Global Agreement will ensure availability and interoperability of Electronic Product Code solutions for the end-user community.  The Electronic Product Code system is the next generation of the bar code.

BALTIMORE, Maryland — September 30, 2004  -EPCglobal Inc™, a joint venture of EAN International and the Uniform Code Council, Inc. ® (UCC®), (Lawrenceville, NJ) announced today that they have partnered with MET Laboratories, Inc. (Baltimore, MD) to develop and manage the EPCglobal RFID Hardware Certification program. This announcement was made during the 2004 EPCglobal conference in Baltimore, MD.
  
Under the agreement, MET Laboratories, a company that provides extensive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) testing and consulting services for manufacturers and consumers of RFID products and systems, will serve as the official testing provider for the EPCglobal Hardware Certification program. MET Laboratories will provide testing for each of the program’s four testing components as follows: Hardware Interoperability Phase I, Hardware Interoperability Phase II, Radio Frequency, and Protocol. MET Laboratories recently provided testing for EPCglobal solution providers who participated in the Hardware Interoperability Phase I test. During this test, solution providers evaluated the interoperability of their Generation 1 (Class 0 and 1) RFID reader and tag configurations with those provided by other manufacturers.
 
The primary goal of the EPCglobal Hardware Certification program is to build a comprehensive certification process for various EPCglobal Network™ components to ensure availability and interoperability of Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) solutions for the end-user community. The EPCglobal Network combines RFID technology, the Internet, and the EPC to enable accurate, cost-efficient visibility of information in the supply chain. Since EPCglobal Inc’s inception in 2003, there has been strong support for EPC technology, with leading companies and industries committed to implementing this technology in their supply chains.
 
MET's technology partner, Cetecom Spain, will develop the EPCglobal Hardware Certification program’s RFID conformance test system. Cetecom Spain has developed test systems for other wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS. Formal conformance testing will begin on Generation 2 hardware upon the completion of Generation 2 standards expected later this year. Generation 2 standards are standards that will provide one foundational protocol upon which Class 1 and other passive communication tag classes (i.e. Class 2 and Class 3) will be based.
 
"The testing services that MET will provide for EPCglobal are natural extensions of MET's experience in providing compliance testing for RFID, Bluetooth and other wireless technologies. We look forward to working with EPCglobal and its solution partners in this program,” said President of MET Laboratories Rob Frier.
 
“EPCglobal Inc’s strategic partnership with MET Laboratories is a win-win for all involved,” said EPCglobal Inc President Chris Adcock. “By joining forces, EPCglobal Inc and MET Labs will deliver a hardware certification program that serves as the focal point for technology providers and end-users to ensure compliance with EPCglobal standards and interoperability with other solutions.” 
 
For complete hardware interoperability test results and a list of participating solution providers, visit www.EPCglobalinc.org/interoperability. For additional information about EPCglobal or to download an EPCglobal Hardware Certification position paper, visit www.EPCglobalinc.org.
 
 
About MET Laboratories:
Since 1959, MET Laboratories has been a pioneer in testing and certification, and is in the forefront of the standards industry.  MET provides electrical and electronic testing and certification services to commercial and military clients in the areas of: Electromagnetic Compatibility and Wireless, Product Safety, Environmental Simulation, and Telecom/Fiber Optics. MET has three full service laboratories: Baltimore, Maryland, Union City, California and Santa Clara, California.
 
For additional information about MET Laboratories visit: www.metlabs.com

About EPCglobal Inc
EPCglobal Inc, a joint venture between EAN International and the Uniform Code Council, Inc.®, is a not-for-profit organization entrusted by industry to establish and support the EPCglobal Network as the global standard for real-time, automatic identification of information in the supply chain of any company, anywhere in the world.
 
The EPCglobal Network combines Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, existing communications network infrastructure, and the Electronic Product Code™ (a number for uniquely identifying an item) to enable accurate, cost-efficient visibility of information in the supply chain.  The end result helps organizations be more efficient, flexible, and responsive to customer needs. For more information about EPCglobal or EPCglobal US™, visit: www.EPCglobalinc.org or www.EPCglobalUS.org.