Wireless technologies are pervasive, and the benefits and capabilities they bring to industry and society continue to spawn new communication-based applications. Companies planning to produce wireless products should be careful to evaluate the steps, risks, costs, and regulatory requirements involved to promote their success. Moreover, companies should seek the market research intelligence needed to validate the business viability of making the investment to develop a new product.
A key starting place in the planning stages of adding wireless capabilities to a product is determining the target geographic areas where the product will be marketed and deployed. Once this is known, the product developer must establish what regulatory certifications will be mandated by the appropriate governing standards for those areas. With that knowledge, the developer can factor this into the overall development cost, and then determine whether the marketing opportunity for the product will achieve profitability in the desired time frame.
Another key decision to be evaluated when adding wireless to your product is whether an off-the-shelf wireless module (“buy option”) exists that meets the functional, performance, and cost goals for the targeted customer or market. This decision is usually driven by the volume and competitive price pressure from pre-existing competitive products, as well as by balancing the longer time to market and cost factors involved in designing a wireless chip-set-based (“make option”) embedded solution. As shown in Figure 1, the level of investment for the “make” versus “buy” scenario is much more involved than what’s apparent at first glance.
A rough estimate of what a product manufacturer will spend in developing and releasing a new wireless product is $200K. With this understanding, the “make vs. buy” tradeoff considerations highlighted in this article will help you with the decisions required to move forward with your project.
Adding Wireless to Your next Product
By Walter Chipley, Applications Engineer, Arrow Electronics
Make vs. Buy
cost of ownership
When a company decides to develop a new wireless-based product, there are tradeoffs that need to be evaluated, as they relate to what physical form and integration level the product will involve. This is both a marketing and technical assessment. If the design is to result in an enclosed/
boxed product, the purchase price will be higher than a module or chip-level design—yet, the cost of design and certification services will be less. This is due in part to the fact that a board- or boxed-level end product will generally be packaged in an enclosure that is designed to provide inherent shielding and containment of EMI/RFI energy.
As shown in Figure 2, the total cost of ownership is composed of design costs, certification costs, and the bill of material costs times the quantity to be manufactured.
With the industry embracing wireless-based applications, product manufacturers are faced with the need to plan how they will go to market with their own wireless solution. A wireless-based product or system product design can be implemented in a number of ways. Chip/chip-set-based designs generally require specialized RF expertise in order to address the complexities of a ground-up design. Module-based designs with pre-certification are one way to reduce time to market over a chip/chip-set approach.
As an initial point of reference, the development of a moderately complex wireless design by an OEM will cost $200K or more. This is an important benchmark that you can use to gauge how many units will have to be sold to recoup your investment.
Also, as rules of thumb, the “make option” shines in the area of lower bill of material cost—yet, the “buy option” is initially less costly for a moderately complex device, until the total manufactured and sold units reach $200K.
Companies that produce wireless silicon devices understand the risks involved in supporting a customer that desires to develop a wireless product design at the chip level. A chip-level wireless product design is generally viable when the size of the target market is large enough to amortize the cost of design, regulatory testing, licensing, and production over large quantities, while you can take advantage of deeper cuts in the chip costs commensurate with the volume.
regulatory Approvals
All electronic products marketed worldwide are required to undergo EMI/EMC (electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility) testing before they are offered for sale. The results of this testing must confirm that the product will not create interference or be susceptible to interference from other devices. For testing purposes, products are grouped into two classes: intentional radiators and unintentional radiators. For example, cell phones and walkie-talkies intentionally radiate energy, while TVs, PCs, or laptops should not. The acronym covers the usage of commonly understood engineering topics related to the ability of electronic equipment to be “good electromagnetic neighbors.” Equipment should neither cause, nor be susceptible to, electromagnetic interference (within the limits of applicable standards). Fundamentally, emissions are either radiated or conducted. Radiated emission levels are determined by measuring the electric field emission levels at a distance of 3m. Conducted emissions are determined by measuring disturbance voltages riding on power mains emanating from the product being evaluated.
