RFID is Poised for Change

Rapid reduction in tag cost

Then there is the issue of tag cost. Companies introducing smaller Near Field UHF tags for small items like drugs at Purdue Pharma, and for other uses, is of huge significance. By mimicking the inductive coupling of HF, Near Field UHF similarly avoids the huge problems of metal and water and even focussing of beams by curved glass that are suffered with Far Field UHF. Indeed, only one turn of antenna is needed and that makes the tag antenna cheaper than the equivalent HF item level tag. Whether the UHF chip is cheaper, the same cost or more expensive than the equivalent HF chip is obscured by the speed of EPCglobal/ ISO in preparing an equivalent EPC specification at HF and the relative pricing policies of chip makers. Neither NF UHF or HF will work beyond a few tens of centimeters but that is rarely a problem with tagging of small items.