In the past, Samsung would have to commission an external accreditation institution to grant full type approval of quality standards before the company could sell GSM handsets in Europe. Now, the company can perform that function itself, covering all categories such as safety standards stipulated by the R&TTE Directive, electromagnetic compatibility, GSM telecommunications standards and specific absorption rate.
The ability to perform the approval process in-house shortens delivery time and cuts costs, which boosts product competitiveness. Samsung has thus become the first Korean company to obtain certification on all European GSM standards after its European certification of EMC test electromagnetic compatibility in 1998 and EMC competent Body in 2000. Samsung has become only the world’s third company (after Nokia and Motorola) to receive this latest GSM testing qualification. It is expected that the certification will allow Samsung to compete with the leading GSM handset companies on an equal footing.
The license covers second-generation GSM phones and the 2.5-generation GPRS handsets. However, Samsung plans to obtain approval to test wideband CDMA products, which will emerge as the third-generation standard. This will enable the company to approve its own products for all countries that use GSM.