Immunity and susceptibility testing are targeted at detecting whether a product design will operate correctly in the presence of unanticipated electromagnetic disturbances. In actual RF radiated immunity screening, a product will be subjected to a radiated electric field from a transmitter to determine whether the
Figure 2. Total Cost of Ownership = Design and Certification Costs + (BOM cost x quantity to build)
• Chip/Chip-set
• Module
• Board Product
• Boxed Product
product operates as expected or if abnormal behavior is detected. When screening for RF conducted immunity, simulated power disturbances are injected into power mains, other cabling, or user controls in an attempt to detect any sign of malfunction, upset, or impairment. ESD susceptibility tests are conducted to detect improper product behavior or failure when a product is subjected to electrostatic discharges.
regional regulatory Approvals
With regard to regional regulatory approvals, the following listing provides a basic overview of what classifications are typically associated with the specific geographies:
In the United States, the approval is typically classified as:
FCC Part 15 – Radio Frequency Devices
In Canada, it is typically classified as:
ICES: Interference-Causing Equipment Standards
In Europe, it is typically defined by its Directives:
EMC Directive 89/336/EEC RTTE Directive 1999/5/EC
Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC Machinery Safety Directive 98/37/EC
In Australia, it is typically classified as:
ACMA – Radio Communications Act of 1992
Two Basic Equipment Classes:
Intentional Radiator: Radio Transmitters
Unintentional Radiator: Electronic equipment containing signal sources
Compliance Pre-Scans
Before submitting a design for compliance certification, it should be noted that as many as 80 percent of products developed in the industry fail initial certification tests. To mitigate product introduction delays in the development process, it should be a priority to plan early in the design for the compliance-testing phase. Failure to recognize this important step can result in exponential cost increases, as it relates to the product development and release schedule.
Compliance Testing Costs For EMC, FCC, and PTCRB
As a minimum, regulatory compliance testing is required for any device that is deemed to be an intentional radiator. In short, any device performing the functionality of transmitting a radio frequency qualifies as an intentional radiator. Off-the-shelf module-level products that have been pre-certified may be embedded into an application without the need for retesting as intentional radiators. The level of compliance testing for a new wireless product will vary based on design. Cost estimates for some of the more common compliance testing services are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1.
Compliance Testing Cost Varies by Design.
During the development of your wireless-based product, it is important to stay abreast of the appropriate regulatory
developments that may impact the specification of your design. In addition, if the design utilizes pre-certified components, the design team should keep a close watch for design and revision changes from their suppliers that could impact the project schedule. The use of an off-the-shelf module can be a short-term solution for customers that need to demonstrate their end-product concept to potential customers in parallel with a “ground-up” design effort targeting the end product and the final application functionality. A number of wireless module manufacturers specialize in providing modules covering the most common wireless standards with pre-certification and starter kits to enable early proof-of-concept designs. Arrow is aligned with a broad set of qualified wireless product manufacturers including Digi, LS Research, Telit, Redpine, H&D Wireless, CEL, ConnectOne, Lantronix, Cypress, Advantech, Lanner, Panasonic, and others.
In many cases, the application dictates something unique which results in a custom wireless solution. This is where the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services team comes into play.
Compliance Tests Cost Estimates
FCC $ 8,000 - $10,000 CE $10,000 - $13,000 Part 15 $ 9,000 - $15,000 PTCRB $25,000 - $75,000 Carrier Certifications $ 5,000 Wi-Fi Alliance $ 8,000
Customers needing to develop a wireless product may not have the internal resources with an experience base in RF design and wireless technologies. This is not unusual, as RF and wireless development capabilities involve specialized skills, tools, services, and experience that many companies haven’t invested in. To address this need, Arrow has an established services program made up of a world-class network of qualified and certified third-party design services companies. The ACES program assists with various stages of a project including concept refinement, specification development, schematic review, prototyping, debug, and transition to product manufacturing.
Table 2.
Arrow ACES Partner Services for Product Design, Development, and Testing
With an ACES engagement, customers can concentrate on their core competencies and rely on Arrow’s service providers to focus on the aspects of the development requiring specialized RF/EMC/ wireless expertise.
