IoT Device Assurance Program

A comprehensive testing process to test that there is reliable network connectivity and interoperability for IoT devices prior to connecting to the Vodafone Australia mobile network via our Managed IoT Connectivity Platform. Testing is conducted by our internal device testing team and Sydney based testing lab partner, completing various network performance and national regulatory checks in line with our minimum network requirements.

It ensures IoT devices are tested for inter-operability with: 

• Vodafone Australia mobile network
• TPG Telecom IoT Platform(s)
• National regulatory requirements, health and safety policies on RF fields before devices are sold in the Australian market.  This is only applicable for hardware devices TPG Telecom sell directly

• 4G LTE
• 5G
• NB-IoT

TPG Telecom encourages hardware manufacturers and customers to undertake device network certification prior to commercial deployment of their IoT solution. Any network performance issues identified during commercial deployment of the IoT device can be costly to replace, leading to poor return on investment on the IoT solution. Addressing these potential issues prior to deployment can mean more reliable network performance in the field.

Provided there are no identified issues during the pre-acceptance testing phase (Phase 1) and the IoT device is using an approved IoT module, certification can be completed in approx. 4~6 weeks. If an issue is identified during the pre-acceptance testing phase (Phase 1), this can prolong the testing depending on the degree of the issue identified and how quickly the fix can be applied.

Device network certification ensures reliable network performance and security compliance with ACMA based on a pre-defined list of test cases performed in a lab and field environment. There are additional factors which can contribute to network connectivity performance outside of the defined test lab scenarios.