According to the bill, smartphones and tablets placed on the EU market must display information about their energy efficiency, battery life, protection against dust and water, and protection against accidental drops. This is the first time that a product on the EU market has been required to display a repairability score.

Ecodesign Act (EU) 2023/1670

In order to improve the energy efficiency and durability of mobile phone and tablet products, strict requirements have been put forward for the maintainability, reliability and recycling of products through eco-design principles such as open repair rights, increased product transparency, and recycling.

Ecodesign Act, manufacturers, importers or agents are obliged to provide critical spare parts to maintenance personnel within 5-10 working days until 7 years after the end of the sale of the product model on the EU market.

If a battery or back cover assembly is not available to the customer, the manufacturer needs to ensure that the product design meets the following requirements:

1. The cycle life is not less than 500 times, and after 500 times, there is at least 83% of the remaining capacity;

2. The battery cycle life is not less than 1000 times, and after 1000 times, there is at least 80% remaining capacity;

3. The product has IP67 dustproof and waterproof design.

The Act requires manufacturers, importers or agents to publish product repair manuals on their free websites to provide professional technicians or users with information related to the repair and maintenance of products, including product identification, disassembly diagrams, fault diagnosis information, necessary circuit connection diagrams, tag diagrams, and disassembly tool requirements.

In order to improve the durability of mobile phones and tablets, the bill requires that products must meet certain reliability requirements

1. Anti-drop design;

2. Mohs 4 hardness screen design;

3. IP44 dustproof and waterproof design

4. The battery cycle life is not less than 500 times;

5. Improve the battery management function and optimize the charging efficiency

6. Availability of operating system upgrades: at least 5 years after the product is placed on the market;

7. Professional repairers use any software or firmware required for replacement without discrimination.

Energy Efficiency Rating Labelling Act (EU) 2023/1669

According to the Act, all smartphones and tablets must be labelled with an energy efficiency rating and registered on the EU's public goods database EPREL before they can be placed on the market.

Energy efficiency labels for smartphones and tablets

In response to the two new EU Directives, the CTTL-Terminal Labs can provide a complete evaluation program for enterprises, and can contact xialijiao@caict.ac.cn if necessary.

The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and the Saudi Commission on Communications, Space and Technology (CST) recently announced the unification of the mandatory requirements for charging ports for mobile phones and electronic devices in Saudi Arabia, deciding that USB Type-C will be the only standardized connector from January 1, 2025.

The decision will be made in two phases:

1) The first phase will start from January 1, 2025, and mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, e-readers, portable video game devices, headphones, amplifiers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, portable speakers, and wireless routers must use the USB Type-C charging port.

2) The second phase will begin on April 1, 2026, and will be available for all devices, including laptops, to use USB-C as an interface.

Click on the link to view the news report on the new rules in the Saudi Gazette on August 6, 2023.

On August 4, 2023, GCF released GCF-CC 3.89.0 with the following changes in terms of frequency bands:

• Removed bands: None;
• New bands: SUL_n41-n83, DC_3A_n28A-n78A, CA_DL_n2A-n48A-n66A-n77A, CA_DL_n2A-n5A-n48A-n66A, CA_DL_n2A-n5A-n48A-n77A, CA_DL_n2A-n5A-n66A-n77A, CA_DL_ n5A-n48A-n66A-n77A、CA_UL_n8A-n78A。

GCF-CC 3.90.0 will have an effective date of August 4, 2023, and a mandatory date of November 14, 2023 (GCF 3.89.0 will expire on November 13, 2023).

On August 3, 2023, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) published RSS-247 Issue 3, Digital Transmission Systems (DTS), Frequency Hopping Systems (FHS) and License-Free Local Area Network (LE-LAN) Devices, which replaces RSS-247 Issue 2. The main changes are as follows:

• Section 2.1 has been added to include information about the entry into force of the standard;
• Section 6.2 has been modified to clarify that different measurement methods can be applied depending on the operating frequency range of the device;
• Added section 6.2.5 on the requirements for devices operating at 5850-5895 MHz and channels with frequency ranges spanning 5850 MHz
• Section 6.2.5.1 has been added to provide general information and definitions;
• Section 6.2.5.2 has been added to determine the power limits of devices operating in the 5850-5895 MHz band;
• Section 6.2.5.3 has been added to determine the unwanted emission limits for devices operating in the 5850-5895 MHz band;
• Other editorial changes and revisions made to improve clarity.

With this standard update, ISED still provides a six-month transition period, and manufacturers can choose to test in either Issue 2 or Issue 3 until February 3, 2024.

