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Chinese government enacts unprecedented ID tag program Chris Strohm - National Journal \|\| May 01, 2006 China is on its way to becoming one of the largest markets for radio-frequency identification tags, propelled in part by U.S. importers that want the technology to be used for tracking assets, market analysts said. The Chinese government is implementing an unprecedented program to give its citizens RFID tags to verify their identities. China bought more than 100 million resident tags in 2005 and is expected to buy about 2.9 billion by 2009, according to In-Stat, a market research and consulting firm. RFID uses radio-frequency waves to transfer data between a tag and a reader. "With a population of over 1.3 billion, the issuance of RFID-tag-inlaid resident ID cards by the [Chinese] Ministry of Public Security is one of the biggest RFID projects in the world," In-Stat concluded in a recent study. Although China's primary market for RFID is currently resident ID tags, the country is expected to also become a leading user of RFID technology for product exports to the United States, In-Stat analyst Anty Zheng said. Zheng said Chinese vendors will comply with requirements of U.S. companies. Wal-Mart, for example, wants 600 of its suppliers to be RFID-compliant by the end of 2007. RFID tags allow U.S. retailers to track their products while in-route to the United States in order to better ensure the accuracy and security of shipments, Zheng said. Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com Spending on RFID worldwide totaled $504 million in 2005, up 39 percent from 2004, according to Gartner, a provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry. "RFID will begin to experience broader industry adoption with business value-focused implementations toward the end of 2006 when new license revenue totals $751 million," Gartner said. By 2010, Gartner forecasts worldwide RFID spending will surpass $3 billion. But one of the obstacles that has impeded use of RFID is the lack of a common global standard for the technology, said Michael Liard with Venture Development Corp., a technology market research and strategy firm. In the absence of a global standard, China has said it will develop its own standard, Liard added. He said the International Standards Organization is expected to set a common standard sometime this summer. Liard said the RFID market for retailers has historically been driven by the United States, with China and other Asian nations mainly watching from the sidelines. In next few years, however, Liard said those nations are expected to play a much larger role in using RFID, meaning that they should be involved in implementing next generation technology solutions About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Weekly Features Archive
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Chinese government enacts unprecedented ID tag program

Chris Strohm - National Journal || May 01, 2006

China is on its way to becoming one of the largest markets for radio-frequency identification tags, propelled in part by U.S. importers that want the technology to be used for tracking assets, market analysts said.

The Chinese government is implementing an unprecedented program to give its citizens RFID tags to verify their identities. China bought more than 100 million resident tags in 2005 and is expected to buy about 2.9 billion by 2009, according to In-Stat, a market research and consulting firm. RFID uses radio-frequency waves to transfer data between a tag and a reader.

"With a population of over 1.3 billion, the issuance of RFID-tag-inlaid resident ID cards by the [Chinese] Ministry of Public Security is one of the biggest RFID projects in the world," In-Stat concluded in a recent study.

Although China's primary market for RFID is currently resident ID tags, the country is expected to also become a leading user of RFID technology for product exports to the United States, In-Stat analyst Anty Zheng said.

Zheng said Chinese vendors will comply with requirements of U.S. companies. Wal-Mart, for example, wants 600 of its suppliers to be RFID-compliant by the end of 2007. RFID tags allow U.S. retailers to track their products while in-route to the United States in order to better ensure the accuracy and security of shipments, Zheng said.

Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

Spending on RFID worldwide totaled $504 million in 2005, up 39 percent from 2004, according to Gartner, a provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry.

"RFID will begin to experience broader industry adoption with business value-focused implementations toward the end of 2006 when new license revenue totals $751 million," Gartner said. By 2010, Gartner forecasts worldwide RFID spending will surpass $3 billion.

But one of the obstacles that has impeded use of RFID is the lack of a common global standard for the technology, said Michael Liard with Venture Development Corp., a technology market research and strategy firm.

In the absence of a global standard, China has said it will develop its own standard, Liard added. He said the International Standards Organization is expected to set a common standard sometime this summer.

Liard said the RFID market for retailers has historically been driven by the United States, with China and other Asian nations mainly watching from the sidelines. In next few years, however, Liard said those nations are expected to play a much larger role in using RFID, meaning that they should be involved in implementing next generation technology solutions

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