Managing Radio Equipment Approvals in Eastern Europe

Mark Boughen

Foreknowledge of the various countries' requirements is key in winning product approvals and getting to market quickly.

Now that the Western European marketplace has become harmonized through implementation of the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive, radio equipment manufacturers are looking toward emerging global markets. One area of potential growth is Eastern Europe, where the telecommunications sectors are becoming more liberalized. Many Eastern European countries are adopting Western-style capitalist economies. Enterprises that long have been state owned are slowly being privatized. Telecommunications sectors within the region are moving more swiftly than many other state-owned sectors to accommodate the new technologies that have been developed and deployed in the West and the Far East.

The drive to develop Western-style economies is motivated by the desire of Eastern European countries to join the European Union (EU). Some Eastern European nations are already involved with key European bodies, such as CEPT (Conférence Européenne des Postes et des Télécommunications) and the EU. This orientation toward Europe can be seen in the adoption by many former Iron Curtain countries of European radio and EMC standards. In turn, this trend makes regulatory type-approval procedures easier for manufacturers to manage.

This article examines the approach manufacturers should be taking in managing multiple product and multiple country approvals in Eastern Europe.

Reducing Time to Approval

For radiocommunications equipment manufacturers, the aim is simple: to gain market access in the shortest possible time. But how to achieve this in what can be a problematic region? Bringing products to market in Eastern Europe with maximum speed depends on first identifying possible barriers and opportunities.

Barriers to quick, easy introduction of radio equipment into Eastern European markets include

No harmonization of approvals processes in Eastern Europe.
The manufacturer's lack of access to knowledge of regulatory approval standards.
The manufacturer's lack of access to knowledge of regulatory approval requirements.
The manufacturer's lack of knowledge of accredited test houses.
Unfamiliarity with regulatory approvals bodies and licensing agencies.
The manufacturer's lack of knowledge of frequency table allocations.
Possible residency restrictions.
Possible translation requirements.
A possible need for factory inspections.

On the other side of the ledger, approval procedures in Eastern Europe are at least partially aligned with EU procedures. Another opportunity to hasten new product introduction arises when existing European test reports are applied, thus reducing or eliminating the need for additional testing.

To minimize approval time frames and costs, manufacturers must identify potential barriers and prepare to overcome them prior to embarking on the approvals process in Eastern Europe. Because routes to approval vary from country to country, manufacturers are advised to compile a strategy for getting their products type-approved within the individual countries. Routes to approval in the different countries are described in the following paragraphs. Steps initiated by the applicant are numbered. It is critical that manufacturers find out whether the frequency band for their equipment is available before undertaking any approval application.

Albania, Estonia, and Latvia. (1) The manufacturer prepares application documents and payment. (2) The applicant next forwards the documents to the appropriate authority in the country in question. The approval body reviews the applications and any European reports and, if finding them satisfactory, issues the approval.

Bulgaria and Lithuania. (1) The manufacturer first arranges to have a local representative work on its behalf in the country. (2) The company prepares application documents, including translations, and forwards them to its local agent, who is perhaps a distributor. (3) Next, it requests the local representative to complete the application forms and forward the application documents to the country's regulatory approvals body. The approvals body reviews the initial application and authorizes the applicant to proceed with obtaining the report validation assessment. (4) The applicant sends the reports to an accredited test house and arranges a contract for the report validation. The test house reviews the European reports. Finding them satisfactory, it validates (rubber-stamps) the European reports and draws up a certificate of conformity. These validated reports and certificates of conformity are then sent to the approvals body for final approval. The approvals body reviews the certificates of conformity and issues the approval.

Hungary. (1) The manufacturer prepares an application for the radio report validation and sends it to the Hungarian test house. (2) The applicant then arranges a contract with the Hungarian test house for validation of the European reports. The test house reviews the European reports. Finding them satisfactory, it validates (rubber-stamps) the reports and draws up a certificate of conformity. These validated reports and certificates of conformity are then sent back to the applicant. (3) The applicant next prepares the final application for approval, including the application for a radio license. The application is to be sent to the customer service department of the HIF. The approvals body reviews the certificates of conformity, then issues the approval and license.

