Last month, Industry Canada published Radio Standards Specification RSS-102, Issue 5, Radio Frequency (RF) Exposure Compliance of Radiocommunication Apparatus (All Frequency Bands), which sets out the requirements and measurement techniques used to evaluate radio frequency (RF) exposure compliance of radio equipment designed to be used within the vicinity of the human body.

RSS 102, Issue 5 is immediately in force for certifying new equipment to be sold in Canada.  All devices currently certified must be in compliance with the revised standard 180 days after its publication on the Industry Canada website. Some requirements will not be in force immediately as outlined in Notice 2015-DRS001.

Noteworthy changes:

Section 1: Clarification related to the scope of the standard.

Section 1.1: The definitions of limb-worn devices and separation distance have been added, and the definition of RF exposure evaluation and controlled use has been revised.

Section 2.2: Clarification related to the RF exposure technical brief.

Section 2.5.1: Exemption limits revised for routine evaluation -SAR evaluation.

Section 2.5.2: Exemption limits revised for routine evaluation -RF exposure evaluation.

Section 2.6: Clarification related to the user manual.

Section 3: Clarification on test reduction and fast SAR methods and on the priority list of documents has been made.

Section 3.1: Clarification on the following items:

• Devices with push-to-talk capability
• On the test distance for certain types of devices
• For devices with a very low transmission duty factor
• On the test channel to first be tested in a SAR evaluation

Section 3.1.1: The SAR measurement method revised for body-worn devices.

Section 3.1.2: The SAR Measurement of Devices Containing Multiple Transmitters has been revised.

Section 3.1.3: Clarification has been made on the SAR measurement for specific technology and other types of devices.

Section 4: The Safety Code 6 limits have been revised and clarification on the averaging time for SAR evaluation.

Annex A: Clarification has been made related to the standard(s) and/or procedure(s) used for the evaluation and an addition of the Industry Canada (IC) Certification Number and the name of the SAR/RF exposure testing laboratory has been entered.

Annex B: A revision has been made to add the Product Marketing Name (PMN), Hardware Version Identification Number (HVIN), Firmware Version Identification Number (FVIN), Host Marketing Number (HMN) and the IC Certification Number.

Annex C: A revision has been made to add the PMN, HVIN, FVIN, HMN and the IC Certification Number; clarification has been made related to the submission.

Annex E: Clarification has been made related to operating tolerance and the local SAR measurement; additional reporting requirements for test reduction and fast SAR methods were added.

Have questions about the new requirements or need a free quote for continued IC compliance?   Contact us today.

MET Labs is accredited for, and deeply experienced in, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) Testing for the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, and Europe.