| CeBIT Australia 2008 | 24 April 2008 |
 Representatives from Harvest Laboratories and Approval Specialists will be on stand G10 @ CeBIT Sydney (Darling Harbour) from 20-22 May 2008, come and have your global testing and approval questions answered face to face. |
|
| EMR and SAR requirements for Australia | 26 September 2005 |
| Contact us if you'd like this news article emailed to you. |
|
| Visit us at CeBIT Sydney in May | 31 March 2005 |
 Ms Chun Kim and Martin Garwood will be representing Approval Specialists at the upcoming CeBIT Australia trade show at Sydney's Darling Harbour, May 24-26. We will be available to answer questions that manufacturers or distributors may have with respect to local and international testing and approvals. |
|
| Telstra Announces ADSL2+, ACA Standard to be updated | 10 March 2005 |
Telstra has announced AUD$210 million upgrade to it's existing ADSL broadband service to deploy ADSL2+ with an estimated 200 exchanges ADSL2+ ready by mid 2005.
The orgainisation scoped with authoring of the ACA's standards (ACIF), has released an amendment to AS/ACIF S043 which has now been submitted to the ACA to become a S.376 standard. It is believed that this standard will be mandated around May of this year. |
|
| ACA Discussion Paper on 802.11h | February 5, 2004 |
ACA provisions do not currently support the deployment of 802.11h in the 5470-5725 MHz band.
The following discussion paper outlines an ACA proposal to add this portion of the 5GHz spectrum to the existing LIPD class licence system.
The paper provides interesting background regarding the opening of 5GHz spectrum for WLAN use.
|
|
| ACA Mandates Spread Spectrum Standard | January 10, 2004 |
AS/NZS 4771:2000 relating to Spread Spectrum Devices comes into effect 10 December 2004. The standard covers 802.11 and other spread spectrum devices operating in the 2.4-2.4835 and 5.725-5.875GHz bands. A copy of the standard can be found here
The labelling notice has also been considerably revised and compliance level 2 is now required for all spread spectrum devices. Compliance level 2 requires a Declaration of Conformity to be signed by an Australian entity and a compliance folder kept containing written evidence that the device complies with the standard. This is typically in the form of a test report. |
|
| ACA Reduces EMC Compliance for Telecom Products | November 10, 2003 |
As of the 8th of November 2003, the Australian Communications Authority have reduced the compliance level of Telecommunications Terminal Equipment from compliance level 3 to compliance level 2.
This change (from a high risk device cetegory to medium risk), removes the requirement for telecommunications manufacturers or importers to supply an accredited EMC test report (AS/NZS3548/EN55022/CISPR22) as part of their compliance folder.
While a test report is still required, telecommunications products are now treated in the same way as other products in terms of EMC requirements and need not be from a NATA or equivalent test lab.
|
|
| ACA Releases Paper Concerning Broadband Powerline Comms | 10 October, 2003 |
These devices include mains signaling modems and ethernet products that use a home or office's mains wiring to transfer data or communicate. Given these devices are intentional radiators (conducted), the potential exists for them to cause interference with other mains powered devices.
The ACA have produced 2 papers, http://www.aca.gov.au/radcomm/frequency_planning/spps/0311spp.pdf , and http://www.aca.gov.au/consumer_info/fact_sheets/industry_fact_sheets/fsi23.pdf |
|
| Brazil Gets Tough With OCD who approved the unapprovable ! | 10 October, 2003 |
ANATEL, the Brazilian telecommunications agency, has recently suspended certificates issued by one of their OCD's (Appointed Certification Bodies) for wireless devices that are not covered by existing standards. These include products incorporating 802.11a and 802.11g.
Suffice to say this has left a number of manufacturers, not to mention the OCD responsible, in a very difficult situation.
We are able to obtain 802.11b approvals via testing in a Brazil lab, with certificates of conformity from an OCD (not an OCD subject to the cancellations!), followed by a homologation certificate from ANATEL.
For combo products that include the 802.11a or g protocols, mixed with an 802.11b product, we are currently testing for all protocols. A manufacturer then has 2 choices:
1. Seek approval for only the 802.11b functions. (we need to obtain an assurance in writing that the 802.11a and g functions can be temporarily disabled). When new standards are approved, we can proceed to modify the certificate to include all functions.
2. Wait for the new standard to be approved and then seek a certificate for all protocols.
We expect the new standard to be approved before the end of the year.
Note that for wireless approvals in Brazil, a "maintenance" must be performed every two years. This consists of revalidating the status of the quality control at the factory (provision of current ISO certificate) and providing a statement that the product from the last manufactured batch still meets the standards provided in the original approval. Under some circumstances, ANATEL may ask for a re-test.
|
|
| Approval Specialists Launch New Web Site | 1 October, 2003 |
We have spent the last few months creating a more user friendly web site with a searchable news section and easier access to our project management database.
While the new site is now up and running, the searchable news page will be operational beginning 22 October, so we invite you to check it out and pass on any comments regarding it's functions and ease of use.
|
|
| ACA TS Standards Obsolete | 1 September, 2003 |
The Australian Communications Authority have withdrawn a number of telecommunications technical standards over the last year or so, and many have been replaced by AS/ACIF versions.
