FCC Update on MAIA usage in cDASY6

We have been asked repeatedly by customers if FCC has formally approved the current cDASY6 implementation of MAIA ‒ SPEAG’s Modulation and Audio Interference Analyzer ‒ and how the results of MAIA should be reported. We are very pleased to announce that we have now received FCC's official confirmation on full acceptance of MAIA as well as further guidance on the reporting.

The development of MAIA was prompted more than five years ago by the concern of the regulators and test houses that, due the large variety of communication systems that need to be tested, the wrong UID, i.e., the wrong sensor model calibrated (SMC) probe linearization parameters, might be used by users of specific absorption rate (SAR) systems. As it is well known, SMC calibrated probes greatly improve the accuracy of SAR assessments and were therefore already approved by the FCC at the TCB Council Workshop in May 2017. SPEAG’s MAIA, in addition, increases the reliability of SAR measurements as it provides the necessary feedback to the user that the selected probe linearization parameters are valid for the signal being tested. This information is crucial as it confirms that the default uncertainty budget is not exceeded.

Watch the demonstration how MAIA is used to verify that the probe linearization parameters are valid for the uplink signal being measured.

During the last few weeks, SPEAG has clarified with the FCC how the linearization parameters verification with MAIA should be documented in the SAR reports. It was agreed to use the following four status characters:

• “Y”: Linearization not required / Linearization parameters confirmed by MAIA
• “N/A”: MAIA not used
• “N”: Linearization parameters not valid
• “E”: MAIA error

The latest cDASY6 SAR Module release (V6.8.2) features the new reporting format of MAIA results as agreed with the FCC. The software installer as well as the complete list of the minor but important improvements are available on the DASY6 website.

Any question on MAIA functionality? Please watch this user video or contact us at info@speag.swiss.