The approval of products that use 5G technology requires two different components:

• Approval according to the specifications of the network operators
• Regulatory approvals according to the specifications of the national regimes

Approval in accordance with the specifications of the network operators

As is the case for all products with radio technologies, products with cellular technology must also be approved by the regulatory authorities for the respective countries. Compared to other radio technologies such as Bluetooth and WLAN, devices with cellular technology must also meet the requirements of the network operators.

In January 2020, CETECOM became the first laboratory in Europe to be accredited to perform conducted 5G testing. The underlying standards – defined by ETSI and PTCRB (3GPP-based), among others – primarily serve the network operator approvals (GCF and PTCRB certifications) required when using cellular technology.

More information on network operator approvals.

Regulatory tests

The situation regarding the requirements for regulatory testing for devices with 5G technology
is currently such that the necessary standards for 5G have not yet been finally harmonized.
Nevertheless, we offer our customers tests on the way to regulatory approval:

• Radio tests
• EMC tests
• Electrical safety tests

Currently, we offer these tests based on the following standards:

Radio Equipment Directive (RED)

• ETSI EN 301 908 – 25 (shortly before final draft for approval)
• ETSI EN 301 489 – 52 (Published, not harmonized)

For an approval the addition of a Notified Body is necessary.

FCC

• ANSI/TIA-603-E or ANSI C63.26:2015
  • FCC part 22
  • FCC part 24
  • FCC part 27
  • FCC part 90
  • FCC part 96

We therefore fully support our customers to ideally prepare their products with 5G technology for market approval.

You can also get more information in a new CETECOM webinar on December 8, in which we look in detail at the regulatory requirements for products with 5G technology.
All current webinars can be found in our KnowledgeCenter.