Nortel integrates RFID with muni-WiFi

RFID technology is already here, present in the supply chains of large retailers and in the passports of several countries. It is also a source of consternation among privacy advocates, who argue that the unregulated proliferation of RFID chips threatens to turn an Orwellian Big Brother society from a nightmare into a reality--especially when combined with ubiquitous wireless communication. Still, Nortel has just announced that it will offer solutions that let municipal governments use RFID to enable their existing WiFi and WiMAX infrastructure to track assets and serve as a real-time location system.

Back in October, Nortel had selected Blue Vector Systems' line of sensor networking appliances as part of its next-generation of municipal wireless solutions. Nortel said its future municipal wireless solutions will deliver such services as automated meter reading, digital video surveillance, asset tracking, fleet monitoring, and video conferencing. Blue Vector Systems' network appliances, when integrated with Nortel's solution, will allow for different sensors to be controlled, among them RFID, global positioning, and video cameras.

For more on Nortel's WiFi RFID-enabling:
- see this SDA Asia report