Latin America Regulatory Compliance Group

More on Chile Type Approval

SUBTEL (Telecom regulatory agency in Chile) latest updates to Resolution 1985 EXTENTA occurred in May 2019.  It makes a number of modifications to the radiofrequency requirements for equipment operating in Chile.  Modifications include increase in power limits and addition/modification of frequency bands and their usage.

Below are the changes affecting equipment most commonly certified:

REMOVED from Resolution 1985 EXTENTA:
a) Portable transceivers
A3) Radiated emissions outside bands 902 to 928 MHz, 2,400 to 2,483.5 MHz and 5,725 to 5,875 MHz, except for the harmonics, must comply with the least attenuation that is between 50 dB below the level of the fundamental and a Field strength limit of 500 μV / m at a distance of 3 meters. For harmonics, the field strength of The emissions at a distance of 3 meters should not exceed 500 μV / m.

A5) In the frequency bands 902 to 928 MHz, 2,400 a 2,483.5 MHz and 5,725 to 5,875 MHz, the field strength of the emissions of the fundamental frequency, at a distance of 3 meters, should not exceed 50 mV / m. The intensity of maximum field of any emission shall not exceed average limits, previously indicated, in more than 20 dB under any modulation condition.

e)  Equipment for radio frequency identification (RFID)
In addition to the frequency bands mentioned above, RFID equipment may operate in the band 915 to 928 MHz, if they comply with the provisions of letter j.3), and in the bands 913 to 919 MHz and / or 925 to 928 MHz, if they comply with provided in letter j.4) of this article.

j) Other equipment:
Can also be used for inductive applications, the band 7,400 to 8,800 kHz with a field intensity that does not exceed 9 DbμA / m to 10 meters.

Updated in Resolution 1985 as of May 2019:
e) RFID  900 MHz frequencies Max Power:
915-928 MHz – 500 mW
913-919 MHz – 1000 mW
925-928 MHz – 1000 mW

j.1)  5150 -5250 MHz Max Power updated to 250 mW, up from 200 mW previously.

There are no new modifications to previous updates carried over from 2018  version of Resolution 1985 EXTENTA:
Section j.1) (WiFi, BT and other equipment using digital modulation techniques like DSSS, FHSS, DCS)

– 2.4GHz (2400-2483.5MHz) is now open for indoor and outdoor use up to 1 W of radiated power (previous limit was 150 mW EIRP).
– 5GHz (5150-5250 MHz) is now open for indoor use. Outdoor use for this band is not permitted.
– 5GHz (5250-5350 MHz) is now open for indoor and outdoor use up to 1 W of radiated power (previous limit was 150 mW EIRP).
– 5GHz (5470-5725 MHz) is now open for indoor and outdoor use up to 1 W of radiated power (previous limit was 150 mW EIRP).
– 5GHz (5725-5850 MHz) is now open for indoor and outdoor use up to 1 W of radiated power (previous limits were 150 mW EIRP inside buildings, and 50 mW EIRP outside buildings).

For all cases the following requirements apply regarding modulation: spread spectrum techniques with direct sequence or with frequency hopping, listen-before-talk, dynamic channel selection or other digital modulation techniques which work with a minimum bandwidth of 10 MHz and which permit sharing of frequencies.

These modifications widen the possibilities for certification of WiFi equipment. Still, for equipment exceeding the indicated power limits, Subtel requires them to be reconfigured to comply with the regulation, and Test Reports for the reconfigured devices need to be submitted to demonstrate compliance.

Section j.10) added for telemetry, monitoring and/or control equipment

– 169.4-169.475 MHz was added, with a limit up to 500 mW of radiated power.

Please contact LARCG to learn more about how these changes will affect the approval process for your equipment.

More on Brazil Type Approval

Anatel published Act 6506 regarding the new testing procedures for conformity assessment of restricted radio communications equipment as well as defining the process for transitioning to the new requirements.

As of Sept. 27, 2018, all approval processes must comply with ANATEL Act 14448, and radiated emissions & radiated RF immunity testing must be performed for the following types of equipment:

• Radio communications equipment
• General purpose radio equipment
• Restricted radiation transceiver
• Digital transceiver (and transmit-only)
• Transceivers for base stations
• Power line communications transceiver, narrow band
• Wireless microphones

Additional equipment types are included in this list for new mandatory testing.

Type approvals projects currently in process may be able to avoid the new testing requirement.  Contact LARCG for the full list of equipment and to find out how the requirement will affect your approvals process in Brazil.

