IoT device certification and qualification

Conformance myths and realities: verify the conformance of your IoT device with regulatory, operator and standards requirements.

At first glance, separating facts from opinions in the area of IoT device certification seems difficult. The processes, however, are well defined. IoT device designers just need to know and follow certain rules and guidelines and be aware that all wireless communications devices have to conform to regulations and standards to ensure safe and reliable operation as well as interoperability. Despite this, the majority of newly designed IoT devices still fail certification at the first attempt, which can have a serious impact on costs and time to market.

The value of certification

Regulators have defined test cases to ensure coexistence and network-friendly operations for wireless technologies operating in the same frequency band. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and ZigBee, for instance, all operate in the same 2.4 GHz ISM band. Certification processes established by groups such as 3GPP and Bluetooth SIG focus on RF and protocol conformance topics to ensure interoperability and high performance. In some cases, operators request additional tests in order to authorize IoT devices for their networks.

Conformance and preconformance testing

Approved and qualified test labs need to perform conformance tests required by regulations and standards. Performing the most essential tests in advance during the design phase, i.e. preconformance testing, is highly recommended in order to meet time to market requirements and save the costs of recertification and a redesign. It is beneficial to consider conformance aspects right from the beginning of the design process for IoT hardware and software.