SATO CL408e - What Is the Difference between Low-, High-, and Ultra-High Frequencies; How Many Frequency Bands Are Used Around the World for RFID Applications; Do All Countries Use the same Frequencies

Version 0.8 21/10/2004 Page 8 of 44
1990’s
• Emergence of standards.
• RFID, such as electronic toll collection, deployed throughout the
U.S.
• RFID becomes part of everyday life with a single tag capable of
handling multiple applications such as electronic toll collection,
parking lot access and fare collection, gated community access,
and campus access.
Early 2000s
• Development and implementation of RFID for supply chain
management, healthcare/pharmaceuticals, library information
systems
2003 -
Present
• Major retailers mandates to suppliers to implement pallet and case
level tagging by January 2005 spark rapid RFID research and
development
Since RFID uses electromagnetic radio waves for its operation, its effectiveness is subject
to the same physical laws governing any other RF operating device. The distance between
the RF interrogator antenna, the corresponding RFID tag, and the frequency, are all
directly interrelated.
Q: What is the difference between low-, high-, and ultra-high frequencies?
Similar to your radio tuning into different frequency channels to listen to different stations,
RFID tags and readers must both be tuned to the same frequency in order to communicate.
The most regularly used frequencies among RFID systems are low- (around 125 KHz),
high- (13.56 MHz) and ultra-high frequency (860-950 MHz). Radio waves behave in a
different way at different frequencies, so you must choose the best frequency for the
correct application.
Low Frequency High Frequency Ultra High
Frequency
Operating Range
125 KHz 13.56 MHz 860 – 950 MHz
Read Range
10 cm 1 m Up to 3 m
Power Consumption
Low Moderate High
Data Transfer Rate
Slow Moderate Fast