More on Brazil Type Approval

Brazil’s telecommunications regulation agency, ANATEL, held a meeting Feb. 21 in Sao Paulo to hear the public’s input regarding the upcoming changes to Resolution 242/2000 and 323/2002, the basic rules for certification in Brazil.  These changes are being proposed by The Public Consultation number 33, which will end now on Feb. 25, 2018.

If you have questions, comments or simply would like to know more about the approval process in Brazil, contact LARCG and we can help you.

Brazil telecom agency ANATEL published a new Resolution 686 which repeals various older resolutions, taking into consideration the increased technological evolution of products and the need to for technical requirements to follow the updates of technologies.

This resolution will become effective 120 days after its publication (February 9, 2018). The products that are currently being approved will not be affected. New technical requirements will be published before that date. There is no expected change in the requirements for certifying products in Brazil.

Paraguay’s regulating agency, CONATEL, has released a new Resolution (No. 1193) that adds a labeling requirement to their approval process as of September 2017. The label, showing the CONATEL logo and registration number, must be placed on the product prior to importation, along with the name of the manufacturer, brand, and model.

CONATEL may grant an exception in cases where the equipment is too small to include the label.

The name and address of the local distributor (Legal Rep) is also required for all imported products, but can be shown in the User Manual.

Label Requirements

CONATEL must be written in “HelveticaNeueLT Std Blk” font
Registration number (shown as NR: XXXX-XX-X-XXXX) must be in “HelveticaNeueLT Std Cn” font.

If the label is not embossed or printed in black and white, it must include the following colors:

• CONATEL logo should be white with a red background
• CONATEL should be written in white over a blue background
• Registration number should be in black with a white background

For future (or current) approvals in Paraguay, part of the required documents will be a label draft.
If at the time of certification, the information on your importer/local distributor is still unavailable, we may present a declaration letter stating where the importer/distributor information will be placed.

For questions regarding Paraguay agency CONATEL’s new labeling requirements, contact LARCG

ANATEL, Brazil’s telecom regulator, recently released Resolution 680, and ATO 11542. Changes include:

1. Labeling: Res. 680 Art. 5 says it is up to the manufacturer where the phrase regarding restricted radiation will be placed. In practice, we will no longer have to ask for/ present a declaration regarding that phrase. We will however still need to present a declaration should our client request the ANATEL logo in the manual only, for lack of space, for example;
2. Medical implants: increase in frequency range from 402-405 MHz to 401-405.9 MHz with power limit of 25 microwatts in a reference bandwidth of 300 kHz;
3. New Harmonics limits for band of 433-435 MHZ at 10mW (e.i.r.p), the emission outside the bands should be less than 250mW (e.i.r.p) for radio frequencies up to 1000 MHz and should be less than 1uW (e.i.r.p) for radio frequencies above 1000 MHz.
4. Adjust on requirements for hopping systems, decreasing the interval from 20 to 14 seconds ( at less than 250 kHz) and from, 10 to 7 seconds at hopping greater than 250 kHz.
5. Removal of LoRa/CSS requirements, which will now have to meet item 14 of ATO 11542 (same as Res 506)
6. Requirements for UWB devices were approved.  Please contact LARCG for information about the frequency bands and the conditions for each.

More on Colombia type approval…

CRC, Colombia’s communications regulator (Comision de Regulacion de Comunicaciones), has released Resolution 5031/2016 (which modifies Cap. 1, title XIII of resolution CRT 087-1997) with enforcement starting July 8,2017.

All mobile devices using voice and/or data cellular (with an IMEI or any equivalent identification number) will require homologation in Colombia if they operate in the frequency bands 850 MHz, 1900 MHz, AWS (1700-2100 MHz) and 2500 MHz.  Norms for connection to the network are as follows:

• Landline and cordless landline phones — Colombia Resolution CRT 1673 2006, FCC Part 68, or ETSI ES203-021
• Satellite phones — Technical standards of Colombia Resolution 3610 from 1997, FCC Part 25
• Mobile devices
  • 850 MHz: FCC Part 22 Subpart H
  • 1900 MHz: FCC Part 24, Subpart E
  • 1700/2100 MHz: FCC Part 27
  • 2500 MHz: ETSI EN 301 908-13

Documentation requirements remain the same for the approval process for mobile devices.

Contact LARCG for a detailed list of requirements.