Regulatory Compliance News

Canada Updates Licensed Wireless Microphone Framework to Integrate WMAS Technology Under RSS-123

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) updated its technical standards for professional audio hardware with the publication of Radio Standards Specification RSS-123, Issue 5, superseding the legacy Issue 4 framework. The standard establishes Category I technical certification requirements for licensed low-power wireless microphones and related audio equipment—including cue and control systems, in-ear monitors, and video camera synchronization feeds—operating across designated frequency bands. Most notably, the updated specification formally expands its scope to incorporate Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems (WMAS), establishing regulatory parameters to support higher-density digital audio transmissions.

Under the updated technical provisions of RSS-123, WMAS hardware must meet higher spectral efficiency standards, maintaining an operational mode capable of transmitting at least three distinct audio channels per megahertz of occupied bandwidth. The standard also refines transmitter output power limits, authorized bandwidths, and frequency stability criteria across approved spectrum blocks, including TV broadcasting bands, 941.5–952 MHz, 953–959.85 MHz, 6930–6955 MHz, and 7100–7125 MHz. Furthermore, unwanted emission masks were harmonized with updated international references, such as ETSI EN 300 422-1, requiring strict attenuation across adjacent channel boundaries to prevent co-channel interference.

These technical updates directly impact equipment certification workflows managed by ISED’s Certification and Engineering Bureau. Manufacturers and local representatives introducing licensed wireless microphones or WMAS systems to the Canadian market must obtain a Technical Acceptance Certificate (TAC) or a certificate issued by a recognized Certification Body (CB). Compliance submission packages must include accredited lab test reports demonstrating adherence to RSS-123 Issue 5 parameters, alongside required user manual disclosures and hardware labeling, prior to commercial distribution and operational licensing across Canada.