Radio Standards Specifications

Radio Standard Specification General (RSS-Gen) sets out general and certification requirements for licensed and licence-exempt radio apparatus used for radio communication other than broadcasting. The radio apparatus shall comply with the specifications and methods prescribed in RSS-Gen, except where otherwise specified in the applicable RSS. RSS-Gen also sets out definitions that are used in other RSS documents. Administrative requirements such as test reports, labelling and other matters are described in RSS-Gen.

Radio Standards Specification 102 (RSS-102) sets out the requirements and measurement techniques to evaluate RF exposure compliance of radiocommunication apparatus (Category I and Category II equipment) that are designed to be used within the vicinity of the human body. This standard applies to radiocommunication apparatus having an integral antenna, systems requiring licensing with detachable antennas sold with the transmitters or licence-exempt transmitters with detachable antennas, as defined in RSS-Gen.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Wireless devices used close to the body such as smartphones, wearables, etc.
• Wireless devices used away from the body such as Wi-Fi routers, smart meters, etc.

The Supplementary Procedure (SPR-001) to RSS -102 provides guidance on the requirements and procedures to perform Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) evaluation with respect to bystanders for laptop with antennas built-in on display screens.

List of common applicable devices:

• Laptops

The Supplementary Procedure (SPR-002) to RSS -102 sets out the general test methods for the compliance assessment of the nerve stimulation exposure requirements for radio apparatus operating in the 3 kHz to 10 MHz frequency range.

List of common applicable devices:

• Wireless chargers
• EAS Electronic article surveillance
• RFID Radio frequency identification
• TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system
• Metal detectors
• Readers and tags
• Vehicle security systems
• Laptop chargers
• Smartphones

The Supplementary Procedure (SPR-003) to RSS -102 sets out the general test methods to be followed for the compliance assessment of to the power density limits for portable devices in the 60 GHz frequency band (57 GHz – 71 GHz).

List of common applicable devices:

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Computers
• WLAN Adapter

The Supplementary Procedure (SPR-004) to RSS -102 sets out the general test methods to be followed when carrying out an RF exposure compliance assessment of wireless devices implementing device-based time-averaging methods for the management and/or mitigation of specific absorption rate (SAR) in the 4 MHz to 6 GHz frequency band.

List of common applicable devices:

• Smartphones
• Tablets

The Supplementary Procedure (SPR-APD) to RSS -102 sets out the general test methods to be followed when carrying out a specific absorption rate (SAR) and absorbed power density (APD) compliance assessment of portable devices overlapping the 6 GHz frequency band that are subject to RSS-248.

List of common applicable devices:

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• WLAN Adapter

Radio Standard Specification General (RSS-HAC) sets out the compliance requirements for hearing aid compatibility and volume control features for specific radio apparatus.

Radio Standards Specification 134 (RSS-134)sets out the certification requirements for narrowband personal communication service equipment operating in the in the frequency ranges 901-902 MHz, 930-931 MHz, and 940-941 MHz.Equipment
Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment

Radio Standards Specification 130 (RSS-130) sets out the certification requirements for all equipment operating in the frequency ranges 617-652 MHz, 663-698 MHZ, 698-756 MHz, and 777-787 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 132 (RSS-132) sets out the certification requirements for cellular telephone service equipment operating in the frequency ranges 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 133 (RSS-133) sets out the certification requirements for equipment used in radiocommunications systems to provide Personal Communications Services operating in the frequency ranges 1850-1915 MHz and 1930-1995 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 139 (RSS-139) sets out the certification requirements for equipment used in radiocommunications systems to provide advanced wireless services operating in the frequency ranges 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 192 (RSS-192) sets out certification requirements for flexible use broadband equipment used in fixed and/or mobile services operating in the frequency range 3450-3650 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Outdoor Base Station with and without an Active Antenna System (AAS and Non-AAS)
• Indoor Base Station
• Fixed point-to-point (Non-AAS)
• Point-to-multipoint hub station (AAS and Non AAS)
• Fixed subscriber equipment (Non-AAS)
• Subscriber equipment other than fixed subscriber equipment (AAS and Non-AAS)

Radio Standards Specification 195 (RSS-195) sets out the certification requirements for wireless communication service systems equipment operating in the frequency ranges 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 197 (RSS-197) sets out certification requirements for wireless access systems equipment operating in the Wireless Broadband Services (WBS) in the frequency range 3650-3700 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 198 (RSS-198) sets out the requirements for the certification of flexible use broadband equipment used in fixed and/or mobile services operating in the frequency band 3900-3980 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

This Radio Standard Specification 199 (RSS-199) sets out certification requirements for Broadband Radio Service (BRS) equipment operating in the frequency range 2500-2690 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Base stations
• Subscriber
• Fixed subscriber
• Mobile subscriber

