The Little Chip that Could: The Public Sector and RFID

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of RFID (radio frequency identification) and the emerging use of the technology in the governmental sector. It examines the fundamental aspects of what RFID technology is, why there is a need for it, and how it is advantageous vs. present bar code technology. The chapter provides a look at how RFID is being used today, both at the federal and state/local levels of government. It looks at the major RFID initiatives being undertaken in the military and the governmental supply chain, as well as creative uses of the technology for improving public administration. The purposes of the chapter were to raise governmental executives and academicians’ understanding and awareness of RFID technology and to spotlight the technological, business, and privacy considerations that will be raised over the next decade with the advent of what has been described as nothing less than a “weird new media revolution.”