PTCRB

PTCRB
Formation 1997
Purpose Certification of Wireless Devices
Membership
 By Application
Chairman
 Glen Scales
Website www.ptcrb.com

The PTCRB was established in 1997 as the certification forum by North American cellular operators. Now a pseudo-acronym, it no longer stands for its original meaning of the PCS Type Certification Review Board (then named after the GSM1900 MHz band in North America).

The purpose of the PTCRB is to provide the framework within which Cellular GERAN (GSM), UTRA (UMTS) and E-UTRA (LTE) mobile devices and modules obtain Type Certification for usage on PTCRB Operator networks.

Certified device types

PTCRB operates a certification program for devices operating in the following technologies and bands:

GERAN: 850, 1900 MHz

UTRA: FDD Bands I, II, IV, V

E-UTRA: FDD Bands 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13,14, 17, 25, 30, TDD band 41

Certification standards

PTCRB certification is based on standards developed by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and other standards-developing organizations (SDOs) recognized by the PTCRB. In some cases, PTCRB certification may accommodate North American standards and additional requirements from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Industry Canada or any other government agency that may have jurisdiction and/or competence in the matter.

The database containing the standards for PTCRB certification is based on InterLab, this online database accessible through the PTCRB website, updates the status of RFT's (Request for Testing), Change Requests, Test Case status and Test Platforms.

By obtaining PTCRB Certification on a mobile device, it ensures compliance with cellular network standards within the PTCRB Operators' networks. Consequently, PTCRB Operators may block devices from their network, if they are not PTCRB certified.

The CTIA – The Wireless Association has been assigned as the administrator for the PTCRB Certification process and is also responsible for the administration of PTCRB issued IMEIs.

The PTCRB Validation Group (PVG) is a group of test laboratory organizations working in the field of PTCRB associated technologies. The PVG group meets on a regular basis to discuss technical issues and the resolution of problems in a harmonized way. PVG works on open PTCRB RfTs and the validation of Test Platforms and Test Cases for the relevant PTCRB operating frequencies. Full and Observer membership categories reflect the status and scopes of organisations working within the group. The Chair of the PVG is held by Thomas Jaeger of 7Layers, Germany

Some Mobile Network Operators may require further certification before a device is allowed to be placed on a network.

PTCRB Award of Excellence

The main criteria for the "PTCRB Award of Excellence" include:

At PTCRB Meeting #71 in Savannah, Georgia, the PTCRB wireless device certification forum presented the "PTCRB Award of Excellence" to 7Layers, CETECOM and Panasonic Imperium Test Laboratory for their outstanding work at the PTCRB.

See also

References

    External links