Standards FAQs
Posted by 7696 HitsWe have compiled some questions related to ETSI standards. If you know the committee that has produced the standard, you can identify and contact the relevant support staff for any questions related to the standard.
If you don't find what you are looking for please contact us at info@etsi.org.
Frequently asked questions related to ETSI standards
CERTIFICATION: I would be grateful if you could give me some information about ETSI certification.ETSI is not a certification body.
We produce the standards only. We do not provide any certification service because this could create a conflict of interest.
Accredited laboratories do such certification. A link that might help http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/
We also recommend to search on Internet for "notified bodies" who are test labs specialized in testing conformance with Harmonised Standards. You are free to pick up one of those notified bodies.
USE OF CE MARK: If I use modules which are already CE certified (e.g. LoRaWan / Wifi / etc.), do I have to retake the certifications for the complete product (CEM / RED)? Or can I consider “by similarity, all components are certified, so my complete product is certified and meets the requirements of the directive”?While ETSI cannot give a definitive interpretation of EU legislation, we are familiar with the Commission’s documents and we can indicate to you the best places to look.
The short answer to your question is “no”: the complete product as placed upon the market has to be compliant with the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and other New Legislative Framework (NLF) provisions that may apply. You cannot simply claim that a product is compliant because its components are themselves compliant. That does not mean that you have to repeat every test, but you do need to carry out a “risk assessment” and put together technical documentation (see clause 4.3 of the Blue Guide) that indicates the measures that you have taken to address the risks covered by the legislation.
The Commission has published a guidance document to the Radio Equipment Directive, available here: https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/33162.
The Radio Equipment Directive is one of a series of measures for the marketing of products, brought together under the “New Legislative Framework”. The Commission has also published a Guide to the NLF: the “Blue Guide”. Most of the provisions governing the placing on the market of products and putting them into service are contained in the Blue Guide. The RED Guide provides specific supplementary guidance on the RED.
The specific case of radio modules under the RED is developed further in the RED Guide clause 1.6.3.9. In particular it would be advisable to consider the effect of installing the module within the host equipment on the module’s radio performance. ETSI Guide EG 203 367 addresses this point specifically.
You can find further information on the Radio Equipment Directive on the ETSI web site at: https://www.etsi.org/technologies/radio/
CE MARKING: We are currently in the process of setting up world wide demonstrations, of a new prototype that is active and operating here in Denmark. The question is specifically in relation to America and Australia, and whether or not CE-marking is required for the purpose of demonstrating a radar on these two markets? Further, if CE-marking IS a requirement, then how would we go about applying for exemptions to that? Within a year, we expect CE-certification to be complete, so my question goes for the period until then.While we are not in the position to give an authoritative response to this question, we are familiar with the legal instruments and the Commission’s documentation so we can show you where the authoritative information can be found.
In the European Union, CE marking is required under the New Legislative Framework (NLF) (formerly “New Approach”) for placing on the market. The general provisions are explained in the Commission’s “Blue Guide”.
Chapter 2 describes the coverage of the NLF Directives/Regulations (the Radio Equipment Directive is an example), indicating that “Union harmonisation legislation applies to products which are intended to be placed (or put into service ( 31)) on the market (32)”. 2.8 covers the geographical coverage of the framework: the NLF does not include provisions for placing products on the market outside the European Union (e.g. in USA or Australia).
Products placed on the market in USA or Australia would have to meet the National requirements in those countries:
Rules for USA can be found here: https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/laboratory-division/general/equipment-authorization Rules for Australia can be found here: https://www.acma.gov.au/follow-our-rules-supply-your-product IPR/LICENCES: We are a radio manufacturer and want to make a hand portable radio and a repeater in a DMR (Tier II) version. What are the rules? We need to pay a license fee to Motorola, right? Can you please explain your role vs. e.g. Motorola’s roles in this matter?ETSI is a (not for profit) standards development organization with 900+ member organizations worldwide and [in this case] Motorola happens to be a member of ETSI.
The ETSI standards like e.g. the DMR standards and specifications are freely available from our website. The standards/specifications rely on technical contributions from various sources. These contributions may contain patented technologies which are commonly known as Standard Essential Patents (SEP).
For information about the ETSI IPR policy and process please see: https://www.etsi.org/intellectual-property-rights
The ETSI IPR online database can be accessed from here: https://ipr.etsi.org
The database e.g. enables searches for IPR declarations submitted to ETSI by applying different search criteria.
For more detailed information about the ETSI IPR process please contact legal@etsi.org
HARMONISED STANDARDS: Do you have a list of all of the current versions of the RED standards I could use, please?You can set a filter to get the following lists of standards:
Harmonised Standards cited in Official Journal Harmonised Standards not yet cited in Official Journal Harmonised Standards Radio Equipment Directive (RED) cited in Official Journal Harmonised Standards ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) cited in Official Journal Harmonised Standards from Directive 2016/2102/EU cited in Official JournalIn the search results page of our standards search on the bottom of the left hand side, you have the filter possibility as follows (select the list you need and then click on “Filter Standards” see below):