BLE-SIG new 2014 for nRF51822

[anut_peach]

Hi, i am searching for infos about my concrete BLE-Sig certification situation but i cannot see the forest because of all the trees :o)

i am currently developing a BLE product, and so far i found out, that every end-product will need a EPL, that will cost me about 8000usd for each product (maybe 2500usd...). is this correct? or will i pay the 8000usd for the membership and listing is for free? (i found some different informations because of the new and old SIG-process) the product will use a switch, a led, a voltage regulator, a battery and the nRF51822. now i have to build the pcb, and there are some various options. first i thought it would save a lot of costs, especially regarding fcc and BT-SIG to use a precertified module (eg. Dynastream N548 or similar). but modules are big and expensive, so i have to calculate if it is worth.. I think i got the main-points regarding FCC, but i do not understand BT-SIG.. i finally found the SIG-guide from nordic, and now i am totally confused :o)

can anybody tell me, what is the actual difference in costs regarding certifications when i use a precertified module versus i build my own hardware? thanks!!!

one more thing, i also planed to sell not only the final product to end users, but also to sell my final pcb to other companies, so they can use it for their products. this seems to bring further challenges regarding BT-SIG?

i hope you can help me out, and maybe this infos will help also other users!? thanks.

[anut_peach]

i have some problems to differ between, i am not allowed to change a precertified module, and i add the module to my pcb together with other hardware ...

[John]

You can become an adopter member of the SIG for free, and you will need to do so in order to complete their registration process.

The SIG changed their certification process in February. The main reason seemed to be to ensure that new products using modules would be required to pay the $8000 registration fee rather than being able to piggy back on the module developers registration.

No matter what you do, you will be on the hook to register your product with the SIG and pay them $8000.

A module potentially allow you to avoid the FCC and other intentional emitter testing costs, but you need to do the math to amortize the cost of the module over your anticipated volume to see if it is worth paying the extra cost of the module.

[anut_peach]

hi, thanks for your reply. does the listing fee stick to the companies registration of the listing? what, if i build a product with EPL, and another company will sell this product under their own name? or maybe they change the housing and the packaging, but 1:1 functionality! when can i use an existing EPL, and where is the point, where someone has to make a new EPL?

[John]

I do not know the answer to that question. You should probably consult a Bluetooth Qualification Engineer or the SIG itself to know for sure where the line is drawn.

[Peter Myerscough-Jackopson]

I went to a BT-SIG conference in London recently, and if the Bluetooth 'portion' of the device is unchanged the company selling the product need only pay and register it once. If a different company rebrands EXACTLY the same hardware, they must pay and register. There are some strange aspects about selling a complete product and selling a module used in the product and possibly being covered by a single EPL. Also if anything in the Bluetooth portion of a design changes you must register a new EPL. This seemed to include changes such as say going from S110v6 to S110v7. All in all it is bad for small runs of devices and consulting a BT QE or the SIG is a good idea for complete clarity.