Introduction to PTCRB Certification

PTCRB (PCS Type Certification Review Board) was established by North American mobile operators in 1997. Currently, its operator members are no longer limited to North America but encompass mobile operators globally. Its purpose is to provide type certification for terminal products and modules, including Cellular GERAN (GSM), UTRAN (UMTS), E-UTRAN (LTE), and NR.

PTCRB certification is a quasi-mandatory type certification executed by third-party certification bodies. All PCS terminal equipment launched in the North American market must undergo PTCRB certification and apply for an IMEI based on the test report. The term "quasi-mandatory" is used here because a strictly "mandatory" requirement would typically be issued by government regulatory departments. However, PTCRB is not a governmental organization; it operates as a forum but is highly authoritative. The reason for this authority is that distributors entering the North American market must test the products provided by manufacturers according to these requirements, hence it is referred to as quasi-mandatory. PTCRB is composed of operators, major mobile phone manufacturers, and several recognized laboratories.

Testing Standards and Categories

In terms of testing standards, PTCRB adopts the core standards and testing standards from standard organizations such as 3GPP, OMA, and ETSI, along with some additional testing standards developed by PTCRB operators (which are limited to features related to user terminals).

The PTCRB test categories mainly include:

• RF (Radio Frequency) testing

• Protocol testing

• SIM testing

• OTA (Over-The-Air) testing

• Audio testing

Among these, the testing requirements for the OTA section are conducted in accordance with the OTA testing standards issued by CTIA.

Certification Process

The main process of PTCRB certification is shown in the figure below: