ALAMEDA, CA -- Meeting RoHS requirements requires a one-time investment of 2% to 3% of cost of goods sold, a top research firm said today. The firm released its findings to counter what it called "false information and speculation" about the cost of compliance.

In a press release, Pamela Gordon, president of Technology Forecasters, said, "We are hearing statistics from some mistaken consultants that name-brand electronics companies need to spend 10% of their R&D budgets to comply to RoHS."

Gordon called such hype "reminiscent of the Y2K scare." She decried such numbers, saying they failed to take into account company size. Based on hundreds of interviews with electronics companies, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and colleagues, TFI puts the number at 2 to 3% of COGS, Gordon said.