As the CDMA community converges with its larger GSM/W-CDMA counterpart, the two platforms’ certification programs are to coalesce too.
The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and the CDMA Certification Forum (CCF) have announced that they are collaborating to harmonize their respective schemes, with the aim of offering a single, unified certification process for mobile devices incorporating any combination of 3GPP and 3GPP2 technologies.
This is a response to the rising trend for ‘worldphones’, and other electronics products in vertical and consumer markets, which support multiple standards. Harmonized interoperability tests will also help unify the efforts of the CDMA and GSM communities as both see their supporters adopting LTE, and requiring 4G/3G devices to be produced and tested.
The two bodies have been cooperating on LTE certification since 2010. Current discussions are focused on the technical alignment of the two schemes and identifying any governance implications for membership.
“The convergence of so many operators on LTE is accelerating the trend towards multimode devices that can be marketed worldwide,” said the CCF’s general manager Bruce Joll. “A one-stop-shop certification process will set a universal benchmark for interoperability, minimize duplication of testing and reduce time to market for new devices.”