Random question.
Can the BR1 Pro 5G MAX-BR1-PRO-5GH-T-PRM work in Australia? I realize it’s the US version.
If so, which wireless providers would you recommend.
If not, which model number would I have to purchase to replace this with an Australian model?
I also need an Australian power adapter for it. but it looks like it can handle 240 already.
Thank you!
I am betting @mldowling can provide an authoritative answer. Always best to consult with an in-country Partner for questions like this.
Hello @undeadindustries ,
Under Australian and New Zealand regulations, you cannot operate a device without RCM Certification within these territories. The only authorised distributor for RCM Certified equipment is M2M Connectivity; all Peplink Partners (such as Rising Connection) must currently source through them to maintain compliance if it is going to be used within Australia or New Zealand.
Simply put, to operate the Peplink US version of the router in Australia is illegal (you could end up with a $200k+ fine). People always bring their cellular/mobile phones in from overseas, and they don’t get fined, so you can, at your own risk, see if it works.
Happy to Help,
Marcus 
I am aware of the follwing equipment stated as illegal
https://www.acma.gov.au/illegal-equipment
Mobile phone jammers
GPS jammers
Mobile phone boosters
Wi-fi and drone jammers
Can you point me to the article for Australia or New Zealand that Peplink US version of the router in Australia and New Zealand is illegal?
What’s the reason? Spectrum?
Also what happens with boats traveling into the regions?
Here are more details; we have sent this in response to enquiries from several major telcos and MSPs in the region (some details revised for this public post).
Hello Colleagues,
Based on our experience in the past, Rising Connection purchased Peplink equipment from Peplink VAD(s) and has asked (which you are also entitled to seek) for copies of the RCM Certification or any exemptions granted. The Peplink VAD(s) have not supplied us with proof that the hardware complies with the RCM Certification requirements for Australia and New Zealand. A Peplink VAD wrote to us earlier in 2021 stating, “RCM in New Zealand is different to Australia, e.g. Chinese power certification are accepted here, etc. That’s why Australian RCM are accepted in New Zealand, but not necessarily the other way around”. We at Rising Connection disagree with that statement.
We understand that Australia & New Zealand have bilateral agreements; if something is RCM Certified for New Zealand, it is good to go in Australia and vice versa.
Here are some URLs to the official government websites on this:
There are only a few Peplink models that were RCM by Peplink themselves, allowing anyone to import these into either country:
M2M Connectivity Australia has been looking after all of the RCM Certifications since late 2021 and has exclusive control over importing these models into the two countries; Rising Connection and other local Peplink partners have supported M2M Connectivity with this certification (including contributing to the costs of having the RCM Certification done on chosen model such as the EPX).
We understand that new equipment (not yet RCM’d) can be supplied for supervised testing in a limited time (generally a few months). However, there must be no exchange of value involved (the importer has to bear all costs, and the end client is not allowed to pay for anything). The two other areas we know of as having some Exemptions are the Defence Forces and Broadcasting (for when extra equipment is getting imported temporarily for Significant Events like a World Cup and Motor Sports).
Suppose you travel in a vessel (aircraft or boat) and enter either nation’s territories. In that case, you are not meant to operate that equipment until an expectation is granted or you depart the territories of either country.
It would be nice if we had global standards, though Australia and New Zealand have their standards, which cause us a lot of extra overhead, red tape delays and costs.
Happy to Help,
Marcus
From brief reading , is the RCM only pertaininting to the power supply , supplied with the unit?
Meaning if you use off-grid battery operated or with a RCM stamped powersupply then you are fine?
If it does extend further to the wireless capability of the device itself and it’s definfed as a global device by peplink.
Then shouldn’t peplink as the vendor make sure the device is RCM certified if they want to sell in that country and so that users traveling globally are covered?
Hello @Jonathan_Pitts,
Peplink has always made it the responsibility of each region VADs or the Peplink partner importing/supplying into each region to ensure any required certification in smaller populations; Australia & New Zealand fall into that category, as do many nations with populations under 100 million people.
At a high level, there are two simple parts to RCM Certification:
Both need to be tested and certified unless exempted.
Then you have the various separate carriers; rumour has it that some of these are going to go down the path of the carriers in the other countries, where if the carrier has not separately tested and certified the model (independent of the RCM Certification), then the IMIE range will be blocked on the cellular network. We already know that Peplink lost out to another manufacturer on this lack of carrier approval with a significant government contract on one of Australia’s cellular/mobile networks.
The good news is that with M2M Connectivity’s proactively working on this over the past two years, we are all making terrific inroads in Australia and New Zealand in addressing the past, present, and future for Peplink and Rising Connection will continue to support everyone who wants to use Peplink in the region.
Happy to Help,
Marcus
Hmm interesting, then would it be better to use a non-cellular peplink device i.e 380x or soho(soho replacement) in AU with a RCM stamped usb cellular dongle?
Hello @Jonathan_Pitts,
The Peplink Balance 380x and Peplink Balance 580x are not RCM Certified for either Australia or New Zealand.