Slovak Republic and Slovenia. (1) The manufacturer first arranges to have a local representative work on its behalf in the country. (2) The company prepares application documents, including translations, and forwards them to its local agent, who is perhaps a distributor. (3) Next, it requests the local representative to sign the application forms and forward the application documents to the regulatory approvals body. The approvals authority reviews the applications and authorizes the applicant to proceed with the validation tests. (4) The applicant has its local representative visit an accredited test house and arrange a contract for the validation tests. Test dates and fees are arranged. Validation testing against European requirements then commences. Once the products are compliant, the reports are written. The test reports are sent to the approvals body for final approval. The approvals body reviews the reports and issues the approval.

Czech Republic, Romania, and Ukraine. (1) The manufacturer first arranges to have a local representative work on its behalf in the country. (2) The company prepares application documents, including translations, and forwards them to its local agent, who is perhaps a distributor. (3) Next, it requests the local representative to complete the application forms and forward the application documents to the regulatory approvals body. (For the Czech Republic, the manufacturer must forward the Czech representative declaration form directly to the regulatory approvals body.) The approvals authority reviews the applications and authorizes the applicant to proceed with the type testing. (4) The applicant has its local representative visit an accredited test house and arrange a contract for testing. Test dates and fees are arranged. Testing to national requirements then commences. (The national requirements are based upon European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) requirements.) Once the products are compliant, the reports are written. The test reports are sent to the approvals body for final approval. The approvals body reviews the reports and issues the approval.

Poland. (1) The manufacturer prepares application documents, including translations, and forwards them to the approvals body. The approvals authority reviews the application and authorizes the applicant to proceed with the validation tests. (2) The applicant arranges with an accredited Polish test house a contract for the validation tests. Test dates and fees are arranged. Validation testing against European requirements then commences. Once the products are compliant, the reports are written. The test reports are sent to the approvals body for final approval. The approvals body reviews the reports and issues the approval.

Benefits Accruing to Manufacturers

The preceding overview indicates how certification procedures vary from country to country even though some European conformity assessment procedures have been accepted and implemented. Still, this new approach in Eastern Europe has relieved radio equipment manufacturers of the burden of extremely long lead times for type approvals, not to mention heavy costs. So what advantages are reaped by manufacturers now seeking to market products within Eastern Europe?

Results of radio testing performed in the EU can now be transported to Eastern Europe and used to reduce, or even eliminate, the radio testing needing to be conducted in each of the countries of that region.

This Eastern European progress toward alignment with European radio standards is mirrored by the adoption of EU EMC standards as the benchmark for compliance with the requirements of many former Eastern Bloc countries.

The acceptance of EU EMC requirements, coupled with the recognition of ETSI radio standards, has made acquiring approvals in each of the countries less painful. Lead times and costs continue to be reduced.

To illustrate the improved approvals climate currently experienced by radio equipment manufacturers marketing to Eastern Europe, Table I summarizes the approach to acceptance of European radio test reports by country.

Success in managing radio equipment approvals in Eastern Europe depends largely on four key elements:

Identifying key contacts within the regulatory institutions of each country.
Identifying all approval requirements prior to commencement of the approvals process.
Finding out where existing test reports can be submitted so that the need for additional testing can be reduced or
eliminated.
Contracting a good distributor.

Conclusion

The emerging markets of Eastern Europe offer potentially lucrative sales opportunities. The state-owned telecommunications sectors in these countries, which once operated under strict regimes, are now opening themselves up in order to join the global market. This drive toward globalization has led to the adoption, in part, of other countries' standards so that manufacturers might have an easier time gaining access to these markets. Makers of radiocommunications equipment who are able to identify their opportunities can reduce the costs of winning approvals and, more importantly, speed their time to market.

Mark Boughen is responsible for KTL's radio approvals group based at the company's worldwide headquarters in Hull, UK. He specializes in assisting manufacturers with global radio-type-approval issues.