Click this link to view the original RSS-247 Issue 3 standard.

On 1 August, the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced an indefinite extension of the use of CE marking by businesses, while retaining the UKCA marking recognition method.

The UK Department of Commerce and Trade intends to extend the CE marking of most goods on the UK market indefinitely beyond December 2024, and this update applies to 18 regulations under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce and Trade (DBT), covering the following areas:

• Toys
• pyrotechnics
• recreational boats and personal boats
• improvised pressure vessels
• electromagnetic compatibility
• non-automatic weighing instruments
• measuring instruments
• measuring containers, bottles
• elevators
• equipment for potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX),
• radio equipment
• Pressure Equipment
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Gas Appliances
• Machinery
• Outdoor Use Equipment
• Aerosols,
• Low Voltage Electrical Equipment

On July 28, 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union published a new regulation on batteries and waste batteries, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. The regulation aims to promote a circular economy in the battery industry by regulating all stages of the battery life cycle, including production, reuse, and recycling. The regulation includes labeling and information requirements for battery components and outlines targets for the recycling of used battery materials, as well as requirements for the carbon footprint of batteries (which does not apply to portable batteries). The regulation was codified on 12 July 2023, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 28 July 2023, and will enter into force on 18 August 2023

• Chapter 13 of the Regulation, from 18 August 2025, all batteries shall bear a separate recycling mark, from 18 August 2026, the relevant labelling requirements of the Regulation shall be fully implemented, from 18 February 2027 all batteries shall have a QR code containing the battery information required by the Regulations;
• Chapter 11 of the Regulation (Removable and replaceable requirements for portable batteries and LMT batteries): 18 February 2027;
• Directive 2006/66/EC, which replaces this regulation, will be repealed from 18 August 2025.

Click on this link to view the original Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

Following a public consultation on 24 May 2023, on 20 July 2023, the European Commission published an announcement numbered C(2023) 4823 final, postponing the implementation date of (EU) 2022/30 from 1 August 2024 to 1 August 2025. The announcement also amends the text description in the second paragraph of Chapter 1 of (EU) 2022/30 by changing the original text "traffic data and location data" to "traffic data or location data".

Click on this link to view the original European Commission announcement.

On July 20, 2023, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) published RSS-199 Issue 4, Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Equipment Operating in the 2500–2690 MHz Band, which replaces RSS-199 Issue 3. The main changes are as follows:

• Paired and unpaired spectrum plans for the 2500-2690 MHz band have been added to Tables 1 and 2, respectively
• Table 3 adds the maximum transmit power requirements for fixed stations and base stations for non-AAS and AAS equipment;
• The total radiated power requirement for unwanted emissions is added in Section 5.6;
• Add definitions to clarify the terminology used;
• Adjust to the latest RSS standard structure;
• Other editorial changes and revisions made to improve clarity.

With this standard update, ISED still provides a six-month transition period, and manufacturers can choose to test in Issue 3 or Issue 4 until January 20, 2024.

Click this link to view the original RSS-199 standard.

Law No. 2022-300 of March 2, 2022, which aims to strengthen the regulation of parental control functions on Internet access devices, gives the ANFR a new responsibility: it is responsible for supervising the setting up of free parental control functions on Internet access end devices. Under the law, device manufacturers must provide the option to activate this feature when they first enable the device and ensure that it has the minimum functional requirements.

In accordance with this law, Decree No. 2023-5881, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic (JORF) of July 13, 2023, further clarifies and regulates the specific requirements and characteristics of parental controls, as well as the responsibilities of the ANFR. The decree clearly states that its provisions will come into force 12 months after their publication, i.e. from July 13, 2024.

The implementation of this law imposes new requirements on manufacturers: they need to integrate parental controls for their end devices on the market, and provide options for activation and configuration when the device is first booted.

For second-hand devices placed on the market before July 13, 2024, the person selling such devices is required to inform users that they can install parental controls on their devices in order to restrict minors' access to certain services or content that may be harmful to them. For second-hand devices placed on the market after July 13, 2024, the same rules apply to new devices and must be equipped with parental controls.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Viet Nam has launched the following public consultation on the IMT mobile communication system:

• Draft Circular "Planning the 3560-4000 MHz Frequency Band for Vietnam's IMT Mobile Communication System". Click on this link to view the original public consultation, which is open until 30 August 2023;
• Draft Circular "Planned frequency bands 1920-1980 MHz, 2110-2170 MHz for IMT mobile communication systems in Vietnam. Click on this link to view the original public consultation, which is open until 4 September 2023;

Click on this link to see more information about the two public consultations above.