How to Certify an Integrated Device

AUGUST 2020

VERSION 1.3

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Table of Contents

General .......................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 3

1.2 What is PTCRB Certification? ..................................................................................... 3

1.3 Certification Requirements Documents ....................................................................... 3

Requesting Access to the PTCRB Certification Database .............................................. 4

Navigating the PTCRB Certification Database ................................................................ 6

Entering a Request in the Database ............................................................................... 7

4.1 Submitting a New Request ......................................................................................... 8

4.1.1 Device Name and Basic Details .............................................................................10

4.1.2 Selecting the Correct Module Configuration ...........................................................11

4.1.3 Device Detailed information ...................................................................................12

4.1.4 Device Features Supported: ..................................................................................15

4.1.5 Selecting the Test Lab ...........................................................................................17

4.1.6 Specifying the IMEI Information .............................................................................17

4.1.7 Submitting the Request ..........................................................................................21

4.2 Next Steps .................................................................................................................22

4.2.1 Uploading Required Documents ............................................................................22

4.2.2 Payment ................................................................................................................24

Questions ......................................................................................................................24

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General

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this document is to describe the process to obtain PTCRB certification for an

integrated device. This process is often used by vendors of IoT devices to get their products

certified.

The PTCRB certification program provides a streamlined process for certifying devices that

incorporate fully certified wireless modules (“integrated devices”), providing an efficient and low-

cost pathway for certification of IoT devices.

1.2 What is PTCRB Certification?

PTCRB certification demonstrates a device’s compliance to international wireless standards for

4G and 5G network interoperability. Many wireless operators in North America require devices

accessing their network to obtain this certification. Without PTCRB certification, vendors run the

risk that their devices will perform poorly on these networks.

CTIA Certification is the administrator for the PTCRB certification process and for the allocation

of PTCRB IMEI TACs.

1.3 Certification Requirements Documents

There are two documents detailing the procedures and requirements for PTCRB certification,

which can both be accessed on the PTCRB website at

https://www.ptcrb.com/certification-

program/:

• The PTCRB Program Management Document (PPMD) defines the process to

obtain certification

• The PTCRB NAPRD03 Document defines the technical requirements for

certification

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Requesting Access to the PTCRB Certification Database

To get access to the PTCRB certification database go to https://www.ptcrb.com, click on

“Login,” select “New User Registration,” and complete the form. You will receive your username

and password by email, usually within the same day.

The email address used to register must be from a valid company domain. User registration

requests from web-based email services will not be accepted.

Once your new user registration request has been accepted, please send an email to

[email protected]

to request access to the certification database. Make sure your

username is included in the request to CTIA Certification.

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Navigating the PTCRB Certification Database

Once you have gained access to the PTCRB certification database and logged in with your

username and password, you will see the “Certification Database” tab in the menu header.

Within this menu there are options for the following items:

• Submitting a new certification request

• Checking the status of requests already submitted (Check/Update Request)

• Viewing all previous approved devices for your company

• Viewing IMEI TACs issued

• Viewing withdrawn certification requests

• Viewing a list of all PTCRB Authorized Test Labs and the authorized testing capabilities

of each

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Entering a Request in the Database

Before submitting a new PTCRB certification request, make sure you have collected some key

pieces of information ahead of time:

• Talk to your module manufacturer to confirm the module configuration you should select

for certification:

• Module model name/number

• Module HW

• Module SW

• Module SVN

• Establish which PTCRB Authorized Test Lab will be performing the certification testing

• Use the Authorized Test Labs link to find labs that are approved to be able to

perform testing

• Make sure you are aware of the lab costs and certification timelines before

assigning a certification request to the lab

• Make sure you have the model name/number available for the integrated device

• Generate a PO number if your organization requires CTIA Certification to put that on the

certification fee invoice

• The PTCRB certification fee for an Integrated Device is $1,500 for an Initial

certification request.

Every effort should be made to enter correct and accurate information into the database when

submitting a request. Once a lab accepts the certification request you will be unable to modify

the information provided. If you find later that there are mistakes, first contact your PTCRB test

lab, as they are able to update much of this information as they process the certification request.

For any additional updates to your certification request information, please contact CTIA

Certification at support@ctiacertification.org

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4.1 Submitting a New Request

• From the Certification Database tab, select “Submit New Request”

• Select “Initial Certification Request” from the drop-down menu

• Select “Continue”

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• Select “No” in response to whether a PTCRB TAC Request has been submitted for this

device

• Select “Integrated Device” under the Device Type option

• Select “Continue”

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4.1.1 Device Name and Basic Details

• Enter the model name/number for your integrated device. This is the reference by which

the device will be certified.

Note: this model name/number shall identify a single device; wild-card digits are not

permitted for naming a device.

• Optional: Additional marketing name(s) under which your device shall be placed on the

market may be listed in the optional marketing name field. Please enter each additional

marketing name as a separate entry and click “Add” to list each marketing name. Note

that multiple marketing names shall all reference back to the same model name/number.

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4.1.2 Selecting the Correct Module Configuration

• If your device contains more than one cellular radio module, indicate “Yes” for the

question, “Does this device contain multiple modules?” If there is only one cellular radio

module, “No” should be selected.

• Search for or select the module which is integrated in the device. Select “Add” to link the

module to the request.

Note: It is only possible to link one module to an integrated device certification

request. If your device contains multiple cellular radio modules, there will be a

document upload section in the request where it will be required to upload a

declaration indicating the number of modules in the integrated device and identifying

each of them.

• Then, select the radio button next to the HW version, SW version, and SVN of the

module being integrated in your device.

• Select “Continue”.

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4.1.3 Device Detailed information

• Specify whether your device is considered an IoT device by selecting “Yes” or “No”. If

“Yes,” fill in the additional related questions. Multiple market segments may be selected

by holding down the “Ctrl” key and selecting multiple options.

