A Dog’s Tale on RFID Standards

Even within ISO18000 there are choices to be made. The standard specifies RFID reader and tag communication protocols for five different RFID operating frequencies: 135 KHz, 13.56 MHz (HF - high frequency), 2.45 GHz, 860-960 MHz (UHF - ultra high frequency) and 433 MHz. Each frequency offers different characteristics and benefits based on the laws of physics governing the frequency bands. The frequencies offer differing read ranges, size of tags, robustness against environmental interference, and reliability of operation in close proximity to other tags or in random tag orientations. Two RFID frequencies are emerging as the dominant players: HF and UHF—HF for item-level tagging and UHF for case and pallet tagging. HF is covered by ISO18000, Part 3 and UHF is covered by ISO18000, Part 6.