Radio Standards Specification 137 (RSS-137) sets out the certification requirements for location and monitoring service equipment operating in the in the frequency range 902-928 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 211 (RSS-211) sets out the certification requirements for Level Probing Radar (LPR) equipment, which includes Tank Level Probing Radar (TLPR) devices, operating within the frequency ranges 5.65-8.50 GHz, 8.50-10.55 GHz, 24.05-29.00 GHz and 75-85 GHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 220 (RSS-220) establishes provisions for short-range devices using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology such as:

• Vehicular radar devices;
• Communication, measurement, location sensing and tracking devices
• Ground penetrating radar (GPR) devices
• In-wall radar imaging and through-wall radar imaging devices
• Medical radar imaging devices
• Radar surveillance devices

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 251 (RSS-251) sets out certification requirements for licence-exempt equipment operating in the frequency range 76-81 GHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Vehicular radar
• Airport fixed or mobile radar

Radio Standards Specification 111 (RSS-111) sets out certification requirements for public safety equipment operating in the frequency range 4940-4990 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 140 (RSS-140) sets out the certification requirements for public safety broadband equipment operating in the frequency ranges 758-768 MHz and 788-798 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 127 (RSS-127) sets out the certification requirements for air-ground communications equipment operating in the frequency ranges 849-851 MHz and 894-896 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 141 (RSS-141) sets out the certification requirements for equipment in the aeronautical mobile service for the purpose of communication operating in the frequency range 117.975-137 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 170 (RSS-170) sets out the certification requirements for mobile-satellite service and ancillary terrestrial component equipment.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 117 (RSS-117) sets out certification requirements for land and coast stations equipment operating in the frequency band 200-535 kHz, where land stations transmitters are those stations, other than mobile stations, used for radiocommunication with mobile stations and coast station transmitters consist of land stations used in the maritime mobile service

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 181 (RSS-181) sets out the certification requirements for equipment in the maritime service operating in the frequency range 1605-28000 kHz. For shipborne equipment, this standard applies only to equipment that is not a global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS). GMDSS equipment is covered under RSS-288.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 182 (RSS-182) sets out the certification requirements for equipment in the maritime service, including Automatic Identification System – Search and Rescue Transponders (AIS-SART) operating on AIS-1 and AIS-2, operating in the frequency range 156-162.5 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Portable VHF handheld transmitters and receivers
• VHF radiotelephone for survival craft
• VHF radiotelephones with Digital Selective Calling(DSC) capability
• VHF equipment which meets GMDSS requirements

Radio Standards Specification 238 (RSS-238) sets out certification requirements for of shipborne radar operating in the maritime radio navigation service in the frequency ranges 2900-3100 MHz and 9225-9500 MHz and having a rated peak transmit power of less than or equal to 60 kW.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 287 (RSS-287) sets out certification requirements for:

• emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs) used for carriage on ships;
• emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) used for carriage on aircrafts;
• personal locator beacons (PLBs) used by persons to send distress signals; and
• maritime survivor locator devices (MSLDs) worn by persons aboard a vessel to provide limited proximity alerting and locating capabilities

Radio Standard Specification 288 (RSS-288) sets out the certification requirements for shipborne radiocommunication equipment which meets the requirements of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) such as:

• Medium frequency radio transmitters and receivers for voice communication, with digital selective calling (DSC);
• Medium frequency and high frequency (MF/HF) radio transmitters and receivers for voice communication, with DSC and narrowband direct printing (NBDP) telegraphy; and
• Survival craft search and rescue transponder (SART) devices in the frequency band 9.2-9.5 GHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 112 (RSS-112) sets out certification requirements for land mobile and fixed services equipment operating in the frequency band 1670-1675 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 119 (RSS-119) sets out certification requirements for land mobile and fixed services equipment operating in frequency band within the frequency range 27.41-960 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 125 (RSS-125) sets out the certification requirements for land mobile and fixed services equipment operating in the frequency range 1.705-30 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 142 (RSS-142) sets out the certification requirements for narrowband multipoint communication systems equipment, including telemetry systems, operating in the frequency 1429.5-1432 MHz. The frequency range is intended for data communication between "home" (i.e. devices installed in residential and commercial buildings) and hub stations, or between hub stations.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 191 (RSS-191) sets out certification requirements for :

• local multipoint communication systems (LMCS) equipment operating in the frequency range 25.35-28.35 GHz
• point-to-point and point-to-multipoint broadband systems equipment operating in the frequency ranges 24.25-24.45 GHz and 25.05-25.25 GHz
• point-to-multipoint broadband systems equipment operating in the frequency range 38.6-40.0 GHz

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 194 (RSS-194) sets out the certification requirements for fixed wireless access systems equipment operating in the frequency range 953-960 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 196 (RSS-196) sets out the certification requirements for for equipment employed in Rural Remote Broadband Systems (RRBS) to provide point-to-multipoint fixed wireless access broadband radiocommunication in the frequency range 512-608 MHz (TV Channels 21 to 36).

