Radio/RF Testing
Radio and RF Testing for Global Type Approval
RF and wireless testing for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, LoRa, and other radio products. Scoped for FCC, ISED, CE RED, and national type approvals so one program serves every market.
The landscape
Every market regulates the spectrum. Almost none of them regulate it the same way.
A product with a radio inside is a product with a regulator in every country it enters. The FCC in the United States, ISED in Canada, the RED framework in Europe, ANATEL in Brazil, IFT in Mexico, SRRC in China, KC in Korea, and dozens of national authorities each define which frequency bands are open, how much power a device may transmit, what it must do to share the band with others, and what evidence they'll accept before granting a type approval.
The technical tests overlap. The applicability, limits, and paperwork often don't. A Wi-Fi and Bluetooth device tested for FCC Part 15 has done much of the work for ISED RSS standards, some of the work for CE RED under EN 300 328 and EN 301 893, and possibly none of the work for a country that requires in-country testing regardless of foreign reports. Knowing which is which before you book a chamber is the difference between one program and four.
ORBIS Compliance scopes and manages radio testing as part of Product Compliance Testing and Management. Our engineers know how the module grant, the host product, the antenna, and the country list interact, and they design the program so evidence is captured once and used everywhere it's accepted.
Radio technologies we cover
From short-range modules to cellular and satellite terminals.
- Wi-Fi across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, including Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 devices.
- Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy, including combination chipsets.
- Cellular: LTE, LTE-M, NB-IoT, and 5G devices and modules, with carrier and PTCRB or GCF considerations.
- Sub-GHz and LPWAN: LoRa, Sigfox, Zigbee, Thread, Z-Wave, and proprietary ISM-band radios.
- NFC and RFID readers and tags, and UWB positioning devices.
- GNSS receivers, satellite terminals, and radar sensors including 60 GHz and 77 GHz automotive radar.
Modules versus end products
The module has a grant. Your product might still need its own.
Pre-certified radio modules are the fastest route to market for many products, and manufacturers rely on them for good reason. The module grant covers the radio itself, tested in a reference configuration. It doesn't automatically cover your product. Antenna changes, gain increases, enclosure effects, simultaneous transmission with another radio, and firmware that changes power or channel behavior can all move a host product outside the module's approval.
Each market has its own rules for when a host product can inherit a module grant and when it needs additional testing or a fresh filing. Getting that reading wrong in either direction costs money: an unnecessary full test program, or a product at customs with a grant that doesn't cover it.
ORBIS reviews the module grant conditions against your product design for every target market, identifies where you can rely on the module and where you can't, and scopes only the testing that's actually required. When a regulator's position on modular approval is unclear for your configuration, we ask them directly.
How the program runs
One radio test program, many type approvals
- 1
Map the markets
We list every regulatory scheme on the launch plan and identify which accept shared reports, which need national deviations, and which require local testing.
- 2
Design the test matrix
Radiated and conducted emissions, spurious emissions, occupied bandwidth, power, adaptivity, receiver blocking, and RF exposure are sequenced so shared evidence is measured once.
- 3
Coordinate the lab
Testing is scheduled at an accredited laboratory recognized by the target markets, with sample configurations, test firmware, and witness requirements locked in advance.
- 4
Carry it into certification
Reports are reviewed by ORBIS engineers and used directly in the FCC, ISED, CE, and national type approval filings that follow.
Beyond the radio
Radio products need more than radio tests.
A wireless product is also an electrical product. Most markets will ask for the rest of the file at the same time.
- Safety testing for the host device, battery, and power supply.
- EMC and energy efficiency testing for the non-radio functions.
- RF exposure and SAR assessments for devices used near the body.
- Labeling: FCC ID, IC number, CE marking, and national marks on the product and packaging.
- Local holder representation where the type approval must be held by an in-country entity.
Questions
Radio testing and type approval
Our module is FCC and CE certified. Do we still need to test the end product?
+
It depends on how the module is integrated and on each market's modular approval rules. If you use the same antenna type and gain, don't transmit simultaneously with another radio, and keep the module's firmware controls intact, many markets accept the module grant with limited host testing. Change any of those, and additional testing or a new filing may be required. ORBIS reviews the grant conditions against your design for every market.
Which markets require in-country radio testing?
+
Several do, and the list changes. Some accept foreign accredited reports outright, some accept them with national deviations, and some require samples to be tested locally. Part of our scoping work is telling you which category each of your markets falls into today, so the program and the sample plan are built around it.
How does adding a new radio, such as 6 GHz Wi-Fi, change the approvals?
+
New bands often come with new limits, new adaptivity requirements, and in some markets no authorization yet. Adding a radio typically means a change filing or a new approval in every market, and in some markets it means the product can't ship until the band is opened. We check band availability and requirements per market before you commit the design.
Ship the radio you tested.
Tell us the radios inside the product, the antenna design, and the markets. We'll scope a test program that serves every type approval on your list, and tell you where the module grant already does the work.
Book a Discussion