Radio engineers used to have to work with national auditors if they needed to earn a Type Approval Certificate of Conformity for any product they planned to sell. This made it hard for smaller companies to bring their ideas to market, especially since it tended to take a long time to get through the process. Some of the rules related to these certificates have changed, which means most people can get type accepted even if they do all of the testing internally.
In order to gain a Type Approval Certificate of Conformity, they still have to meet the same health and safety requirements they would have needed had they done the tests through a governmental authority. Inexperienced companies and startups should work with a professional testing specialist in order to ensure that their internal processes meet the best practices of the governmental authorities that put out the original tests.
Even those who produce digital wireless gear will want to work with someone who has a background in using test equipment. Part 15 devices, such as WiFi adapters and Bluetooth transmitters, are technically unlicensed since they put out such a small amount of power. Nevertheless, they still have to meet certain guidelines before they can go on market.
Certification of Part 15 devices usually involves the manufacturer of a device sending a complete specification sheet to the relevant authorities. Those who don’t have the capabilities to measure the field strength of a signal themselves will want to work with someone who does.
