Alien Technology Announces European RFID Solutions Operating to Latest ETSI UHF Frequency Regulations; New Readers and Tags Fulfill Key European Supply Chain Requirements

Business Wire, Sept 22, 2004

MORGAN HILL, Calif. -- Alien Technology(R) Corporation, a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products, today announced the release of UHF readers and tags for the European market. The EPC Class 1 readers have been designed to meet all aspects of the new ETSI EN 302 208 regulatory standard and Alien's new EPC Class 1 tags with 96-bits of user-programmable memory have been specifically developed to operate in Europe.

"These new products represent a very important step forward in enabling European companies to implement the latest UHF RFID solutions," commented Andrew Berger, Alien Technology's VP of European and International Operations. "For the first time, European companies can start to compete on a level playing field with their U.S. counterparts and can take advantage of the economies of scale that will result from fast-growing volumes of tags and readers in North America. The problem with old proprietary standards and offerings in Europe is that they have traditionally been fragmented, cost more and performed poorly relative to U.S. solutions. Europe will always be better off with a single, global approach to RFID standards and solutions in the supply chain."

Alien Technology's new readers and tags represent the first EPC Class 1 system available for use under the new European UHF regulations. This is important because the new regulations offer performance similar to what is possible under U.S. FCC regulations, providing longer read ranges and higher read speeds necessary for supply chain and other challenging applications. With four times the allowed power of the previous ETSI regulatory standard, and ten separate communication channels versus only one previously, the 302 208 standard enables European based companies to stay competitive with North American companies in the emerging RFID marketplace. All European Radio Communications Authorities voted positively for this new ETSI standard in early September 2004.

Alien's European readers include new capabilities such as: listen-before-talk, adjacent channel selectivity, conformance to the European spectral mask, and the ability to operate at European data rates. These new readers have already been deployed for pilots, trials and demonstrations to a number of European customers. In parallel, Alien Technology has trained over 80 personnel from over 35 European companies in UHF technology through its world leading Alien RFID Academy, which has been available in Europe since March 2004 (see www.alientechnology.com). Early releases of the new ETSI 302 208 readers and tags will be first available to companies that have attended RFID Academy training.

Alien's new tag family is based on Alien(R)'s third generation of UHF EPC Class 1 integrated circuits (ICs), code named "Lepton." This IC was developed in collaboration with ST Microelectronics of Rousset, France. Lepton-based tags offer 96-bit of user-programmable memory, and deliver up to 40% more read range than previous Class 1 tags, providing robust operating margin for challenging applications. The Lepton IC was specifically designed for global operation, allowing for a tag that can write and read around the world.

Fully compliant with Wal*Mart and U.S. Department of Defense initiatives taking effect in January 2005, the new Lepton tags operate according to the EPC Class 1 standard, the only field-programmable tag standard recognized by EPCglobal. The new tags will be used by hundreds of suppliers from around the world to track cases and pallets in the retail and DoD supply chain. Alien Technology has already announced the availability of 20 cents tags in early 2005 for order volumes of 1 million.

The Lepton-based tag family includes updated versions of Alien's current designs, plus new tags optimized for pharmaceuticals, baggage tags, retail hang tags, and other applications in 2005. "Our customers and partners have made Alien's Class 1 RFID hardware the most widely adopted for key supply chain initiatives," commented Tom Pounds, VP of Corporate Development for Alien. "The enhanced read performance provided by the Lepton IC will make our Class 1 products even more attractive."

Alien Technology is working with leading European reader, handheld, printer and applicator vendors to ensure the same widespread interoperability with Lepton that has been proven with earlier generations of EPC Class 1 products (www.epcglobalinc.org/interoperability). Alien is also engaged with leading European label converter companies to ensure availability and reliability of Lepton-based RFID labels.

Alien will broaden customer deployments of the new ETSI 302 208 readers and Lepton tags in October with initial production shipments in November 2004.

About Alien Technology

Alien Technology Corporation is a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products for global customers in government, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and other industries. Using its patented manufacturing process, Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA(R)), Alien(R) manufactures EPC tags in very high-volumes and at low cost. The company also provides RFID readers for a variety of applications including supply chain management, logistics, and anti-counterfeiting, to improve inventory management and reduce operating costs. Alien is an active member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien Technology Corporation can be found on the Company's website at www.alientechnology.com . Alien, Alien Technology and FSA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries.