Approval Specialists Forum and Blog

Australias’ Communications Alliance Ltd invites public comment on the following two draft Standards:

 Analogue interworking and non-interference requirements for Customer Equipment for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network (DR AS/CA S002:2010)

Requirements for customer cabling products (DR AS/CA S008:2010)

DR AS/CA S002:2010 is a revision of the 2005 edition of the Standard. It proposes new and revised requirements for power and voltage transmission limits (to cater for VDSL2 services), longitudinal balance and insertion loss, new recommendations for decadic signalling and keypad locks and the removal of the 50 Hz meter signal detection and Loop-in PSTN line requirements.

DR AS/CA S008:2010 is a revision of the 2006 edition of the Standard. It proposes revised requirements for cable materials, conductor composition, special applications cables and aligning the requirements for earthing of enclosures and access to terminations with AS/ACIF S009 Installation requirements for customer cabling. The requirements for surge protective devices are proposed to be removed as they are addressed in other Standards.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES AT 5.00 P.M. ON 6 SEPTEMBER 2010

Communications Alliance welcomes your input. Copies of these documents can be obtained from our website www.commsalliance.com.au/Documents/public-comment  

All submissions received will be made publically available on the Communications Alliance website. (Austest Laboratories is a member of the Communications Alliance).

The ACMA have amended the various labelling notices for Telecommunications, EMC and Radiocommunications to allow for the electronic display of the required A-Tick/C-Tick/RCM compliance logo and supplier code /alternatives, for devices that have an integrated display.  This alternative to standard product labels on a device does not apply to products that do not have an integrated screen, such as many routers, personal computers, DVD players etc. 

In reality, this change will mostly benefit mobile handset manufacturers who have problems with the lack of real estate on a product in order to fit the many compliance logos and markings required for different countries. 

The labelling notices do not prescribe how the electronic label is to be displayed. Examples of how the electronic label can be displayed include:

• during the device’s power up sequence
• under the device’s system information page
• under the device’s help menu.

There is however a requirement for suppliers to indicate the method used for displaying the electronic label in the documents that accompany the device.  

A summary of the various labelling requirements can be found here

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has today issued a decision related to Telecom’s use of VDSL technologies in the provision of wholesale broadband services.

The Commerce Commission confirmed that if Telecom Wholesale were to employ VDSL technology to deliver the regulated bitstream service used to provide broadband, (ie, the unbundled bitstream access service, UBA) then it must do so on the regulated terms and conditions, including price.

However, if Telecom Wholesale were to use VDSL technologies to deliver a service with specifications that do not fall within the regulated UBA service (for example, a higher quality of service that is not covered by the existing regulation), then it may do so on a commercial basis.

The Commission considers that ongoing monitoring of VDSL-based bitstream services, rather than regulation, is appropriate at the present time.  In reaching this decision, the Commission considered the following factors:

• VDSL deployment is in its infancy in New Zealand, with Telecom yet to launch VDSL-based services;
• TelstraClear is already offering retail VDSL services in the market; and
• Telecom has committed to providing wholesale VDSL-based bitstream service to access seekers on a non-discriminatory basis.

“The Commission’s view is that Telecom should be allowed to offer, on a commercial basis, new wholesale broadband services that are not currently regulated, provided Telecom offers the new VDSL services to other telecommunications companies on the same terms as to Telecom’s retail units and to the same equivalence standards as applies to the regulated services,” said Dr Ross Patterson, Telecommunications Commissioner.

“VDSL is an emerging technology which is capable of delivering significant benefits to consumers such as increased speeds and facilitation of the development of innovative new services,” said Dr Patterson.  “It is important that incentives for investment in new DSL technologies such as this are preserved, so that consumers are able to receive the benefits associated with such innovations.”

“The Commission will continue to closely monitor any new services that Telecom provides using VDSL technology and would only consider launching a section 30R review under the Telecommunications Act if there was evidence that the market was not competitive,” said Dr Patterson.

In making its decision, the Commission has provided draft clarifications to the standard terms determination that regulates unbundled bitstream access. Under the proposed clarification, Telecom will be required to provide notice of new bitstream variants to the Commission and to exclude the price of commercial VDSL services from the calculation of the price of the regulated services.

The Commission’s decision and the proposed draft clarification are available on the Commission’s website www.comcom.govt.nz under Industry Regulation/Telecommunications/Standard Terms Determinations/Unbundled Local Loop Service

Harvest Labs is accredited by Telecom NZ for Chorus and Telepermit testing to C279 and PTC273 of ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, VDSL2, SHDSL, ESHDSL Modems and DSLAMS. 

(Courtesy NZ Commerce Commission, Release no 92)

Approval Specialists Pty. Limited have had their ACMA Certification Body status renewed for 2010, allowing the issue of Certification Body statements for a range of devices including GSM  voice and data devices including devices that employ GPRS over GSM. 

http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/stds_compliance/certification/ab2010.pdf

The Communications Alliance (new name for ACIF), has produced new versions of AS/ACIF S003 relating to FXS and extension ports under the ACMA’s requirements for A-Tick.  The 3 new standards are:

• AS/CA S003.1:2010 Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network
  Part 1: General

This standard is a general standard for voice gateway equipment including  all devices that have analogue or digital extension ports.

• AS/CA S003.2:2010 Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network
  Part 2: Analogue and TDM based technologies

 This standard covers products such as  analogue and traditional TDM PABXs, and ISDN-analogue adaptors.

•  AS/CA S003.3:2010 Customer Access Equipment for connection to a Telecommunications Network
  Part 3: Packet and cell based technologies

  This standard covers products such as  VoIP-analogue adaptors, VoIP based PABXs, media gateways and routers/ADSL modems with voice ports.

Copies of the above standards can be downloaded free from here.  These standards are not yet listed in the ACMA labelling notice so are currently not valid for use.  AS/ACIF S008: 2006 is still valid until the end of 2010.  AS/ACIF S003:2008 can be skipped and the above standards are the way forward.  Note our Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland labs are accredited for testing to AS/ACIF S003.

In accordance with Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) requirements, all devices must comply with the requirements of all of the applicable ACMA mandated Labelling Notices.

The supplier of a “host” device (lap top PC, Data Tracking device as examples) incorporating an already C-Ticklabelled (compliant) module(s) (Bluetooth^tm or wireless LAN) must ensure the resulting final product still meets all of the applicable ACMA mandated compliance and labelling requirements.

The ACMA considers that an already compliant, and C-Ticked, wireless module, where its original compliance is not impacted by its method of integration into the host device, would require no further radiocommunications compliance testing after integrated into a host device.  Some assessment may need to be done by the supplier, the module manufacture, or the test laboratory and the ACMA cannot make or assume that all situations will be identical.

The important caveat here being “where its original compliance is not impacted by its method of integration into the host device” – the logical question then is “how do you determine this?”  Clearly the only way would be to conduct a test of the “new” device.

For a “host” unit that incorporates an already compliant GSM modules ACMA will probably accept that the telecommunications compliance for the GSM module would still be valid (AS/ACIF S042.1 and AS/ACIF S042.3) however additional safety testing to AS/NZS 60950.1may also be required.  

In order to demonstrate compliance to the applicable standards in the Labelling Notices, recognition of the compliance of an already “compliant” module can be used only if the supplier has assessed that the process of integration of the compliant module into the final product has not compromised the module’s original compliance, otherwise additional testing will be required. 

The method and results of the assessment along with any additional testing needs to be included in the compliance records of the final product.  It is recommended that any assessment is performed with the assistance of the module manufacturer or a test laboratory.

Once any assessment and all necessary testing is complete, the supplier will have the confidence to sign a DoC stating that the final product is compliant with all the relevant ACMA mandatory standards.

The ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) registered an amendment to their Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) on the 23rd of December (Amendment Notice 2009 (No. 1), which included reference to 3 new revisions of the DSL standards that apply to CPE (Customer Premises Equipment).

These technical standards are:

• Telecommunications Technical Standard (Requirements for DSL Customer
  Equipment for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network – Part 1:
  General – AS/ACIF S041.1:2009) 2009;
• Telecommunications Technical Standard (Requirements for DSL Customer
  Equipment for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network – Part 2:
  Modems for use in connection with all DSL services – AS/ACIF S041.2:2009)
  2009; and
• Telecommunications Technical Standard (Requirements for DSL Customer
  Equipment for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network – Part 3:
  Filters for use in connection with all ADSL services – AS/ACIF S041.3:2009)
  2009.

While the new standards are immediately valid, there is a 2 year transition period should supplies wish to use the previous version of these standards.

The labelling notice amendment also includes a number of clarifications to the application of existing standards to particular equipment categories.

A-Tick compliance of GSM and 3G devices in Australia requires testing to the relevant ACMA standards, carrier acceptance, the compilation and holding of a compliance folder with the required standards and marking of the product with the A-Tick logo and suppplier code (or ABN/ACN Aust Trademark).

Testing to the required standards such as AS/NZS60950, AS/ACIF S042.1 and S042.3 is relatively straight forward and assumes a supplier is able to source existing reports such as ETS EN 301 511 and SAR. What has been difficult is carrier acceptance. Until recently, a supplier must have obtained written permission from each of the carriers operating the related networks prior to labelling and supply. This has proven near impossible as particular network managers are notoriously hard to pin down or provide assistance.

A supplier of IMT-2000 CE need only hold written permission from one IMT-2000 network manager even where a device has the ability to connect to more than one IMT-2000 network.

The following ACMA link provides additional information, including the contact details of all the network managers.

http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311837

Harvest Laboratories has added to their scope of Telecommunications standards accepted under New Zealand’s Chorus Telepermit Permit process by adding the following standards:

Testing is performed in our Auckland lab using the specification C279:2008 Specification for Connection to Chorus Copper Cable  

xDSL Modem

Austest Melbourne has expanded it’s telecommunications service offerings with the addition of the following New Zealand Telecom Accredited Standards testing:

These additions provide Austest clients with a choice of locations for testing, Sydney, Melbourne or our sister company,  Harvest Laboratories in Auckland.