The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is charged with regulating interstate and international communications in the United States. As part of its charter, the FCC regulates the use of wireless spectrum and approves all devices that operate within the country. Wireless data communication devices are required to meet the appropriate FCC requirements, which include the following:
Upon completing these requirements, the device will be issued an FCC Identification (ID) number. Complete details regarding FCC testing requirements can be found at: www.fcc.gov.
As a device manufacturer you essentially have two choices to obtain an FCC Grant – 1. Obtain a new grant for your device, or 2. Leverage the existing grant of the module which is used in your device.
To obtain your own grant, consult the FCC web site here for instructions.
To leverage your module’s grant, you normally can do this if your device meets the conditions in the module’s grant notes. You can obtain a copy of the module’s FCC Grant notes from your selected module provider. Normally, these conditions are:
- At least 20cm separation from persons (phones and wearable devices typically will not comply)
- No Colocation with other transmitters (this one typically needs a review by the FCC lab for things like Wi-Fi)
- Antenna gain below the requirements (this is typically met)
If your device does need a separate FCC Grant, this can still be achieved with 10-12 weeks assuming you’ve followed good RF design principles and avoided common mistakes. These mistakes generally are:
- Spurious, out-of-band emissions. The RF sensitivity of cellular receivers can surprise new device integrators and derail their designs. Cellular receivers can pick up interference from just about any part of the host device especially in the 30 MHz to 1 GHz frequency range. Antennas, power supplies, PCB circuit traces (even depending on length and direction), and line connections can all play RF havoc on your device.
- Antenna matching. Another challenge is matching your device’s antenna to the GSM network. A mismatch can cause interference when the radio signal creates harmonics in the front end of the receiver. External antennas are easier to match. If you’re using an internal antenna, it is critical to get your antenna design and OTA characteristics pretested in the earliest stages of your device development. AT&T relies on its OTA performance to meet specific standards based on calculations established by existing cell site locations and distances. If your antenna fails to meet OTA requirements, it can affect your entire device design and set you back weeks if not months, not to mention all the costs of its reengineering.
If you desire to re-use your modules FCC Grant then we recommend you discuss this with a qualified Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) laboratory. More information can be found here.
Please keep in mind that these estimates are highly dependent on a number of factors. One of the most important cost factors is if you chose to use an approved module or use a chipset design. To reduce cost, complexity, and development timelines AT&T recommends using an approved module. The below costs and timelines are our best estimate, and AT&T does not guarantee this information. You should note that while third-party test labs charge for their services, AT&T does not charge for its network certification testing as long as an AT&T approved module is used.
