TRIESTE – October 28, 2026 -- Telit Cinterion averages 1.8 prototype iterations per IoT project, with most products reaching mass production after one or two spins, the company said in a description of its R&D process. Prototype fabrication can consume half of a project's total timeline, and a single PCB fabrication cycle can take months in the current supply chain environment.
Custom work accounts for up to 60% of R&D projects
About 50% to 60% of projects are custom IoT solutions built for specific deployments. Roughly 80% of customizations are software, and hardware changes make up the other 20%. Larger enterprises typically commission this work, while smaller businesses usually find a standard portfolio product sufficient.
Roughly 90% of solution products include a Telit Cinterion module. About 40% use NExT connectivity services, and another 40% run on the deviceWISE platform.
Four-phase process keeps one team on each product
R&D centers in the U.S., Italy, Korea and India work as a single team. The same core engineers stay on a project from feasibility through mass production, so the builders also diagnose post-launch issues. A security architect is assigned to every project, and RF expertise is a constant.
The company would rather spend two extra weeks perfecting the first prototype than wait months for a second PCB spin.
Development runs through three validation builds:
- Engineering Validation Test (EVT): the first working prototype, with preliminary hardware and software. EVT samples should not be used for final application design, performance testing or certification.
- Design Validation Test (DVT): stable hardware and preliminary software. Customers can begin hardware application design and initial performance testing, and certification and new product introduction production can start.
- Production Validation Test (PVT): a small series built on the final plant's assembly and test lines. The product holds all regulatory and carrier certifications for its target region before the customer approves the design and manufacturing begins.
Trieste anechoic chambers test every frequency combination
RF engineers in Trieste, Italy, test each frequency combination a product might meet in deployment. The team has seen customer devices that were effectively blind in certain bands and could not connect in parts of the U.S. Modules and select solutions are also deployed across multiple countries to test operators and cross-border roaming.
Before mass production, the team verifies solder joint reliability for BGA modules using reflow process analysis with X-ray inspection. Every module is tested and calibrated before leaving production.
In-house certification and RMA analysis cover launch and field failures
The Global Certification team handles regulatory and carrier approvals in-house, using application-level precertification testing before formal cycles start. Multi-region products carry a proportionally larger certification workload, and newer technology adds complexity.
When a device fails in the field, Telit Cinterion runs Return Merchandise Authorization analysis to determine whether design or usage caused the fault. The company says issues more often trace to configuration or usage than to product defects.
IP ownership is negotiated per custom project
IP for Telit Cinterion's own modules stays with the company. For custom solutions, ownership is negotiated project by project: some customers fund development and retain full IP rights, while others leave ownership with Telit Cinterion.