Manufacturing and Production
test considerations for Your
Wireless Product
In addition to the various aspects of designing your wireless module, board, or system to perform the intended functionality, special attention should be paid to ensure that the appropriate design for manufacturability and test guidelines have been considered for production. Manufacturing a wireless design requires additional contract manufacturer expertise and special test equipment. For example, if your wireless product includes a GPS receiver, you will need to conduct manufacturing-time testing to make sure that this function of the product works. One approach used in this scenario is to require that the manufacturing facility include a GPS feed within the building. If your wireless design will have cellular
functionality, then your manufacturing facility will need to have a cellular call box. Other equipment such as a spectrum analyzer and an anechoic chamber are also likely requirements for the RF product manufacturing environments.
The key item to note when evaluating potential wireless product contract manufacturers is to choose one that has a verifiable track record of success. The Arrow Engineering Solutions Center (ESC) can help determine which ACES partner would be best suited for your project.
Arrow Aces eMc and Fcc
compliance testing and service
Partners
An integral step in the development process for wireless products is testing to ensure that the appropriate regulatory requirements are satisfied. Understanding all the regulatory requirements that apply to a specific type of product can be challenging for companies with the lack of exposure to the subject of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Keeping abreast of the most current regulatory updates and what the implications are with respect to both new and existing product designs can be a resource challenge. Fundamentally, EMC addresses the capability of an electronic device to operate as intended in the presence of electromagnetic interference within a defined margin of safety and at design-level performance without suffering or causing unacceptable degradation as a result of the interference (ref. Schaffner EMC). The Arrow ACES program provides customers with access to a highly regarded group of industry EMC design/compliance partners to help with the compliance process.
get Help on Your Wireless design with Arrow
consulting engineering services (Aces)
Full Range of Product Development and Turnkey System Design Services
Hardware Design Firmware Development
Wireless Design Expertise Operating System
Backplane and Chassis Design Device Driver Development
Mobile network operators and PtcrB
compliance testing/certification
PTCRB is an organization created by Mobile Network Operators that provides a framework from which a cellular mobile device and/ or cellular module from a customer can obtain Type Certification for usage on PTCRB Operator networks. Upon achieving this certification for your device, it will be compliant with the cellular network standards within a specific PTCRB Operator network. Arrow has highly qualified ACES partners to help you through this phase of product development and testing. An introduction to each of these ACES partners is included in subsequent paragraphs:
cellulAr – coMPliAnce
testing serVices
All cellular designs are required to pass PTCRB testing in order to gain access to any provider’s cellular network. Arrow Electronics has engaged with an ACES PARTNER to provide customers with access to testing services for PTCRB compliance. In addition to PTCRB, this partner provides services for Bluetooth® compatibility, specific absorption rate (SAR), and Wi-Fi Alliance® testing services. The list of compliance testing services available through Arrow’s relationship with this ACES PARTNER includes the following industry-recognized certification logos.
eMc & Fcc – coMPliAnce
testing serVices
Arrow has partnered with one of the industry’s leading providers of EMC and FCC compliance testing for wireless product designs. This partner has an on-site FCC/CE/IC approved test facility, which enables customers to obtain on-site FCC/IC/CE certifications and on-site antenna patterns/scans. This ACES partner also has capabilities that extend to include specialists that have the knowledge and experience to address intentional radiator testing and problem shooting.
Arrow ACES Partner Services for Wireless Compliance Testing
certification cellular WiFi isM Wired
Unintentional Spurious Emissions X X X X
Radiated Immunity X X X X
Intentional Radiator Spurious Emissions X X X
Antenna Efficiency and Radiation Pattern X X X
Receiver Sensitivity (TIS) X No FCC
No FCC
Transmit Power X X X
Standard Logo Testing (Optional) X X
Wi-Fi Alliance X X
SIM Card Test X
Audio Test/E911 X
Application Enablers (Java/Python/etc.) X
Carrier Certification X
SAR X
Bluetooth X
The opportunity to build upon the success of industry experts when developing a new wireless-based product can be a significant advantage over your competition. To this end, Arrow provides customers with access to qualified resources through its ACES RF partners. The Arrow ACES program includes a wide array of subject matter experts and specialized test and analysis equipment to help customers get their RF design to market.
