Federation of Automated Coding Technologies. Because of the large number of groups that have been independently developing bar code standards, FACT was formed to foster interindustry communications and coordination. An "association of associations," FACT maintains a database of specifications and data identifiers.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent U.S. government agency. It  is charged with regulating interstate and international communications.

Computer programming instructions stored permanently in read-only memory. Most Bar Code and RFID readers can be updated to accommodate new protocols by changing the firmware.

A bar code verification term. The ratio of the number of successful reads to the number of attempts. Commonly expressed as a percentage. Abbreviated as FRR.

A visible light or laser scanner that requires a more exact positioning of a bar code than a moving beam scanner.

Essentially the material, format and shape of the RFID tag. Form factors include adhesive labels, plastic cards and key fobs.

First Read Rate.
See First Read Rate.

Function (FNC) codes define instructions for a bar code reader decoding Code 128 bar codes. FNC 1, for example, is a required component of the UCC-128 specification. FNC 2 tells the reader to store the data read and transmit it with the next symbol. FNC 3 is reserved for code reader initializing and other reader functions. FNC 4 is reserved for future use.