Standards: Are They Really Standard?

Standardization is a complex subject. There are myriad standards groups (international, national, and industrial), generally denoted by acronyms, like IATA, CEN, ETSI, ANSI, AIAG and ISO. This alphabet soup is further complicated by an apparently random numbering of standards. Understanding RFID standardization requires some measure of structure and simplification. Among the numerous standards groups are two key bodies driving the RFID standardization process: EPCglobal and ISO.