Brussels, 18/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 December, the European Commission announced several decisions concerning frequency bands used by wireless devices which are an everyday part of life, such as garage door remote controls, wireless alarms, child monitoring intercoms, headphones and microphones. The radio frequencies used by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will also be harmonised. These "electronic labels" are used increasingly in fields of activity such as retail trade and logistics, the tracking of goods and persons, security and alarm systems, etc.
The Commission's decisions will have the effect of allowing the use of short range wireless devices, many of which are portable mass-market products, without licence in all Member States. Consumers will no longer be obliged to make sure whether a specific device can be used in all Member States, and will no longer have the worry that a wireless device bought in one Member State may not work in any of the others, or that it may interfere with other wireless communications. This will stimulate demand, reduce production costs for the manufacturers and encourage the development of new devices and innovative applications, the Commission explains in a press release. According to a recent Commission survey, the market value for devices of this kind has been estimated at 25 billion EUR by 2009.
Harmonising the radio spectrum for RFID will harmonise the development of RFID technology in Europe. The same Commission press release states that it is likely that the trade sector will be one of the first sectors to benefit from this to be able to manage the flow and storage of goods more effectively, and therefore to make considerable savings. By remedying the hitherto random availability of frequencies, the Commission's initiative will directly contribute to the free movement of goods and services within the internal market. According to certain estimates, the market value for RFID services and devices in Europe (EU-15) is set to reach 4 billion EUR between now and 2010.
Both of the Commission's decisions were prepared in collaboration with radio spectrum experts from the Member States of the EU. The decisions established harmonised conditions for the use of the radio spectrum, applicable throughout the EU, for most short range wireless devices available on the market. Whilst one of the measures covers RFID and, given their rapid development, aims to ensure the availability of harmonised frequencies in the EU, the other relates to certain categories of devices used nowadays, but also contains an integral mechanism allowing the scope of application to be extended in line with new devices being developed and marketed. By adopting this test-of-time concept, the Commission is taking on board the nature of a sector which is particularly dynamic in terms of new devices and applications.
For further information on the decisions on the harmonisation of the radio spectrum used by short range wireless devices and Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) in the UHF (ultra high frequency) band: http: //ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/radio_spectrum/ref_documents/index_en.htm (oj)