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 123 (RSS-123) sets out certification requirements for wireless microphones. This standard does not apply to radio apparatus intended for general public broadcasting services. Such equipment is regulated by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s (ISED) broadcasting equipment procedures and standards.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Wireless microphones
• Cue and control communications
• Synchronization of video camera signals
• Some FM transmitters

Radio Standards Specification 131 (RSS-131) sets out certification requirements for zone enhancers, including Distributed Antenna Systems (DASs) and External Radio Frequency Power Amplifiers (ERFPAs) used in conjunction with licensed radio equipment in certain radio services. Only zone enhancers used to increase the signal strength of radio equipment are permitted to be certified under this RSS.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 135 (RSS-135) sets out the certification requirements for digital scanner receivers.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 210 (RSS-210) sets out the certification requirements for several types of licence-exempt equipment that are primarily low-power devices and are mainly used for consumer or commercial purposes.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Remote control devices
• Medical devices
• Wireless microphones
• Auditory assistance devices
• RFID devices
• FRS-GMRS devices
• Vehicle identification devices
• Vehicle radar devices
• Fixed point-to-point systems
• Wideband devices
• Motion sensors

Radio Standards Specification 213 (RSS-213) sets out the certification requirements for licensed-exempt personal communication services (LE-PCS) equipment operating in the frequency range 1920-1930 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 215 (RSS-215) sets out certification requirements for analogue scanner receivers.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 216 (RSS-216) sets out certification requirements for wireless power transfer (WPT) devices, including sources (WPT transmitters) and clients (WPT receivers).

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 222 (RSS-222) sets out the certification requirements for licence-exempt White Space Devices (WSDs) operating in the frequency ranges 54-72 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz, 470-608 MHz, and 657-663 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 236 (RSS-236) sets out certification requirements for Citizens Band (CB) radio equipment operating in the frequency range 26.960-27.410 MHz. The CB is a two-way, short-distance voice communications service for either personal or business activities of the general public.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 243 (RSS-243) sets out certification requirements for equipment used in radiocommunication systems which provide medical implant communication in the frequency range 402-405 MHz, namely the active Medical Implant Communication System (MICS), which includes Medical Implant Telemetry System (MITS) and Medical Data Service (MEDS) in the frequency ranges 401-402 MHz and 405-406 MHz. MITS provides transmission of data on a periodic basis (non-medical event related). MITS operate in the frequency range 403.5-403.8 MHz and shall only provide one-way, non-voice digital communications from an active medical implant transmitter to an external receiver.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 244 (RSS-244) sets out certification requirements for radiocommunication systems’ equipment that are part of Medical Micropower Networks (MMNs) that operates in the frequency ranges 413-419 MHz, 426-432 MHz, 438-444 MHz and 451-457 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 246 (RSS-246) sets out certification requirements for license-exempt ultra-low power wireless medical capsule endoscopy devices operating in the frequency range 430-440 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 247 (RSS-247) sets out certification requirements for license-exempt equipment employing frequency hopping, digital modulation and/or a combination (hybrid) of both techniques operating in the frequency ranges 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz. It also includes license-exempt local area network (LE-LAN) devices operating in the frequency ranges 5150-5250 MHz, 5250-5350 MHz, 5470-5725 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standard Specification 248 (RSS-248) sets out certification requirements for license-exempt, RLAN devices operating indoors in the 5925-7125 MHz frequency band.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Radio Standards Specification 252 (RSS-252) sets out the certification requirements for license-exempt Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) On-Board Units (OBUs) that operates in the frequency range 5850-5925 MHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:
DSRC Systems consist of short-range wireless links to transfer data between vehicles and:

• Roadside units
• Other vehicles
• Portable units

Radio Standard Specification 295 (RSS-295) sets out the certification requirements for licence-exempt devices operating in the frequency bands 116-123 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz, 185-190 GHz and 244-246 GHz.

Equipment covered by this standard are classified as Category I equipment.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Short range devices
• Fixed point-to-point radio equipment

Radio Standards Specification 310 (RSS-310) sets out standard requirements for licence-exempt radio apparatus, in various frequency ranges, used for radiocommunication (other than broadcasting) that are exempt from certification. Equipment covered by this standard is classified as Category II equipment, which is certification-exempt and thus no technical acceptance certificate (TAC) issued by the Certification and Engineering Bureau (CEB) of ISED or a certificate issued by a recognized certification body (CB) is required. Instead, such equipment is subject to a self declaration of compliance (SDoC). Additionally, equipment covered by this standard is exempt from licensing requirements. However, equipment shall bear a label, which represents the manufacturer’s or importer’s SDoC with RSS-310, prior to being marketed in Canada or imported into Canada.

Examples of common applicable devices:

• Underground Radios
• Cable-locating equipment (Band 9-490 kHz)
• Alternating Current (AC) wire carrier current devices operating in the frequency range 0-30 MHz
• Transmitters with input power of 6 nW or less
• Data modems