Engaging with an Arrow ACES RF partner can take the guesswork out of the process of deciding what steps are needed to get your project moving in the right direction. The following pages underscore some of the key services that each ACES wireless RF partner offers to Arrow customers.
ARROW ACES PARTNER-A
ARROW ACES PARTNER-B
coMPliAnce testing serVices
• PTCRB/GCF (2G and 3G Cellular)
• Regulatory Approvals (FCC/IC/CE-Mark)
• OTA Antenna Performance Testing
• Bluetooth SIG Qualification
• Wi-Fi Alliance Certification
• Network Operator Testing (MICS)
• SAR Testing
coMPliAnce And design serVices
• 802.15.4, ZigBee and RF4CE
• Remote Keyless Entry 315/390/433
• Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS)
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n
• 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, ISM
• Bluetooth and BLE
• Ultra Wideband (UWB)
ARROW ACES PARTNER-C
ARROW ACES PARTNER-D
design serVices
• LTE (Long-Term Evolution)
• Wi-Max
• W-CDMA
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Public Safety/APCO
• UHF/VHF/ISM
• Custom Antenna Design
design serVices
• Cellular Design:
˚ GSM: GPRS, EDGE, HSPA
˚ CDMA: 1xRTT, EVDO
• GPS/AGPS
• 802.15.4 and ZigBee
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Custom ISM Band RF (Custom Protocol)
˚ 433 MHz/900 MHz/2.4 GHz
• Bluetooth, RFID, and IrDA
ArroW Aces PArtner-A
Accreditation and Certified Services
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) has authorized Arrow ACES PARTNER-A as a CTIA Authorized Testing Laboratory (CATL). Based on this authorization, this partner performs product certification testing across a wide range of wireless technologies.
The accreditation includes the following types of testing:
• CTIA Authorized Test Lab (CATL): BT, GSM, WCDMA, OTA
• OTA: CDMA, EVDO, GSM, WCDMA, Converged Device
• PTCRB Accredited
• GCF Certification Testing
• Wi-Fi Alliance Authorized Test Lab
• Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF)
• FCC Authorized Test Lab
• A2LA
• ISO 17025 Accredited
In the area of cellular class communications, Arrow ACES PARTNER-A provides network operator testing for the following carriers:
OTA (Over The Air) testing services provided by ARROW ACES PARTNER-A:
• TRP (Total Radiated Power)
˚ Measurement of the device’s transmitter performance
˚ 3D pattern shows maximum and minimum points of transmitter performance
• TIS (Total Isotropic Sensitivity)
˚ Measurement of the device’s receiver performance
˚ 3D pattern shows maximum and minimum points of receiver performance
˚ Intermediate channels have to be tested and pass the limits
• OTA Testing is Tested per Band (850/1900)
˚ GSM, GPRS/EGPRS, W-CDMA
• Vodafone OTA Testing
Wi-Fi testing services provided by ACES PARTNER-A:
Bluetooth SIG Certification Services provided by ARROW ACES PARTNER-A:
• Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF) • Full Bluetooth SIG® Qualification
• RF conformance testing • Protocol conformance testing • Profile interoperability testing • BQB review and listing
SAR Testing Services Provided by ACES PARTNER-A:
• SAR testing is required for all devices that have an antenna operating within 20 cm of the human body
• SAR Standards:
˚ FCC OET Bulletin 65 Supplement C
˚ IEEE 1528
˚ EN50361
˚ IEC 62209-1
˚ IEC 62209-2
˚ Australian ARPANSA
˚ Vodafone VFT 1 901 SAR Data Cards V1 0
Make vs. Buy Approaches for
Wireless Product designs
In evaluating whether your project should be implemented using a “make” versus “buy” approach involves many trade-offs that have been explored in this article. The details and decisions may blur your visibility into how best to proceed. To help you come to grips with narrowing down the choices based on your resources and customer requirements, the following examples are provided to illustrate how you can organize the thought process in deciding which approach is most compatible with your marketing model.
