to create a climate of uncertainty around the issue of RFID standards in China, according to ABI Research. While official efforts toward setting a Chinese RFID standard remain in limbo, the challenge for the near future will be the rapidly changing conditions "on the ground."

In July 2006, EPCglobal's UHF Generation 2 air interface protocol was incorporated into the ISO/IEC 18000 6 Amendment 1, as Type C. But according to ABI Research analyst Junmei He, "As the RFID standard issue enters a new stage aimed at speeding up the adoption of RFID tags globally, the Chinese government remains silent about where the national RFID standard is heading."

One month previously, a Chinese RFID technology policy whitepaper was published, in which the national standard issue wasn't even discussed. Meanwhile, EPCglobal is seizing the initiative. In April 2006, EPCglobal Hong Kong launched its EPCglobal Industry Support Program (EISP), to lend financial, technological and implementation support for EPC adoption in enterprises across Hong Kong and Southern China.

The Chinese government is now facing at least three challenges to setting up its own standard.

First, Chinese manufacturers' partners in the supply chain will require them to use RFID tags complying with international standard, EPCglobal UHF G2.

At the same time, foreign clients of Chinese manufacturers, who are planning to adopt RFID, will request that shipments carry tags complying with the EPC UHF G2 standard.

Finally, EPCglobal's aggressive move in the heartland of Chinese manufacturing is now turning the EPCglobal UHF G2 standard into a de facto standard on the mainland.

"The reality is that for the Chinese government, it is no long important when the national standard will be released. It is late already," says He. "More urgent problems are to decide how the government should cooperate or negotiate with EPCglobal; to establish policies to protect the development of the domestic RFID industry; and to secure the benefits of RFID for Chinese tag users in the coming RFID era."

ABI Research's recent study, "The RFID Market in China: Assessment of Chinese RFID Market Opportunities and Regulatory Issues" (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/market_research/RFC), examines the Chinese RFID market, including LF, HF, UHF and microwave. It introduces major projects, and discusses the applications of different RFID frequencies. A company profile section introduces the major Chinese RFID vendors, including IC vendors, hardware vendors, packaging and tag vendors, and integrators. The report forms part of the RFID Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/RFID_Research_Service).

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in broadband and multimedia, RFID and M2M, wireless connectivity, mobile wireless, transportation and emerging technologies. For information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.