Cargo Container Security: It’s Not “One Size Fits All”

• Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Qualcomm, RFID

Tracking of cargo containers and their contents from departure to delivery has clear benefits for the industrial and transportation sectors: increased visibility and security of goods in transit. A further potential benefit – greater public safety and security – is a subject of debate. But it is frequently true that combinations of the three available tracking technologies, rather than any one in isolation, promise the maximum value for investment.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), cellular data communications and satellite communications can all be applied to container tracking and security. Each has its pros and cons, and currently there is no one technology or business model that will be entirely cost-effective or sufficient for all container tracking and security.

According to ABI Research director Michael Liard, “Choosing container tracking technologies is all about finding a balance between the cost of each individual method versus the value it can deliver. In many cases a smart combination of technologies will provide greater value than the sum of its parts. Potential users today are searching for that optimum tradeoff.”

For instance:

• RFID offers low overall costs (but expensive infrastructure). It stores data, but provides near real-time feedback only when passing through interrogation zones.
• Cellular communications carry moderate costs and offer real-time updates (where cellular service exists), but service fees are high.
• Satellite communications also offer real-time data nearly anywhere, but costs are high, and metallic environments can cause problems.

In a real-world example of such integration, RFID tags from Savi Technologies, attached to containers, are read by Qualcomm's global positioning satellite network, enhancing total asset visibility coverage and real-time data transmission capabilities.

Converged solutions such as this are currently being trialed and tested, but actual deployments are still few and far between.

Liard adds, “A key challenge is that there are still too few government security mandates on container tracking. The security aspects of container tracking are the hardest to quantify, but mandates do help drive markets, and they can help provide some guidance around technology selection.” [ABI Research]

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