RFID technology originally utilized the low-frequency range, so LF (Low Frequency) is the technology adopted for the oldest variant of RFID, which was used primarily in manufacturing and agricultural applications. ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 are two widely adopted low-frequency (125 kHz) standards that have been and continue to be widely used in animal identification and tracking. ISO 11784 defines the structure of animal attribute data (in this standard, animals can be identified by country code and a unique national ID). ISO 11785 was devoted to the technical aspects of communication.
However, soon the development of the technology itself (access to new frequencies) and its application areas (data structure, exchange protocols) accelerated so much that the number of ISO standards increased significantly (Table 1).
| ISO/IEC Standard | Title | Status |
| ISO 11784 | Radio Frequency Identification of Animals. Information structure. | Published standard 1996 |
| ISO 11785 | Radio frequency identification of animals. Technical concept. | Published standard 1996 |
| ISO/IEC 14443 | Identification cards. Contactless cards with integrated circuit. Proximity cards | Published standard 2000 |
| ISO/IEC 15693 | Identification cards. Contactless cards with integrated circuit. Vicinity cards. | Published standard 2000 |
| ISO/IEC 18001 | Information technology. AIDC technology. RFID for object management. Application requirements. | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 18000-1 | Radio interface (Part 1). Generic parameters for communication channels for authorized frequency ranges. | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 18000-2 | Radio interface (Part 2). 135 kHz Radio Interface Parameters | Published Standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 18000-3 | Radio Interface (Part 3) - 13.56 MHz Radio Interface Parameters | Published Standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 18000-4 | Radio Interface (Part 4) Parameters for the 2.45 GHz radio interface | Awaiting final approval as a global standard |
| ISO/IEC 18000-5 | Radio interface (part 5). Parameters for the 5.8 GHz radio interface | Awaiting final approval as a global standard |
| ISO/IEC 18000-6 | Radio interface (part 6). Parameters for the radio interface in the frequency range 860-930 MHz | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 18000-6 | Radio interface (Part 6) - Parameters for the radio interface at 433.92 MHz | In final approval as a global standard |
| ISO/IEC 15960 | Data syntax. Application message requirements. | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 15961 | RFID for object management. Data transfer protocol - application interface | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 15962 | RFID for object management. Data encoding rules and logical memory functions protocol | Published standard 2004 |
| ISO/IEC 15963 | RFID for object management. Unique identification of radio frequency tag. | Final approval as a global standard is underway |
Table 1. ISO/IEC standards in the field of RFID
Currently, each of the allocated frequency ranges has its own standards with its own degree of development. The following frequency ranges are distinguished, for which international ISO standards exist: 125-135 kHz, 860-930 MHz, 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz (the 5.8 GHz and 433.22 MHz ranges are currently practically not used). Each of the allocated ranges supports applications and application systems that are similar in functionality (Table 2).
| Operating frequency | Standard | Applications |
125 kHz 135 kHz | ISO 14223 ISO 11784 ISO 11785 ISO 18000-2 | Designed for animal identification ( including livestock), but are used quite widely, for example, in car immobilizers. |
| 13.56 MHz | ISO 14443 ISO 15693 ISO 10373 ISO 18000-3 | Contactless smart cards for a wide range of applications Contactless tags for logistics applications, product identification, etc. Test methods for proximity and vicinity cards for the 13.56 MHz range |
| 860-930 MHz | ISO 15961 ISO 15962 ISO 15963 ISO 18000-6 | Contactless tags for logistics applications, medium-range goods identification |
| 2.45 GHz | ISO 15961 ISO 15962 ISO 15963 ISO 18000-4 | Contactless tags for logistics applications, extended-range goods identification |
Table 2. ISO standards by frequency range.
Below are the parameters corresponding to the most common RFID standards for the HF range frequencies.
| Characteristics | ICODE 1 | ISO 15693 | ISO 14443 A | ISO 14443 B |
| Serial number, bit | 64 | 64 | | |
| Key length, bit | | | 48 | 48 |
| Baud rate, kBaud | 26.5 | 53 | 106 | 106 |
| Modulation | 10% ASK | 10% or 100% ASK | 100% ASK | 10% ASK |
| Encoding method | Pulse position modulation | Pulse position modulation | Modified Miller code | NRZ-L code |
| Subcarrier frequency, kHz | 423 | 423 | 847 | 847 |
| Subcarrier modulation | | 100% ASK | ON/OFF keying | PSK |
| Subcarrier encoding | Manchester code | Manchester code | Manchester code | NRZ-L code |
| CRC length, bit | 8 | 16 | | |
| Anti-collision mechanism | Time slots | Time slots | Bit-oriented | Request response |
EPC Global standards.
In addition to the well-known ISO standards, EPC Global standards have become widespread and popular. EPC Global became involved in standardization after Auto ID Labs, founded in 1999 at the University of Massachusetts and focused on defining standards in the field of ultra-high frequencies (UHF), closed in October 2003. In order to conquer the market and be understandable to RFID consumers, EPC Global began by identifying certain functional groups of tags, calling them classes. Even under Auto ID Labs, the following groups (classes) were identified:
- Class 0. A group of passive tags for object identification (Passive Identity Tag). These tags contain only the so-called "electronic product code" (EPC) in an unchangeable form and use a CRC check to detect errors.
- Class 1. Group