On April 24 this year, an information seminar entitled “GTAG Project – Standardization of RFID Technology for Logistics” was held at the headquarters of the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in Poznań. During the seminar, participants decided to establish a working group to have the URTiP (Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation) allocate the 865-868 MHz frequency band in Poland for RFID purposes.
Signing the letter of intent will ensure your participation in the working group, and consequently, continuous information on the state of standardization work in Poland and worldwide, as well as the opportunity to actively implement the RFID standard for logistics needs. Please send the signed letter of intent to the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in Poznań, ul. Estkowskiego 6, postal code 61-755, to the attention of Paweł Kaźmierczak.
Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – EAN Poland is the national EAN organization, a member of the international association EAN International based in Brussels. This organization has established close cooperation with its American counterpart UCC (Uniform Code Council). Together they develop and manage the EAN-UCC system, which is a collection of international standards facilitating the effective management of global multi-industry supply chains through the unique identification of products, transport shipments, assets, locations, and services. In March 2000, the EAN and UCC organizations established the GTAG program (Global Tag). It has gained the support of the European Commission. The GTAG program focuses on solutions for automatic data collection devices operating in the UHF frequency range.
According to ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) recommendations, the 865 – 868 MHz frequency band, divided into 15 channels of 200 kHz each with a permitted power level of up to 2W, should be allocated for RFID systems. This proposal is currently being considered within the CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) forum and associated organizations. On September 25, 2001, CEPT WG-FM (Conference European of Postal and Telecommunication – Working Group – Frequency Management) decided to conduct detailed compatibility tests of RFID in the frequency band from 863 to 865 MHz in accordance with the standard S-24 procedure. This will determine the potential impact of RFID devices on devices operating in this band. These tests are scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2002.
An important step in the development of the GTAG project is the cooperation of the GTAG project team with leading RFID hardware manufacturers (BiStar, Intermec, Philips Semiconductors, Rafsec, TagSys, Texas Instruments). On February 26, 2002, a joint, unified GTAG technical specification was sent to ISO JTC1 SC31 WG4 (international RFID standards group) for adoption as an international UHF frequency interface standard.
For the 865 – 868 MHz frequency band to be used in RFID, appropriate changes must first be made in the so-called Radio Regulations – these are frequency allocation tables recommended for use by international telecommunications associations.
Although Poland is a member of international telecommunications associations such as CEPT and ITU (International Telecommunication Union), the allocation of individual frequencies in accordance with global recommendations is voluntary in individual countries. Therefore, in the event of an application by the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – EAN Poland to the President of URTiP for the allocation of the 865 – 868 MHz frequency band for RFID purposes, it would be important to also have the support of companies for this project. RFID technology certainly has a great future ahead of it, and therefore cooperation among Polish companies that deal with or intend to deal with this technology regarding the allocation of the appropriate frequency can be of great importance for their development.
LETTER OF INTENT in ACROBAT format >>>
