AT&T RFIDentifies Opportunity

AT&T Inc. is sending its first salvo into the RFID space. The service provider will launch a managed end-to-end hosted RFID solution service as the first step toward developing location-based services, wired and wireless tracking and specialized network applications. Customer trials are scheduled for completion midyear.

The carrier isn’t going it alone; AT&T is collaborating Intel Corp., BEA Systems and Symbol Technologies to design and deploy the RFID device services and networks for business customers.

BEA’s WebLogic RFID Edge Server, BEA WebLogic RFID Enterprise Server and BEA WebLogic Portal software will be incorporated into the solution. BEA’s RFID technology is designed to manage readers and other devices, filter and coordinate with operational processes, and provide reliable delivery of and access to RFID data to business applications. Symbol Technologies is providing RFID hardware to round out the overall offering, including mobile and fixed RFID readers. Meanwhile, the Intel worldwide professional services organization and AT&T Laboratories are co-developing reference architectures that will establish basic building blocks for RFID devices to improve the management and administration of RFID readers and sensors in a networked environment. The reference architectures will assist RFID equipment suppliers as they build devices as well as act as solution blueprints for businesses.

The companies also are working to standardize end-to-end network services for RFID, across diverse hardware platforms, operating systems, applications and databases. As RFID becomes more widely deployed, network reliability, security and data integrity become increasingly critical, says Eric Shepcaro, senior vice president of business development at AT&T. “And for most companies, the task of ensuring those three things will be overwhelming and complex, especially across multiple hardware platforms and configurations, and diverse supplier and partner networks and databases,” he adds. “We are leveraging our investments and expertise in managing and securing networks, including [the recently acquired] Sterling Commerce supply chain solution that encompasses warehouse management, multi-channel order management and, with the acquisition of Nistevo, transportation management solutions, to transform the way companies use RFID and sensor-based technology to manage their business.”

In an effort to bolster standardization, the partners are working with RFID standards groups like the Internet Engineering Task Force and EPCglobal U.S., an affiliate of EPCglobal Inc.

AT&T www.att.com
BEA Systems Inc. www.bea.com
Intel Corp. www.intel.com
Symbol Technologies www.symbol.com

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