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I usually try to keep updates concise, but in this case, if you're
already a customer, please read:<br>
<br>
The hardware all works! Everything's fixed, more or less, and I can
produce phones.<br>
<br>
Oh wait, what's that, universe? Not good enough? The major US
network providers started requiring separate independent lab testing
certification before they let my IMEI numbers on their networks,
even though the radio hardware I'm using is already approved on
those networks?<br>
<br>
I'm pretty sure the phone is done. Kits can be put together, and
used, functional, etc. I have the production process in place and
many hundreds (and in a few cases many thousands) of parts on hand
ready to go. Thank goodness, finally, I did it. I can make good on
my promise and send these out to my long-term pre-order customers,
some of you have now been waiting just over 2 years. OK so why is
this email so long? That seems like a bad sign right?<br>
<br>
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) SIM cards have been working fine to
date. The chip I use to handle the cellular radio functions (called
the LARA-R6 from uBlox) has already been certified by most carriers,
with others pending. For the past two years I've been working on
this project, every time I order a SIM card from a network provider,
they ask for the phone's IMEI number, I put it in, it comes up as
valid (because uBlox already went through this process), and they
send me the SIM and it works. I've been depending on this being the
end of the story. And it has been.<br>
<br>
Except now that seems to have changed. <br>
<br>
Verizon is now requiring separate certification from the product
manufacturers (i.e. me), so if I try ordering a SIM card from them,
they won't send it unless I (Sky's Edge) have uploaded all the
product IMEIs to their system, and they won't let me do that until I
have independent laboratory RF testing called PTCRB Certification,
and apparently I can't do THAT until I have FCC Part 15
certification. This is new. This was not the case before.<br>
<br>
AT&T Just started requiring the same kind of thing. I don't know
about Canadian, European, and other carriers yet. They may be fine,
they may not. <br>
<br>
I mean, I get it. With current technology trends, there are <i>so
many</i> small cell-connected devices coming on the market, and
carriers need to protect their infrastructure from interference and
bad actors. And I've been circumventing the FCC licensing
requirement because I'm selling this as a kit, and hey, uBlox had
already done all the hard work of getting the FCC and carrier
compliance out of the way. <br>
<br>
But no more, apparently, at least in the US. Manufacturers, however
big or small, whether it's me or Apple, now have to go through a
couple layers of additional independent lab testing to be allowed on
their networks. #@&!<br>
<br>
I don't know what to do now. This such a gut punch. The goalpost
keeps moving. I have you guys, customers, some of your waiting 2
years now, and now... what? How long is it going to take me to get
the regulatory compliance out of the way before the phones work
reliably on the networks? 6 months? More? I was expecting to send
the first batch out this past Wednesday and I've been balled up in a
corner since I realized the new SIM cards I just got won't register
to either AT&T or Verizon. I tried Consumer Cellular but that's
actually T-Mobile and that verification is still pending anyway.<br>
<br>
uBlox gave me the following advice:<br>
<br>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" type="1" start="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">For a T-Mobile or ATT device, you can use a
previously activated public SIM and at least attempt connecting.</li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">You can use a Out-of-country Carrier Sim (Orange,
Vodaphone, etc.) – Most likely you’ll connect to Att or T-Mobile
(But it might connect to Verizon)</li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">You can use a “Non-carrier” sim, such as Sierra,
TruPhone, ibasis, or any prepaid data sim. <br>
</li>
</ol>
<p>I did try a previously activated SIM but it didn't work any
better for me.<br>
</p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" type="1" start="1">
</ol>
<b>The bottom line is this:</b><b><br>
</b><b><br>
</b><b>I can send phone kits out in batches, roughly according to
the previous timeline I sent (offset by a week or so now), but I
can't guarantee network connectivity in the US until the
certifications are out of the way. This email has been US-centric
because I honestly don't know how all the other networks around
the world will behave until phones get activated in those regions.</b><b><br>
</b><br>
My stress has more or less surpassed critical-mass, so now I'm just
numb. This is kind of the worst outcome I could have imagined. Part
of me wishes I could just refund everyone and go back to robotics
etc. This wasn't supposed to be a 2+ year project. But, I will keep
going and trust the process. I'm looking into getting the regulatory
approvals I need, and the silver lining will be that I'll also be
able to legally sell fully-complete phones when that's done (i.e.
not just kits). I'm seriously entertaining approaching this from a
new direction by finding a local business partner and possibly
exploring VC funding so I can build up my manufacturing facility
outside of a residential basement with the aim of also doing
complete kit assembly. Just an idea right now.<br>
<br>
For now, here, these are the options I've come up with:<br>
<br>
<b>A:</b> Anyone who wants a kit (any region) regardless of the
regulatory concerns I expressed above, I can go ahead and send it to
you. This may require a higher degree of tech savvy to find a
provider/SIM card that will let the phone register on your local
network, and in this sense I would consider these to be a true "beta
test", which I had originally envisioned a couple years ago. I'd
also expect you to be OK doing firmware updates using the Arduino
IDE, which isn't hard in and of itself. I'll have instructions for
that.<br>
<br>
<b>B:</b> For those who ordered a kit but didn't really want a kit,
I offer to send fully assembled phones as a "free, consolatory
upgrade" AFTER the regulatory compliance is taken care of, but I
can't even begin to guess at the timeline for that yet.<br>
<br>
<b>C:</b> For those that ordered a kit and definitely want a kit,
maybe I would offer a partial refund?<br>
<br>
<b>D:</b> For those that want a full refund, that's the other option
of course and if everyone picks this, I will make it my life's work
to honor them. But if everyone picks this option I'll have to pace
the refunds out over quite some time (as in, until I can get some
kind of bridge funding, or until the proceeds from another product
can finance them). Preorder money has been going to parts, tooling,
equipment, etc, so my liquidity is quite low.<br>
<br>
As of now I've removed the order link on the website and added a
note about what's going on. Once I've gotten all the kits on the
roster out to those who want to experiment with non-approved SIM
cards and such, I'll re-activate the link but with a suitable "beta
test" note, and return it to "normal" only after the regulatory
certifications are sorted.<br>
<br>
~Sorry. Justine.<br>
<br>
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