EC Approval of Radio Transmitting Devices

The Telecom and Satellite Directive (98/13/EC) will be replaced by the new Radio & Telecom Terminal Directive (R&TTE) (99/5/EC) in April 2000. The R&TTE Directive concerns protection of telecom and radio, as well as electrical safety and EMC. This implies that Article 10(5) of the EMC Directive will be overruled once the R&TTE Directive takes effect. The new directive will follow the Global Approach Module system (Module A or H), and cover all radio and telecom equipment except for marine equipment which is covered by 96/98/EC, civil aviation, and air-traffic-management equipment.

The EMC approval procedure for radio transmitting equipment presently calls for certification by a notified body. Besides controlling relevant EMC requirements, the notified body must see to it that the equipment is specified in the product information section of the technical file, and that the manufacturer states that all products in the production line are the same as the one specified. When the product has been shown to fulfill relevant EMC requirements, the documentation is filed by the notified body, which then writes a certificate for the product.

The manufacturer of radio transmitters must also receive radio type approval by a national spectrum-management authority, usually the Post & Telecommunications Authority. This type approval concerns primarily the effective use of the radio spectrum. Because standards for such usage are still not harmonized throughout Europe, the manufacturer may therefore need to gain approvals for several member states of the EU/EEA. European ETSI standards are being accepted more and more as an alternative to earlier national radio standards. Furthermore, new mobile systems using the 900-MHz and 1800-MHz bands are becoming pan-European; that is, the same radio frequencies are used in all member states.

When it comes to testing EMC as well as radio parameters, the ETSI standards provide definitions. These standards definitions usually refer to basic immunity standards and the "basic standard" for emission for IT equipment, EN 55022. Because EMC and radio requirements overlap, all testing is usually performed simultaneously at an approved test house. The notified body may be an authority or, in some cases, an accredited test house, which simplifies the testing and certification procedure.

In addition to its generic EMC standards, ETSI has also published a general EMC standard, ETS 300 339, that may be used if a transmitter is not covered by a specific product standard. While most ETSI standards concern telecom and radio parameters, there are now also 38 ETSI standards harmonized with the EMC Directive. The general standard ETS 300 339 was, however, not on the list of harmonized standards published in the Official Journal in February 1999.

Radio parameters that must be controlled include assigned radio frequency range, frequency stability, modulation depth, sideband frequencies, adjacent channel power, and effective radiated power. Frequency error and radiation outside the assigned frequency band are measured to determine to what extent the transmitter may disturb other channels. Tests are performed as radiated measurements or by measurements on antenna ports. Certain parameters, like transmitting power, are performed within a fairly broad temperature range (e.g., between –20° and 55°C), implying testing has to be performed in climatic rooms.

Testing of GSM repeaters typically includes measurements of conducted spurious emission, radiated spurious emission, and intermodulation attenuation. Receivers usually are not covered by radio requirements unless they form part of the transmitter.

EMC (immunity and emission) for short range devices (SRDs) is, for example, covered by the following ETSI standard, published in the Official Journal on April 3, 1998, as a standard harmonized with the EMC Directive. It has since been modified into the following EN standard: ETS/EN 300 683 Radio Equipment and Systems (RES); SRD operating between 9 kHz and 25 GHz.

This EMC product standard describes criteria and methods for immunity and emission testing. It refers to EN 55022 concerning conducted emissions and to the EN 61000-4-N series concerning immunity. For battery-operated systems, such as those in vehicles, a reference is also made to ISO 7637 (immunity on dc ports). For auxiliaries, Standard EN 55022 concerning radiated emissions is recommended.

Radio parameters for SRDs are covered by the following radio product standards:

Radio transmitting technical units designed as car alarm systems are covered by European directive 95/56/EC, one of many directives concerning CE marking of vehicles and vehicle components. This directive covers mechanical, acoustical, and other requirements for alarm systems, but also states a general requirement that, in cases where a radio transmitting device is included, frequency must be 433.92 MHz with a maximum power of 25 mW. Note, however, that in Italy for example, 433.93 MHz is allocated to other purposes. The directive refers to ETSI standards when it comes to determining radio parameters. Concerning EMC requirements, however, reference has to be made to the EMC directive for vehicles 95/54/EC.