Manufacturer Membership Benefits

Manufacturers who certify their mobile devices following the widely recognised and respected GCF rules and procedures are assured that their products will offer a high degree of interoperability.  The scheme can reduce time-to-market for new products and help avoid expensive and time-consuming duplication of testing effort.

Manufacturer membership is open to companies producing complete devices that are marketed under a brand name they own. GCF manufacturer members include mobile phone manufacturers, module manufacturers and manufacturers of connected devices that incorporate 3GPP wireless modules.

Through active participation in technical meetings, Manufacturer Members are involved in the selection of test requirements and the definition of the processes that make up GCF Certification. Manufacturer Members actively contribute to defining best practice for this industry-wide certification scheme.

GCF membership allows manufacturers to engage in the development of the certification criteria for future technologies. 'Whole industry engagement' is one of the strengths of GCF Certification: criteria and requirements are set and agreed by the entire industry. This ensures that new requirements have been confirmed as workable by all stakeholders and so can be easily adopted by all.

GCF Manufacturer Membership provides direct access to the GCF Devices Certification Criteria database, DCC. This unique knowledge centre provides information on:

  • The criteria currently needed for GCF Certification
  • Available test platforms
  • Latest test validations on test platforms
  • Test case issues, should they arise.

GCF conformance testing can be performed at any Recognised Test Organisation. This provides flexibility for a manufacturer to use a wide range of accredited test facilities, including its own suitably qualified facility.

GCF Field Trials promote close co-operation between manufacturers and operators. GCF Field Trial Qualified Operators provide key network data that will optimise the effectiveness and focus of field trial programmes, providing valuable insight into the interoperability of a device through multiple live network field trials.

Manufacturer Members pay an annual fee and enjoy the benefits of:

  • Free attendance at GCF meetings
  • Voting rights at GCF meetings
  • The right to stand for election to the GCF Board or Chair/Vice Chair positions on the Steering Group, Agreement Groups or Ad-Hoc Groups
  • The right to propose new Work Items or Performance Items
  • The right to nominate Rapporteurs for Work Items or Performance Items

GCF membership fees are agreed annually by all Full Members in the open forum of the Steering Group.

Info Sheet pdfManufacturer Membership

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