UL Launches IoT Center of Excellence to Help Innovators Access India and Global Markets

UL, a leading global safety science company, has expanded its Bengaluru facility to help product innovators address compliance and market access challenges in the fast-growing and increasingly complex world of connected devices. The new facility added 12,000-square feet of laboratory space with scope for further expansion, making it one of the most technologically advanced electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), specific absorption rate (SAR), wireless and interoperability testing laboratories in India. The facility, accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), enables UL to service a diverse range of products for customers across consumer electronics, information technology, mobile and telecommunications, medical devices, industrial products, lighting and appliances industries.

The three key challenges manufacturers and product design companies encounter are efficient global market access, finding EMC and wireless expertise, and speed-to-market for product launches. The new UL facility offers automated data collection, custom-designed test chambers and fast access to technical experts across a multitude of disciplines. The presence of a semi-anechoic chamber provides local product design engineers and developers, a convenient nearby testing facility. Further, the Center of Excellence (CoE) offers global experience and UL experts advise to companies at every step of the product launch process, from designing to preparing for market access, to help ensure compliance to regulations before and during production.

“India is a top priority market for UL. The Bengaluru laboratory expansion combined with UL’s existing global network of laboratories and engineering talent­­ - offers our customers in India a seamless end-to-end service solution with unparalleled technical expertise, helping them navigate risk and enabling greater speed-to-market for their products and solutions,” said Ghislain Devouge, Global Vice President and General Manager Consumer Technology for UL.

“At UL, we strongly endorse the ‘In India, for India’ strategy, and have been regularly investing in building capability and capacity. This IoT CoE will help the market in multiple ways – first, enabling our domestic customers to develop smarter products, meet regulations and supply to the world; second, assisting our global customers to comply with India regulations and seamlessly access the Indian market; and third, giving confidence to the regulators and players in the ecosystem that they can access best-in-class global knowledge, technical expertise, and seamless service locally,” said Suresh Sugavanam, Vice President and Managing Director of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa for UL.

In today’s interconnected world, manufacturers who add wireless capability to existing products for industrial, consumer and medical applications must meet the complex and varied wireless regulatory requirements, which can differ by the market. Additionally, when regulations change, manufacturers may have to conduct new testing even if their products were already in the market, such as the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2017, Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipments (MTCTE). Put in place by the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC), a nodal agency under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the regulation requires all telecom equipment to undergo mandatory testing and certification before sale or import for use in India. An Indian accredited laboratory designated by the TEC must carry out the testing and based upon its test reports a certificate is issued by the TEC. UL laboratory in Bengaluru is ready to be designated by TEC, and the expanded facility will further help the industry comply with the MTCTE regime.