The adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) solution has been widespread in the transportation, healthcare and manufacturing industries with millions of items connected and communicating daily. Not only does this contribute to smart city development, but it also leads to revisions of regulations on wireless transmission functions. As the manufacturing process in electronics products can be intricate and exacting, the new guide on Radio Equipment Directives (RED) and harmonised standards will become effective on June 13 2017 to ensure the efficient use of the radio spectrum.

The revised Radio Equipment Directive (RED) aims to improve both product compliance and market surveillance. Starting from June 13 2017, all radio equipment must meet the technical requirements of the RED before sale to the European Union (EU) market. It replaces the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (RTTE), and will become the only regulatory control for radio equipment entering markets in the EU. The scope of the new RED includes some products which were previously only regulated by the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC), such as radio and TV receive-only equipment. In other words, radio equipment with other interconnected functions will now have to meet the requirements of both EMC and the new RED.

The scope of the new RED includes: -

• Televisions and radio receivers
• Equipment operating below 9 kHz
• Radio-determination equipment
• Any other radio equipment which was under the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTE), with the exception of fixed line terminal equipment and custom built evaluation kits

To cope with the new RED, equipment in laboratories needs to be further improved as well. The Wireless Testing Centre and EMC Centre of the Hong Kong Productivity Council have been working closely with local commercial testing laboratories in order to enhance the testing capabilities of the local industry, so as to meet the challenges and opportunities brought by the new RED.