RFID Interop Still A Mess
from the hurray-for-standards-processes dept
The two biggest embarassments in the wireless space right now are UWB and RFID. Both are new technologies that have tremendous potential to be disruptive -- and both are completely bogged down in standards battles that are little more than greedy maneuverings over who gets their patents into the standards in order to open up a big fat tollbooth on the new technology. In both cases, if these standards battles were worked out earlier, we'd already be seeing much more innovative offerings. Instead, we see press releases and angry statements aimed at each other. While the UWB situation has gotten much worse in the last month with yet another attempt at a standard, it looks like some of the folks in the RFID world at least recognize that there's a problem. Of course, that's not going to stop the greedy parties from slowing everything down. About the only useful thing that has come out of both standards bodies so far is a recognition of the limitations of current standards processes.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