• AT&T
˚ 10776 Pre-Testing
˚ Accessory Official Testing
• T-Mobile
˚ Acceptance Testing
˚ Official OTA Testing
• Sprint
˚ Bluetooth Program
• Wi-Fi
• 802.11 a/b/g/h/d/n
• WPA™ (Wi-Fi Protected
Access)
• WPA2™ (Wi-Fi Protected
Access 2)
• Extended EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) • Vodaphone ˚ OTA Testing ˚ SAR Testing ˚ Audio Testing ˚ JAVA-Ongoing • O2 ˚ Certification Testing • Verizon ˚ LTE • WMM® (Wi-Fi Multimedia) • WMM Power Save • Wi-Fi Protected Setup™
• Wi-Fi/Mobile Converged Partner-A
The following illustration shows four basic approaches that an OEM product developer should consider when implementing a cellular product design. Depending on the target market and usage model for the product, the developer should assess the size, form, fit, and function as part of the planning effort. The development costs and time-to-market schedule will factor into the ultimate decision of which embodiment is best suited for the target customer base.
Depending on the number of units expected to be manufactured and sold into the target markets, the OEM product developer can use the following trade-off illustrations as a tool to determine which approach offers the most sensible choice for implementation.
cellular Make vs. Buy tradeoffs
example: Wi-Fi “Make vs. Buy” design solution Approaches
example Wi-Fi design solutions levels
The following illustration shows four basic approaches that an OEM product developer should consider when implementing a Wi-Fi product design. Depending on the target market and usage model for the product, the developer should assess the size, form, fit, and function as part of the planning effort. The development costs and time-to-market schedule will factor into the ultimate decision as to which embodiment is best suited for the target customer base.
In this comparison, the Redpine Signals RS9115 Wi-Fi chip-set is shown as an example of a chip-set that could be used if you decide you are designing from the ground up for a high-volume requirement. The comparison moves to the right with a Redpine Signals module, followed by a Redpine Signals embedded module. If the requirement is for a fully-packaged solution, a Belkin router device is shown as an example of an off-the-shelf commercial class product that is fully enclosed with pre-certifications.
ZigBee “Make vs. Buy” design solution Approaches
example ZigBee design solutions levels
The following illustration shows four levels of ZigBee integration, ranging from the chip-set level to a boxed product design. The implementation that you choose to pursue depends on the desired functionality and business strategy. The chip-set approach gives you the most flexibility in terms of which off-the- shelf chip-set provides the feature and performance attributes required by the target customer. However, a chip-set-based design is a much bigger endeavor, which takes longer to go to market. Other factors to
consider in the selection process include the potential need to include new capabilities in your product as new ZigBee chip-sets come to market down the road. This suggests that there is reason to consider going the route of a module approach to avoid the expense of a new ground-up design, and to take advantage of the newly introduced ZigBee module features without redesigning your entire product.
ZigBee Mesh Make vs. Buy
start now to Add Wireless to Your next Product design
The advancements made in wireless technology over the past several years are spawning innovative new product technologies and services that touch nearly all markets and industries.
From Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, and from cellular to GPS, the number of different communication technologies and standards involved in the design of these products can overwhelm even the best hardware development team.
To capture the product market opportunities that wireless
technologies enable requires early discovery, and a fast reaction time in providing solutions. Most OEMs don’t have the equipment or test facilities in-house to react quickly enough to a wireless product development opportunity. The expense of procuring the equipment
and setting up an internal EMC/FCC test lab on an expedited schedule would be a significant challenge and likely cost prohibitive. Delays due to indecision on how to achieve the development on schedule can lead to lost opportunity.
With today’s fast-paced proliferation of wireless-based products, the decision to “make” your wireless-based product from the ground up versus “jump-starting” your effort using an off-the-shelf module-based approach is a key consideration. Achieving success in your new wireless-based product development and certification efforts can begin quickly and proceed smoothly with the help of ACES RF/ wireless design and services professionals. Contact your local Arrow branch office for help in developing your next wireless product.