With the intention of creating confidence among customers and facilitating interoperability across multi-vendor networks, several industry forums have created certification programs. Testing plays a large part in these certification programs, and the use of independent third-party test houses, such as the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), is key to their success. We do not certify devices, rather we supply unbiased information these certification programs need to accurately certify devices.
Benefits of Membership
Reduced Costs
Members have access to hundreds of data communications companies and are able to bring better interoperable products to market faster and less expensively than they could by testing exclusively in house.
Test Reports
Members of testing services are provided detailed test reports on any scheduled testing requested. These reports are recognized by the industry as trustworthy third-party evaluations of the interoperability and conformance of your products.
Test Bed Access
Each member contributes a representative piece of equipment to a shared test bed of legacy and leading edge equipment and test tools, through which other members can perform interoperability testing.
This creates a multi-million dollar reserve of equipment that would be impractical for any one company to develop and maintain on its own.
Group Test Event
Members are free* to participate in group test events, also known as Plugfests, hosted by the UNH-IOL. Group test events allow a member to test against a wide variety of implementations in real-time, working with industry leaders and their engineers to solve interoperability issues and demonstrate commitment to interoperable products.
*Some group test events may require additional fees dependent upon the technology tested, the forum sponsoring the event, and the number of attendees.
Certification
In many cases, members of a particular testing service have preferred access to certification programs operated by that testing service.
Marketing
Members are seen as industry leaders in their field, and participation shows a dedication to quality products that is visible to the industry. We will make an effort to show this involvement through press releases, logo exposure, and case studies.
Scheduled Testing
Member companies may have us test as many products as needed, as often as needed, as scheduling allows. Testing is generally performed in one-week blocks. Purchasing multiple memberships allows a company to schedule multiple testing periods at one time.
Engineers do need not be present for testing. A company may send products to our facility, where staff can test products according to its pre-defined test procedures or perform custom designed testing specific to the needs of your company. Alternatively, members may send engineers to take advantage of our facility and test beds.
Participation
Each testing service is a cooperative representation of its members. As such, members are consulted on the direction and policy changes that a testing service may make during its business cycle.