Old Standard Description Expiry New Standard
ACA TS002 (analog) 1 Jan 2003 AS/ACIF S002:2001
ACA TS003 (CSS) 1 Sep 2003 AS/ACIF S003:2001
ACA TS004 (voice) 1 Sep 2003 AS/ACIF S004:2001
ACA TS006 (leased line) 18 Apr 2001 AS/ACIF S006:2001
ACA TS008 (cabling) 1 Jan 2004 AS/ACIF S008:2001
ACA TS016 (E1 +) 1 Jan 2004 AS/ACIF S016:2001
ACA TS026 (SDH) 2 Oct 2002 no new standard
ACA TS031 (ISDN BRI) 1 Sep 2003 AS/ACIF S031:2001
ACA TS038 (ISDN PRI) 1 Sep 2003 AS/ACIF S038:2001
Published ACIF standards are freely available from the ACIF web site (www.acif.org.au) by clicking on "documents" and following to the end of the page.
|
|
| Snapshot on WLAN and Bluetooth in United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 21 July, 2003 |
Here's a brief summary on the U.A.E's market access requirements for WLAN and Bluetooth tm products.
The UAE has recently allowed approval of 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g devices with approval being granted by ETISALAT and the Ministry of Communications. However, their treatment of Bluetooth(tm) devices is somewhat unique.
802.11b Approval Procedure:
A completed and signed application form must be submitted (we can provide this) together with company registration documentation, an evaluation fee of between Dhs 2000 -5000 depending on the product's function, along with 2 samples.
Test cables, additional supporting hardware such as laptops, antennas or fixtures should be provided with the test sample, along with any test software. Full technical documentation should also be supplied covering methods of installation, use and maintenance, along with a list of features supported by the product.
Evidence of international certifications, test reports and declarations regarding EMC, telecom and safety standards are also required, as is an agency / distribution agreement confirmation from the manufacturer.
The approval takes approx 6-8 weeks.
Bluetooth:
According to the UAE government test lab (UAELAB), Bluetooth is treated as an intrinsic function of a larger product. As an example, they will approve faxes, phones and WLAN that incorporate Bluetooth functionality, however there are no approval requirements for low power Bluetooth devices.
Note that UAELAB do not charge extra for Bluetooth tests, the cost being included in the base price for the main equipment.
Bluetooth wireless mouse or keyboards operating at <10mW do not require approval. Devices with higher output power fall into a "grey zone" and in such cases, we would prefer to contact the Ministry of Communications on your behalf to obtain a specific ruling.
|
|
| System Vs Independent of Host Approvals, which is best ? | April 20, 2003 |
Many countries allow the option of either a system approval or individual approval of an interface specific telecommunications / wireless card/module. These two approaches each have their benefits.
1) Card / Interface Specific Approval
Where allowed, we often suggest an IOH or independent of host approval, which allows greater flexibility should the card or module be deployed in more than one platform or system.
Note however that this can become expensive as each interface often requires a separate application and label/approval #. The cost Vs benefit should be examined, i.e. how many total platforms might use each interface ?
2) System Approval
With this approach, an approval application is made for the platform or system, which requires (in many instances) the exact configuration and included interfaces to be listed within the approval application.
With this approach, a new application must be made for each system that incorporates the various interfaces.
Summary
In order to provide guidance, we request specific technical details of any system and the interfaces involved at the time of quotation, likewise we need to know which cards are common to systems or product families so as to ensure approval fees are minimized.
|
|
| Malaysia updates Spectrum Plan and Issues Guidelines on WLAN | February 18, 2003 |
The MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) have updated the national spectrum plan. The new plan commenced on the 1st of January 2003 and makes allowance for "Hiperlan or other wirless application" in the 5.150-5.250 and 5.250-5.350GHz bands (page 121 of 294). The plan is available in .pdf.
The MCMC has produced another document "guideline on the provision of wireless lan service using spread spectrum communications equipment (MCMC/G/01/03)). The document outlines existing WLAN output power requirements in the 2.4GHz, upper 5GHz and 24GHz bands and can be downloaded also in .pdf format.
Contact us for more details on our Malay approval, import and distribution services.
|
|
| China allows certs to be held by overseas companies who are not the manufacturer | February 13, 2003 |
A recent change to SRRC procedures has made it possible for wireless products to be certified in the name of a foreign company, who may not necessarily be the physical manufacturer of the equipment.
Until recently, certs could only be issued in the name of the product's manufacturer. A lack of ISO9000 certification also precluded companies who sub-contract the manufacture of their devices from obtaining the certificates in their own name.
Understandably this has caused problems, particularly when the product may have been designed and intellectual rights owned by the party unable to be listed on the certificate. Many companies also wish to have the name of their contract manufacturers remain anonymous.
The large numbers of wireless devices made by sub-contractors is believed to have prompted this policy change. Contact us for more details on our Chinese approval services for CCC, NAL and SRRC.
|
|
