Canada – Update to RSS-210 (License Exempt Radio Apparatus)

Posted on by

canadaIndustry Canada has updated RSS-210 to Issue 9. This standard covers License Exempt Radio Apparatus, Category I equipment). Note that BT/WLAN devices operating in the 2.4 & 5GHz bands are now covered by RSS-247 and the original Annex in this standard for such devices has been removed. You can find the latest transition arrangements from Industry Canada towards the end of this post.

Listed below are the changes:

  1. Remove requirements for receivers, as these requirements are included in RSS-Gen, General Requirements for Compliance of Radio Apparatus.
  2. Remove annexes that are no longer covered in RSS-210.
  3. Specify that frequency bands which are exclusively used by the Government of Canada are added to Note 1 in Annex A.
  4. Remove requirements for momentarily operated and remote control devices in the band 40.66-40.77 MHz, as these requirements are covered in Annex B.
  5. Modify out-of-band emission limits for equipment operating in the band 13.11014.010 MHz (Annex B).
  6. Incorporate requirements for cordless telephones operating in the band 44/49 MHz (Annex 3 of Issue 8) into Annex B, as these requirements will apply to any type of communication.
  7. Remove Section A4.2 of Issue 8, Band 174-216 MHz (Medical Telemetry), as this band is no longer permitted for the Wireless Medical Telemetry System.
  8. Remove repeater frequency bands for General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) equipment.
  9. Add requirements for GMRS-M in the frequency range 462.55-462.875 MHz in Annex E.
  10. Amend the specifications for speed radar meters to include the band 33.4–36.0 GHz in Annex F. These devices were previously covered under Annex 7 of Issue 8 for frequency bands 10.5-10.55 GHz and 24.075-24.175 GHz.
  11. Remove Annex 8 of Issue 8, Frequency Hopping and Digital Modulation Systems Operating in the Bands 902-928 MHz, 24002483.5 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz, and Annex 9 of Issue 8, Local Area Network Devices, as these annexes are covered in RSS-247 (published May 2015).
  12. Incorporate RSS-210, Amendment 1, Licence-Exempt, Low-Power Radio Apparatus Operating in the Television Bands (published Feb 2015) into Annex G of this issue.
  13. Remove Annex 11 of Issue 8, Level Probing Radar Devices Enclosed in Containers and Still Pipes, as this annex is covered in RSS-211 (published March 2015).
  14. Remove Section 13.1 of Annex 13 Issue 8, Vehicle-Mounted Field Disturbance Sensors in the Bands 46.7-46.9 GHz and 76-77 GHz, as this section is covered in RSS-251, Field Disturbance Sensors in the Bands 46.7-46.9 GHz (Vehicular Radar) and 76-77 GHz (Vehicular and Airport Fixed Radar (published March 2015).
  15. Specify emission limits for devices in the band 57-64 GHz (in Annex J) in terms of equivalent isotropically radiated power (e.i.r.p.) instead of power density and increase the e.i.r.p. limit for outdoor fixed point-to-point equipment.
  16. Adopt measurement method and emission mask in ETSI EN 300 422 for low-power radio apparatus operating in the TV bands.
  17. Clarify limits for emissions radiated from digital circuitry contained within wideband devices (Annex K).

Full details and text of the new version can be found at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf01320.html.

Transition arrangements

The most recent guidance from Industry Canada on the transition period for implementing the new version of RSS-210 (Issue 9) is as follows:

  1. If a certificate has been issued to RSS-210 issue 8 before the date of publication of RSS-210 issue 9, nothing needs to be changed and it can be submitted as is to ISED via the Spectraweb application;
  2. If a certificate has not been issued before the date of publication of RSS-210 issue 9, ISED will continue to accept test reports compliant with RSS-210 Issue 8 until February 26, 2017 and in such cases, the CB shall issue certificates showing RSS-210 Issue 8 compliance.  After February 26, 2017 , CBs shall issue certificates showing RSS-210 Issue 9 compliance and test reports may continue to be in compliance with RSS-210 Issue 8 until August 26, 2017, only if:
    1. it is supplemented with a partial test report covering any missing requirements from RSS-210 Issue 9; or
    2. it includes an attestation signed by the applicant, lab or CB indicating that the report covers all requirements in RSS-210 Issue 9.
  3. After August 26, 2017, all test reports must be compliant with RSS-210 Issue 9.