This post is by Joe Lomako, Bluetooth Business Manager at TRaC.
Although most engineers working with short range wireless understand the difference between the ZigBee (ZB) and Bluetooth (BT) standards, many still ask about the difference in the testing and approval process. There are several differences, starting with the terminology - ZB products must be "certified", whereas BT products are "qualified".
In both cases, the approval means that the products can use the relevant logos.
Testing for ZB and BT is somewhat different, and can vary depending on whether it is a chipset, module or end products. Bluetooth chipsets, modules or end products also require "RF testing". RF Testing is the most common type of test and typically takes about 60 hours worth of test time.
Although most engineers working with short range wireless understand the difference between the ZigBee (ZB) and Bluetooth (BT) standards, many still ask about the difference in the testing and approval process. There are several differences, starting with the terminology - ZB products must be "certified", whereas BT products are "qualified".
In both cases, the approval means that the products can use the relevant logos.
Testing for ZB and BT is somewhat different, and can vary depending on whether it is a chipset, module or end products. Bluetooth chipsets, modules or end products also require "RF testing". RF Testing is the most common type of test and typically takes about 60 hours worth of test time.
In addition, BT chipsets (but not modules or products) require "protocol testing".
For ZigBee, chipsets undergo "platform" testing which is a form of "protocol" testing. This test is time-consuming, taking about 5 days test time. ZB end products require profile tests, which usually take about 1-3 days, depending on functionality.
There is the also the common misconception that when a Bluetooth product has undergone "qualification testing" and a ZigBee product has undergone "certification testing" then that is all that is required for worldwide market access. This is not accurate!
Both BT and ZB are RF technologies, so products must be tested to ensure they meet radio, EMC and safety standards such as CE in the European Union and FCC in the USA. These tests generally take longer than the certification/qualification process, with the total time dependant upon the number of countries in which the product will be sold, typically running to about 5 days.
Essentially, common regulatory standards apply to both Bluetooth and ZigBee products, however these technologies are sometimes employed in applications where product-specific standards exist, which the product must meet.
An example would be Smart Energy meters, which must also meet with the EN 60950 under the RTTE directive and EN 61010 for test and measurement equipment
BT and ZB have somewhat different testing requirements. It is, however, usually the standard regulatory tests that dominate the test time, and therefore cost, for most products.
Previous Certification & Test entries:
* Certification & Test: Is above 1GHz the new Wild West?
* Certification & Test: Where have all the ZigBee products come from?
For ZigBee, chipsets undergo "platform" testing which is a form of "protocol" testing. This test is time-consuming, taking about 5 days test time. ZB end products require profile tests, which usually take about 1-3 days, depending on functionality.
There is the also the common misconception that when a Bluetooth product has undergone "qualification testing" and a ZigBee product has undergone "certification testing" then that is all that is required for worldwide market access. This is not accurate!
Both BT and ZB are RF technologies, so products must be tested to ensure they meet radio, EMC and safety standards such as CE in the European Union and FCC in the USA. These tests generally take longer than the certification/qualification process, with the total time dependant upon the number of countries in which the product will be sold, typically running to about 5 days.
Essentially, common regulatory standards apply to both Bluetooth and ZigBee products, however these technologies are sometimes employed in applications where product-specific standards exist, which the product must meet.
An example would be Smart Energy meters, which must also meet with the EN 60950 under the RTTE directive and EN 61010 for test and measurement equipment
BT and ZB have somewhat different testing requirements. It is, however, usually the standard regulatory tests that dominate the test time, and therefore cost, for most products.
Previous Certification & Test entries:
* Certification & Test: Is above 1GHz the new Wild West?
* Certification & Test: Where have all the ZigBee products come from?
After obtaining his Bachelor's degree in engineering, Jonathan worked for a number of engineering companies prior to obtaining a teaching role at the University of Hull (England). In 1995 he joined KTL, an internationally renowned test laboratory which then became TRaC, as part of the Digital Group specialising in regulatory requirements for digital telecommunications equipment. During his time at the company he has, among other things, been appointed as Senior Protocol Engineer, and Approvals and Homologation Group Manager. Jonathan has actively participated in various technical working groups for the ZigBee Allianceâ and is currently the ZigBee Qualification Group (ZQG) Lead Technical Editor. 
Steve is Managing Director for the EMC and Safety business of TRaC and has been involved in EMC and product approvals for 19 years. In addition to the day to day running of the business, Steve is actively involved in EMC standardisation both in commercial and defence areas. In addition to being the UK Principal expert on EMC standardisation of Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) products he is also the convenor of CISPR/B/WG1 who has the responsibility of writing the International standard, CISPR 11. Steve wrote the CE marking annex to the UK's defence EMC standard as well as being co-convenor of CENELEC TC210/WG9, responsible for writing a guide on approval of military systems with commercial (CE Marking) requirements.
Joe Lomako MSc is the Business Development Manager of Telecoms and Radio at TRaC. He has been involved in the testing and compliance industry for over 15 years. Prior to joining TRaC Joe specialised in EMC, EMF Exposure and Radio compliance.
Appointed Test Manager in 2007, following three years as Projects Manager at TRaC, having previously worked as Head of Environmental Testing at another UKAS accredited test house. Over 20 years' experience of modelling, testing and measurement in the structural dynamics and seismic fields.
Chris has worked in electrical safety compliance for over 17 years. Having previously worked for BSI, he joined TRaC in 1996, progressing through a number of testing roles before becoming Safety Product Manager in 2006.
Appointed Commercial Manager - Analysis in November 2009. Prior to joining TRaC, he was the Business Development Manager at Onward Technologies, an engineering services company based in India. Graham has spent over 20 years working in the CAD / CAE domain selling both engineering services and engineering systems. 
Stephen Tait joined KTL, an internationally renowned test laboratory which then became TRaC, as part of the Telecom Group specialising in telecommunications product testing for worldwide approvals. Stephen is also responsible for the Telecoms commercial activities within the TRaC group.
Simon Barrowcliff is the Director of the ATEX Notified Body at TRaC. He set up TRaC's Lancashire-based, ATEX business in 2002 and has been heavily involved in EX testing and compliance since then. Simon also runs TRaC's certification schemes for electrical safety under the IECEE CB scheme. He is a chartered electrical engineer with more than 20 years experience of product compliance for electrical and mechanical equipment.
Appointed Managing Director in November 2007. Previously he was Test Facilities Manager for Flight Refuelling, part of the Cobham group, and spent his early career in the Environmental Engineering Department of British Aerospace at Stevenage.
Brendan was appointed Sales Director in August 2009. He joined the group in 2005 as Business Development Manager for environmental test services. Before joining TRaC he spent five years in Application Engineering and Technical Sales roles for automotive test equipment. He studied Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.
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