UHF RFID Reader Prices Must (and Will) Fall

"According to ABI Research (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) analyst Sara Shah, RFID readers using the UHF band are among the most expensive purchases for companies complying with supply chain mandates from Wal-Mart and others. These companies consistently cite UHF reader costs as verging on the prohibitive. Why, and what will bring those prices down? Shah said, the typical UHF reader today costs $2,500 to $3,000, a hefty price tag for any company planning large-scale deployment. Unlike RFID label makers, said MHM Directory Shah, reader vendors are tight-lipped about the cost breakdown for a reader's components and production costs. Lack of IC integration and low production volumes appear to be the main culprits in driving up prices. UHF readers are mainly used for supply chain management deployments. Today, manufacturers buy off-the-shelf components and assemble circuit boards themselves. That's an expensive proposition, especially as these readers can be complex." Source: mhmonline.com