Wi-Fi Product Lines Testing to ETSI EN 300 328 v1.8.1

In April, ETSI announced new mandatory spectrum sharing requirements for the 2.4 GHz band which will take effect January 2015. Laird’s MSD30AG/SSD30AG, 40NBT Series, WB45NBT, and MSD45N/SSD45N, have all been successfully tested to the new standard. The following is the status on the 10, 20, and 15 series radios:

Laird 10- and 20- Series EN 300 328 v1.8.1 Updates

EN 300 328 v1.8.1, which officially goes into effect on January 2015, includes new mandatory spectrum sharing requirements with the goal of reducing interference within the 2.4 GHz band. The following are the two main ways to achieve this:

• By incorporating adaptivity functionality such as DAA (Detect and Avoid), CCA (Clear Channel Assessment), and LBT (Listen Before Talk)
• By reducing the radio's power, duty cycle, or both

The 10-series and 20-series radios rely on the Broadcom BCM4318 chip. Due to this, these radios have issues with the CCA aspects of spectrum sharing. Although we have received a Declaration of Conformity for the BCM4318, this is the extent of the assistance we have received from Broadcom. Despite repeated requests to Broadcom over the past 12 months, we have not received test reports that support this compliance or firmware updates to fix the CCA issues.

Given the above, our customers with these products currently have the following options:

• Accept Broadcom's Declaration of Conformity for the BCM4318 chip
• Lower the power level of the applicable radios to less than 10 mW (E.I.R.P.)
• Discontinue the sale of these radios to countries in which this ETSI standard applies

Laird PE15N, EC15N, and EC25N EN 300 328 v1.8.1 Updates

EN 300 328 v1.8.1, which officially goes into effect on January 2015, includes new mandatory spectrum sharing requirements with the goal of reducing interference within the 2.4 GHz band. The following are the two main ways to achieve this:

• By incorporating adaptivity functionality such as DAA (Detect and Avoid), CCA (Clear Channel Assessment), and LBT (Listen Before Talk)
• By reducing the radio's power, duty cycle, or both

The 15-series and 25-series radios rely on the Broadcom BCM4322 chip. Due to this, these radios have issues with the CCA aspects of spectrum sharing. Although we have received an Declaration of Conformity for the BCM4322, this is the extent of the assistance we have received from Broadcom. Despite repeated requests to Broadcom over the past 12 months, we have not received test reports that support this compliance or firmware updates to fix the CCA issues.

Given the above, our customers with these products currently have the following options:

• Accept Broadcom's Declaration of Conformity for the BCM4322 chip
• Lower the power level of the applicable radios to less than 10 mW (E.I.R.P.)
• Turn off the N-rates
• Discontinue the sale of these radios to countries in which the ETSI standard applies

As for Laird's Bluetooth and RAMP modules, the Bluetooth products lines are in the process of being tested and compliant with the newest version 1.8.1 and the RM024 power has been scaled back to the maximum allowable level, 10mW. Read our previous blog post, ETSI to Implement GHz Band Standards Updates, for additional information.

Visit the Embedded Wireless Solutions webpage for information regarding Laird's product lines. For additional guidance, contact the wireless certifications group via wireles.certifications@lairdtech.com.