U.S. and China Drive Global Momentum for Active RFID Band Used by Savi Technology for Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2004--

-- U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and China's State Radio Regulatory Commission (SRRC) Support 434 MHz Band for Active (Battery-Powered) RFID Devices

“These back-to-back decisions by the world's largest manufacturing center (Peoples Republic of China) and largest consuming nation (U.S.) provide further momentum in the adoption of a global active RFID standard, which is critical for seamless visibility of cross-border, international shipments”

-- Regulatory Support Augments International Standards Progress on 434 MHz for Active RFID

Recent international regulatory support for the 434 MHz radio-frequency band by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and China's State Radio Regulatory Commission (SRRC) are major milestones in advancing a global standard for real-time supply chain management and security using active RFID technologies. Both governmental regulatory bodies -- the SRRC late last week and the FCC in April -- announced their support for devices operating at the 434 MHz radio frequency band, which Savi Technology leverages worldwide for its active (battery-powered) RFID tags and security seals.

Savi's suite of active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) hardware products, which are integrated into its own and other networked software platforms, provide real-time visibility, management and security of containerized cargo and other types of global shipments moving by ocean vessel, rail, truck or even air transport modes.

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, in a prepared statement following the FCC's unanimous decision, stated: "I'm excited by the prospects for improved inventory control, lower costs, and increased homeland security that this technology promises to bring. . . Today's Third Report and Order allows a powerful new technology to help secure our ports while increasing productivity. When you consider that a trillion dollars worth of goods pass through our ports annually, the potential economic benefits of this technology become clear."

Savi's active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and seals are affixed to conveyances and can transmit to readers the identification, contents, security status and other information about shipments over distances exceeding 300 feet. Savi's real-time solutions already have been deployed over the past decade in tracking and managing more than one million shipments worldwide for government, military, Homeland Security and commercial purposes. Savi selected the 434 MHz band years ago because of its accuracy over long ranges and propagation performance in and around heavy-metal environments, such as seaports and railheads.

"These back-to-back decisions by the world's largest manufacturing center (Peoples Republic of China) and largest consuming nation (U.S.) provide further momentum in the adoption of a global active RFID standard, which is critical for seamless visibility of cross-border, international shipments," said Fraser Jennings, Savi's vice president of Standards and Regulatory Activities, who has been active in proceedings with both the FCC and SRRC. "A common global standard for active RFID has been needed for a long time to ensure total asset visibility across all links in the supply chain. We're increasingly encouraged that the 434 MHz band is rapidly gaining acceptance as the official standard for real-time visibility across the entire supply chain worldwide."

Jennings pointed out that the SRRC implementation matches the European Union radio regulations, and other countries throughout Asia, North and South America and Africa already permit usage of the radio frequency band used by Savi -- specifically 433.92 MHz. This band already has achieved "a type of de facto standard status" because of its deployment in Savi's products for the U.S. Department of Defense, United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and is being tested by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as Homeland Security initiatives such as Smart and Secure Tradelanes and Operation Safe Commerce, said Jennings. He added that Japan and Korea are expected to render favorable decisions on this band within the next year.

Further momentum enabling wider adoption of the 434 MHz band is being fueled by the International Standardization Organization (ISO), said Jennings. ISO is expected to ratify 18000-7 to provide global usage standards for this frequency, and also is drafting an international standard for its usage with Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) for tracking assets in more confined environments.

Real-time solutions leveraging the 434 MHz band have grown significantly the past two years, especially since Homeland Security concerns have been raised after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. East Coast. For example, the world's largest industry-driven cargo security initiative, Smart and Secure Tradelanes, now has RFID data capture installations in 19 major ports on five continents. A number of government programs sponsored by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, United States Trade and Development Agency and the Asia-Pacific Economic Council have launched successful pilots deploying 433.92 MHz and Savi's integrated hardware-software networked solutions to track containerized cargo shipments from Asia, South Africa, South America and Europe into U.S. ports.

For a more complete version of this press release and information on Savi Technology, visit www.savi.com.

(TM) - Savi, and Savi SmartChain are registered trademarks of Savi Technology, Inc. The Savi logo, EchoPoint, Savi SmartSeal and UDAP are trademarks of Savi Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.