Because physical
contact is not required, proximity cards can transmit their data
through common building materials like: concrete, brick, stone,
drywall, plaster, glass, wood, plastic...in fact, through anything
but metal.
Proximity card readers
are maintenance free. There are no parts to wear out or adjust.
Passive card
technology provides and unlimited number of "card reads" and their
is no battery to wear out. Active cards provide a much longer read
range, but use a battery that will wear out in time (2-years) and
require replacement of the card.
Passive cards, unless
they are physically abused, will last virtually forever.