The Nikkei, a major Japanese business publication, is reporting that NEC is planning to sell RFID tag readers/writers, which are priced less than 10% compared to existing products. The company seems to have made major advancements “in the field of semiconductor research”, resulting in the drastic price cut.

The RFID tag reader/writers are compatible with all of the six worldwide radio communications standards. NEC is ready to accept orders beginning as early as this July. For orders of 10,000 units, RFID tag reader/writers will be available for approximately $100 each.

NEC is expecting to rake in $1 billion in sales by 2014 by not only selling the RFID tag reader/writers but by also leasing compatible software and servers to buyers. The company seems to be willing to expand the scope of usage of RFID tag reader/writers from the industrial field to the retail sector in order to achieve mass adoption.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]