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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  April  15,  2004  Lauren  Van  Wazer 
 (202)  418-  0030 
 FCC  ADOPTS  RULE  CHANGES  FOR  IMPROVED  RADIO  FREQUENCY  IDENTIFICATION  SYSTEMS  TO  FACILITATE  HOMELAND  SECURITY  EFFORTS 


 Washington,  D.  C.  –  In  an  effort  to  increase  homeland  security  and  improve  the  efficiency  of  commercial  shipping  operations,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  today  adopted  a 
 Third  Report  and  Order  (Order)  that  allows  for  the  operation  of  improved  radio  frequency  identification  (RFID)  systems  for  use  in  conjunction  with  commercial  shipping  containers.  This 
 action  is  expected  to  result  in  lower  shipping  costs  and  improved  security  at  ports,  rail  yards  and  warehouses  in  commercial  and  industrial  settings  by  enabling  the  contents  of  containers  to  be 
 rapidly  inventoried.  These  improvements  will  also  help  system  users  determine  whether  tampering  with  their  contents  has  occurred  during  shipping. 


 RFID  systems  use  radio  signals  to  identify  items.  Uses  of  RFID  include  electronic  toll  collection  such  as  the  E-  Z  Pass  system  and  anti-  theft  tags.  An  RFID  system  consists  of  a  tag 
 mounted  on  the  item  to  be  identified  and  a  device  that  receives  information  transmitted  from  the  tag.  The  Commission’s  rules  permit  RFID  systems  to  be  operated  on  a  number  of  frequency 
 bands,  subject  to  limitations  on  their  maximum  signal  level  and  transmission  duration.  These  limitations  constrain  the  range  and  information  transfer  rates  of  RFIDs. 


 The  Order  increases  the  maximum  signal  level  permitted  for  RFID  systems  operating  in  the  433.5-  434.5  MHz  band  to  facilitate  more  reliable  transmissions  with  greater  range  than  the 
 rules  previously  allowed.  The  433  MHz  band  is  available  for  unlicensed  operation  in  many  countries  around  the  world,  thus  enabling  manufactures  to  produce  a  single  model  of  a  device  for 
 use  in  both  the  United  States  and  other  countries.  The  Order  also  increases  the  maximum  permitted  transmission  duration  for  these  RFID  systems  from  one  second  to  60  seconds,  resulting 
 in  a  sixty-  fold  increase  in  the  amount  of  data  that  can  be  transmitted,  thus  facilitating  the  scanning  of  the  contents  of  an  entire  shipping  container.  To  minimize  the  risk  of  interference  to 
 authorized  communication  services,  operation  of  RFID  systems  with  higher  power  and  longer  transmission  duration  is  limited  to  commercial  shipping  containers  in  commercial  and  industrial 
 areas. 
 Action  by  the  Commission  April  15,  2004,  by  Third  Report  and  Order  (FCC  04-  98).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein.  Statement  by 
 Chairman  Powell. 
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 Office  of  Engineering  and  Technology  contact:  Mr.  Hugh  L.  Van  Tuyl,  (202)  418-  7506,  e-  mail  Hugh.  VanTuyl@  fcc.  gov. 
 ET  Docket  No.  01-  278 
 -  FCC- 
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