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The Institute for Information Industry Taiwan and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, both of which are Taiwan quasi-government Research & Development organizations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs office, today announced an agreement with Newport Digital Technologies, Inc. to distribute a range of advanced Industrial Grade RFID Devices incorporating Hitachi u-Chip secure protocol technologies and AT&T required 3G wireless and battery certifications.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6252

"NDT in collaboration with III and ITRI are ready to start exclusively distributing a range of advanced RFID technologies including an IP67 Industrial grade Handfree Reader, an Industrial Monitor with an embedded reader, the world's smallest EPC Global reader module, Fixed and Handheld Readers are but a few of the products that will be released for distribution this year that contain the Hitachi u-Chip UHF protocol, a first for North America," said Richard Damion, CEO of NDT. The devices will all contain this unique security protocol which can read under the EPC Global Gen 2 layer on the RFID chip, allowing for a manufacturer, distributor, importer, distribution center and retailer to each have their own secure password protected 256K bit layer to place their confidential data within this single chip."

"The chip has a 2K memory, the largest memory in the industry with deactivation, range adjustment and read/write features as well as five password protected secure layers. We anticipate that by increasing the yield on the wafer, we can eventually see a two cent chip, the technical challenges have been great and required multi-national support. These chips and readers will be targeted at the Wal-Mart vendor supply chain, offering them the lowest cost solution in the industry, and assuring a quick ROI," said Elsie Kao RFID Project Manager at III. This is an International Project and we are collaborating with teams of Hardware, Software, Middleware, Testing and SI Engineers in Taiwan, Japan, Europe along with a major USA Retailer.

"ITRI has significant experience in industrial RFID technologies from asset tracking to global container tracking systems," said Paul Chang, ITRI's Identification and Security Technology Center, (ISTC) Manager. "ITRI has managed the first EPC Global Certified Performance and Conformance Laboratories in Asia and has developed a whole range of RFID tags, devices and solutions. Millions of dollars have been invested in the development, testing and certifying of these range of products and anticipate major sales and distribution announcements to come out from NDT within the next few weeks."

About the Institute for Information Industry:

III is one of the world's leading information technology institutes established in 1979, jointly sponsored by the Taiwan government and prominent private enterprises, for the purpose of strengthening the development of the information industry in Taiwan.

Since its inception, III has been a source of vision, innovation, technological excellence and a major contributor to Taiwan's development into a significant player in the global ICT arena. III has helped promote full utilization of ICT technologies hence advancing the establishment of modern information society in Taiwan. III has approximately 1500 engineers, of which 70% have either a Master's or Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science. III is the largest system integrator in Taiwan and has extensive core competencies in RFID Technology with focus on software development.

About the Industrial Technology Research Institute:

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) -- a national research organization that serves to strengthen the technological competitiveness of Taiwan.

Since its inception, ITRI has three mission statements: first, to expedite the development of new industrial technology; two, to aid in the process of upgrading industrial technology techniques; and three, to establish future industrial technology. However, in order to face a new economic era and serve as a nation's premiere technology research institute, ITRI must transform Taiwan's research capability from a "follower" to a "pioneer" in order to provide major advantage and opportunities for domestic industries. As of today, more than 60% of the ITRI's 6,000 employees hold either a Master's degree or PhD in their respective field of studies.

The mission of Identification and Security Technology Center (ISTC)/ITRI is to integrate technologies of identification, sensing, video surveillance, and wireless networks, to develop the next generation home and campus security system, and to uplift the domestic security industry from "point product manufacturer" to "security system integrator and/or service provider." In the meantime, ISTC develops RFID innovative application services, related software/hardware technologies, and global test and certification capabilities to promote RFID industrial development.

About Newport Digital Technologies, Inc.

NDT is a newly established technology company based in Newport Beach, California with the mission of developing, and marketing technologies from III and ITRI in three core competencies: RFID, WiMAX and eLearning. Many of these technologies were developed for exclusive distribution by NDT through tier-one channels around the world supported by NDT offices in Taiwan.

Photo is also available at NewsCom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

CONTACT: The Institute for Information Industry

Elsie Kao, Program Manager

886-2 -2737-7111 ext 7231

(C)886-9317-29522

elsiekao@iii.org.tw

Industrial Technology Research Institute

Paul Chang

886-3-2740-8000

puppy@itri.org.tw

Newport Digital Technologies, Inc.

Michael Lutton

949-903-1792

MLutton@Newportdigitaltech.com



London-based Diageo, LLC, will receive a $250 million distillery plus $2.4 billion in direct cash subsidies in exchange for moving its distillery operations from Puerto Rico to the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands

On behalf of the 750,000 Floridians of Puerto Rican descent, the National Puerto Rican Coalition today praised Florida Senator George LeMieux for urging the Senate Finance Committee to reconsider a pending proposal under which Captain Morgan Rum will receive upwards of $2.7 billion in taxpayer-paid subsidies that Puerto Rico had planned on using to alleviate the effects of unemployment and poverty.

Under the proposal, Captain Morgan's parent corporation, London-based Diageo, LLC, will receive a $250 million distillery plus $2.4 billion in direct cash subsidies in exchange for moving its distillery operations from Puerto Rico to the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The subsidies amount to nearly half of all federal excise taxes paid on the sale of Captain Morgan for the next 30 years.

Currently, those funds are rebated to Puerto Rico, where they are used to fund education, health care and environmental conservation. Under a provision dating back to 1917, the Territories receive a rebate of almost all federal Excise Taxes paid on the sale of rum produced by them as a means of federal assistance.

In a letter today to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus and Ranking Republican Charles Grassley, Sen. LeMieux asserted that the diversion of funds from Puerto Rico "could result in a significant shift in the assistance the U.S. government provides the Territories."

With nearly half its residents living below the poverty line, if Puerto Rico were a state, it would be the poorest in the union. Its per capita gross domestic product is significantly less than Mississippi's, and unemployment last month was 16.5%, higher than any U.S. state.

LeMieux also asserted that the arrangement could result in "a massive subsidy to one rum producer, creating an unequal playing field in what is now a competitive market."

Puerto Rico's Congressman, Pedro Pierluisi, has introduced legislation to ensure that 90% of all rum excise taxes rebated to the Territories are used to meet the respective Territories' social needs. H.R. 2122 would allow the Territories to provide incentives to the rum companies, but would limit them to 10% of the total excise taxes collected.

A copy of Sen. LeMieux' letter is available at http://www.nprcinc.org/files/LeMieux%20Support%20for%20PR.pdf.

National Puerto Rican Coalition

CONTACT: Anabel Evora, Mike Collins Public Relations, +1-305-479-5718,ANABEL.EVORA@HOTMAIL.COM, for the National Puerto Rican Coalition

Web site: http://www.nprcinc.org/

Did You Know?
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