Certification Fundamentals

CERTIFICATION FUNDAMENTALS_November 12, 2010

Newcomers to cellular wireless often consider certification a formality, like renewing your driver’s license. Unfortunately, they usually find gaining permission to activate devices on cellular networks more closely resembles obtaining a medical license (apologies to all you surgeons, stay with us and we’ll explain).

To renew your driver’s license, you may face moderate inconveniences like long lines, unflattering photos and an eye exam. Still, for most of us, it can be handled in a single (if unpleasant) afternoon.

To become a licensed doctor, you must first obtain a tremendous amount of knowledge about anatomy, chemistry and more. Then you have to pass a litany of tests. And, of course, you can’t advance to the next level without first achieving all prerequisites. In other words, it takes a long time and a lot of hard work.

Likewise, cellular certifications take time, knowledge and testing. And, you cannot activate your device on the network without first achieving all the necessary prerequisites.

To get you started on the right foot, we’ll start by giving you a quick overview of the three basic layers of certifications required for cellular devices in North America, in order.  Then a few tips to help you ace your exams.

1. Regulatory approval

The Federal Communications Commission, a U.S. government agency responsible directly to Congress and charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable, has specific requirements for electronics that limit the amount of electronic interference they can produce when operating. Before you can advance your product to the next level of testing, you must first achieve FCC approval.

2. Conformance

a) PTCRB (for GSM-based products): The purpose of the PCS Type Certification Review Board (PTCRB) is to provide the framework within which GSM Mobile Equipment (ME) Type Certification can take place.

b) CDG (for CDMA-based products): CDMA Development Group was developed to lead the rapid evolution and deployment of CDMA-based systems.

In order to certify conformance to either of these organizations’ standards, products must pass: RF parametric testing, data testing, network interoperability testing and field testing. And, you must conform before submitting your device to the carrier.

3. Operator approval

Carriers live and die by the quality and reliability of service on their network. To that end, it is imperative to protect the network from harm caused by the devices with which it communicates. Which is why many cellular carriers require their own specific testing for devices wishing to access their network. Once you’ve been through the previous arduous steps, you may think additional carrier-specific requirements are approaching overkill – but before you do, remember, the success of your device depends on the quality of their service, too.

Now, some best practices to help you prepare for your finals.

Approach design with certification in mind.

When you’ve spend the time and resources necessary to design and develop a product and you think it’s ready to release to the market is not the first time you should look at your certification requirements. Why? Failure to pass some portion of the certification testing outlined above can send you right back to the drawing board. Sadly, it’s the kind of project management error that can kill a new product – or even the company trying to sell it.

Test and test and test again.

With certification requirements in mind, you should test your product throughout the development cycle. Every addition, change or refinement can impact your device’s performance against these key measurements. Don’t lose time backtracking when you should be moving your design forward to completion.

Pre-certify.

Certified test labs make money every time you take your device through their process. Which means they won’t mind if you have to go through it twice. You and your investors, on the other hand, would probably prefer to pass the first time around. That’s why it’s best to pre-certify your device so you know going in what you can expect to get out.

Of course, even a lengthy blog entry cannot match the knowledge and expertise of those who have been through the process countless times before. If you need help with your device certifications, give us a call – we’re here to help make your idea a reality.