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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Breaking News -
General:
VeriSign To Operate Root Directory
For EPCglobal Network
VeriSign Inc, a leading provider of critical infrastructure services for
the
Internet and telecommunications networks, announced it has been selected by
EPCglobal, a not-for-profit standards organization, to operate the Object
Naming Service or ONS as the root directory for the EPCglobal Network.
The EPCglobal Network is a system that leverages the existing Internet
infrastructure to create a low-cost, standards-based set of services for
trading partners to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and the
electronic product code (EPC) to capture and share information on items
throughout the supply chain. When the EPC is linked to the directory it
becomes a tool that enables new ways of doing business.
The EPC is a unique number that can be assigned to individual items in
cases
and pallets within the supply chain for identification and tracking. Similar
to today's bar code, these "license plates" for products are embedded in EPC
tags, which can transmit EPC information to special readers placed in dock
doors and other locations. This makes it easier to track products as they move
through the supply chain. Through the use of the EPCglobal Network, businesses
can become more efficient and productive in logistics, inventory management
and product placement. To support this new model for supply chain management
thousands of enterprises need to be able to securely access, in real-time,
potentially billions of unique EPCs from a highly available global ONS
directory.
"We are extremely pleased to be selected to play a critical role in the
EPCglobal Network, which promises to be the foundation for bringing
intelligence and control to enterprises large and small in the next generation
of supply chain management solutions," said Stratton Sclavos, CEO of VeriSign.
"Our ATLAS platform is a proven infrastructure for high-speed, highly scalable
directory services, which we believe will be increasingly important as more
industries look to leverage the ubiquity of the Internet. By combining these
services with our deep security expertise, we look forward to delivering a
broad array of services that will enable secure global dissemination and
discovery of product information across the global supply chain."
VeriSign enters the relationship with EPCglobal with over a decade of
experience operating a proven, global platform for the .com and .net domain
name system. Additionally, VeriSign brings to bear a unique suite of services
that enable secure Internet commerce and communication that will be critical
to the success of the EPCglobal Network. VeriSign will apply its breadth and
depth of expertise to operate the root directory of the EPCglobal Network, and
to deliver a suite of integrated value added managed services that allow
trading partners throughout the supply chain to securely discover and share
product data in real-time.
"To more effectively track pallets and cases of products throughout the
supply
chain, the EPC tag linked to the ONS root directory, which creates a unique
identifier for each container," said Margaret Fitzgerald, president of
EPCglobal. "When looking for a partner to build the ONS it was clear VeriSign,
based on its background as the leading domain name registry for the millions
of Internet addresses in use around the globe, was the perfect partner for the
job."
Terms of the agreement are confidential. VeriSign does not expect the EPC
contract to materially impact its 2004 financial results.
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