I am cross-posting this on all the major WISP lists since it drives home how serious the FCC is taking 5.4 GHz product certification and I would encourage sharing this information with any WISP discussion groups that have U.S. relevance (e.g. the brand specific Part-15 lists, DSL Reports, etc.):
A search of FCC-authorized Part 15 certification test firms lists 142 firms in the United States alone. There are also a good number of international firms available for public contract to perform FCC certification tests. However, I've learned that for the purposes of 5.4 GHz compliance the only lab that will be able to certify systems is the FCC lab itself in Maryland. While I do not know if this is something that may change over time, the clear message it should send to us all is that the FCC is taking 5.4 GHz compliance extremely seriously. This is all about the strict DFS mechanism designed to keep UL 5.23-5.35 and 5.47-5.725 GHz systems deployed in the U.S. from interfering with the secret military radars. (If any are wondering why also 5.25-5.35 GHz, it's because the grandfathering for current systems ends firmly on July 20 this year.). Accordingly, all WISPs, even the least inclined to follow the rules to the letter, are thus well-advised not to equivocate on 5.4 GHz. >From Alvarion's side, we usually use one of the many authorized contract firms in California and the process to gain legal system certification has historically been routine and not especially onerous. On this one though, the testing is so tricky and in-depth (expected to drill deep into the hard coding to make sure no 'creative' aftermarket coding can occur), that we are already processing visas for a team of our programmers to supplement our domestic product management folks just for the purposes of this certification. For those interested in what exactly will be tested, here is a link to the FCC documents (a general overview presentation and a detailed document) that explains the testing requirements: October 2006 TCB Workshop 1 Dynamic Frequency Selection Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) Equipment Authorization (DFS) Equipment Authorization Andy Leimer OET: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/presentations/files/feb06/Feb_06-Dynamic_Frequ ency_Selection_DFS-AL.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-96A1.pdf Scroll down to the Appendix "COMPLIANCE MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES FOR UNLICENSED-NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE DEVICES OPERATING IN THE 5250-5350 MHz AND 5470-5725 MHz BANDS INCORPORATING DYNAMIC FREQUENCY SELECTION" Patrick Leary AVP WISP Markets Alvarion, Inc. o: 650.314.2628 c: 760.580.0080 Vonage: 650.641.1243 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************************************************************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses(84). ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses. ************************************************************************************ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