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• Review the technologies/bands information, which the database will have inherited from

the embedded module you selected. You may uncheck any bands not supported by your

integrated device. However, it is not possible to enable any frequency band that was not

originally approved on the embedded module.

• Enter the regulatory ID associated with this device and select “Add”. If your device meets

the condition of the module’s FCC grant and you will be using the module’s FCC ID, you

may also select “This device is using the module’s Regulatory Approval IDs”.

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• Enter the HW and SW versions of your integrated device (end product)

• Note that the SW and HW version of the integrated device seeking certification

should not be the same as the module versions

• If your integrated device does not have integration level SW, indicate a SW

version of “0”.

• The POC will auto populate based on the user entering the request. Add the billing

contact information for the certification fee.

• If a PO number is required in order to process the certification fee invoice and payment,

enter a PO number and this will be listed in the invoice. If the PO number is not available

yet, this can be added later after the request is submitted.

• Once the invoice is generated, CTIA Certification will send a notification email to the

request POC and the listed billing contact.

• Select “Continue”.

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4.1.4 Device Features Supported:

• Features supported by the module selected shall already be checked when you reach

this screen

• Many features cannot be changed by the integrated device; those are shown with

shaded text.

• Select from the remaining any additional features supported by the device.

• Select “Continue”

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PTCRB Certification of Integrated Devices Page 17 of 25

4.1.5 Selecting the Test Lab

• From the drop-down list, select the test lab who will be performing the certification

testing. Contact should have been made with lab prior to entering the certification

request in the database.

• Select the point of contact at the lab if known, otherwise select “All”

• If your target operator(s) require LTE / LTE CA Interoperability testing, you may select

this optional test at this time.

• Select “Continue”

4.1.6 Specifying the IMEI Information

4.1.6.1 IMEI Issuer

• The PTCRB certification requirements allow an integrated device to use the module’s

IMEI TAC allocation if the integrator is shipping less than 100,000 devices

• If this condition is true, you may select the option for using the module’s TAC

and select the appropriate module TACs from the list.

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• If the device will be shipping more than 100,000 units, a unique TAC is required.

• If your integrated device has already been assigned a unique IMEI TAC, or if

you require a unique TAC assignment for your integrated device, select the

option “We are requesting a new TAC”, then identify the TAC issuing body.

• Select “Continue”.

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4.1.6.2 Requesting a PTCRB-issued IMEI TAC (If Applicable)

• If requesting CTIA Certification to issue a PTCRB IMEI TAC, additional information will

be required to complete your IMEI TAC assignment.

• Note: There are GSMA fees for TAC allocation. Please see

https://imeidb.gsma.com/imei/tacallocation-termsandconditions

for details.

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4.1.7 Submitting the Request

• Before submitting your certification request, you may choose how your device is listed

on the public portion of the PTCRB website after it is certified.

• You may choose to publish the device when it is certified, or choose to publish

up to 365 days after certification by entering the number of days in the box.

• “Basic” includes the Manufacturer and Model Name/Number

• “Detailed” includes the Manufacturer, Model Name/Number, Supported

Technologies and Frequency Bands, HW Version, SW Version

• On the next screen, you will be able to check the box next to any operator(s) you would

like to grant access to view your certification request (and any subsequent ECOs of this

device model) while the submission is in pending status (prior to being certified).

• Select “Submit”.

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4.2 Next Steps

• At this stage the certification request has been submitted and will be in the lab queue for

them to process.

• After your device is submitted to the certification database, you can view the pending

request by navigating to the Check/Update Request page under the Certification

Databases tab. Click on the request # to go to the request page and view the submitted

device information.

• Once a lab accepts the request for testing, you will be unable to modify the certification

request information. If you find that there are mistakes, first contact your PTCRB test lab,

as they are able to update much of this information as they process the certification

request. For any additional updates to your certification request information, please

contact CTIA Certification at s[email protected]

4.2.1 Uploading Required Documents

• The only thing left to complete in the database is to upload the user manual. Under the

“Required Documents” section on the second page of the request, there is a field to

upload the user manual. Use the “Choose File” button to locate the user manual on your

local drive and upload it to the database. Then select “Upload Docs”.

• The user manual must reference the manufacturer name and model

name/number of the device

• Draft documents are acceptable as well as any document describing the device

such as a product brochure

• The file name may not contain any spaces or special characters

• If you indicated that your device contains multiple radio modules, you will also see an

additional section to upload a “Description of Multiple Modules Implementation”. This

document is required to include the following elements:

• Identify how many modules are in the device

• Identify the module makes, model names/numbers, and SW versions

• Indicate whether the modules have a dedicated antenna or share an antenna

• Indicate whether the modules can transmit simultaneously

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4.2.2 Payment

• The invoice for the PTCRB certification fee will be automatically generated as soon as the

lab accepts the request for testing. Once the invoice is available, you will receive a

notification via email. The invoice can be downloaded from the Payment section on the

second page of the request as shown. Please contact CTIA Certification at

[email protected]

with any questions.

Questions

• If you have any questions, please contact CTIA Certification at support@ctiacertification.org

and one of the certification team members will be happy to assist. If your question is about a

specific certification request, please provide the request number in your email to locate it

more quickly.

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Change History

Date

Version

Description

September 2015

1.0

• Initial release

December 2018

1.1

• Updated PTCRB logo/images and process steps

May 2020

1.2

• Updated CTIA Certification contact email

• Updated database screenshots throughout document

• Updated process steps to include marketing name field, IoT

device categories and market segments, requirements for

devices with multiple modules, and requirements for use of

module’s TAC

August 2020

1.3

• Updated database screenshots throughout the document