If a device needs to be powered from an external power source, regardless of whether the device has internal or external power supplies, the device still needs to be RCM Certified. For example, the Peplink 24 Port SD-Switch Rugged has a different power supply for Australia & New Zealand than the rest of the world to comply with regional regulations, so unless customers are acquiring the devices through honest Peplink Partners aligned with M2M Connectivity Australia, like Rising Connection is, then the customer is getting exposed to risks with insurance, compliance, and other potential issues (including warranty that will not be honerred) and no regional support.
Instead of the 380x and 580x, we are using the Peplink Balance SDX and the Peplink Balance SDX Pro for customers in the two countries. For some of our customers situations, we will use the Peplink Balance 310x and Peplink Balance 310 5G with the internal radio chipsets disabled when not required by the customer.
We know there is a Peplink Partner in the region that disagrees with all of this on the RCM Certification; that Peplink Partner previously, in early 2021, had all of this discussion removed from the Peplink Community Forum, though now M2M Connectivity Australia is the Peplink Master Distributor for the region, the RCM Certification for Peplink equipment has improved and is continually getting better. We can have a good, honest, and open conversation on the topic.
The other good news with this is that passive components such as the Peplink Antenna range do not need to be RCM Certified, so as soon as Peplink releases a new Peplink antenna model, we have access to that here in Australia and New Zealand.
As of December 2023, we now have access to over 40 Peplink models that have been RCM Certified, which is almost a ten-fold increase over the past two years; here is the current December 2023 list of Peplink models that are RCM Certified for supply through M2M Connectivity into Australia and New Zealand.
| Peplink models RCM Certified | SKU | RCM |
|---|---|---|
| AP One AC Rugged | APO-AC-RUG | Yes |
| AP One AX | APO-AX | Yes |
| AP Pro AX | APP-AX-IP67 | Yes |
| Balance 20X Cat-4 | BPL-021X-LTE-MX-T-PRM | Yes |
| Balance 30 Pro Cat-6 | BPL-031-LTEA-P-T | Yes |
| Balance 2500EC | BPL-2500-EC | Yes |
| Balance 310 5G | BPL-310-5GH-K-T-PRM | Yes |
| Balance 310X 5G | BPL-310X-5GD-T | Yes |
| Balance 310X Cat-12 | BPL-310X-LTEA-K-T | Yes |
| Balance SDX | BPL-SDX | Yes |
| Balance SDX Pro | BPL-SDX-PRO | Yes |
| EPX-M8 | EPX-M8 | Yes |
| MAX Adapter 5G | MAX-ADP-5GH-T | Yes |
| MAX BR1 ENT Cat-6 | MAX-BR1-ENT-LTEA-P-T | Yes |
| MAX BR1 Mini Cat-6 (HW-3) | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTEA-B-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX BR1 Mini Cat-6 (HW-1) | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTEA-P-T | Hardware No longer available |
| MAX BR1 Mini Cat-4 (HW-3) | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-MX-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX BR1 Pro 5G | MAX-BR1-PRO-5GD-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX BR1 PRO 5G (SA) | MAX-BR1-PRO-5GN-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX BR1 Pro | MAX-BR1-PRO-LTEA-P-T | Yes |
| MAX BR2 Pro 5G | MAX-BR2-PRO-5GD-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX HD1 Dome | MAX-HD1-DOM-M-GLTE-G | Yes |
| MAX HD1 Dome Pro | MAX-HD1-DOM-PRO-5GD | Yes |
| MAX HD2 MBX 5G | MAX-HD2-MBX-5GD-T | Yes |
| MAX HD2 MBX | MAX-HD2-MBX-LTEA-K-T | Yes |
| MAX HD4 MBX 5G | MAX-HD4-MBX-5GD-T | Yes |
| MAX HD4 MBX | MAX-HD4-MBX-LTEA-K-T | Yes |
| MBX Mini | MAX-MBX-MINI-5GD-T | Yes |
| MAX Transit DUO Cat-12 | MAX-TST-DUO-LTEA-K-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX Transit DUO Cat-6 | MAX-TST-DUO-LTEA-P-T-PRM | Hardware No longer available |
| MAX Transit Cat-6 | MAX-TST-LTEA-P-T | Hardware No longer available |
| MAX Transit DUO Pro Cat-12 | MAX-TST-PRO-DUO-LTEA-D-T-PRM | Yes |
| MAX Transit DUO Pro Cat-7 | MAX-TST-PRO-DUO-LTEA-E-T-PRM | Yes |
| SD-Switch 8-Port Rugged | PSW-8-240W-RUG | Yes |
| SD-Switch 16-Port Rugged | PSW-16-240W-RUG | Yes |
| SD-Switch 24-Port Rugged | PSW-24-250W-RUG | Yes |
| SD-Switch 48-Port Enterprise | PSW-48-800W | Yes |
| SIM Injector | SIM-BK8-4E-56V | Yes |
| SIM Injector Mini | SIM-MINI-8-1E | Yes |
| UBR LTE | UBR-LTE-MX-T-PRM | Yes |
| UBR PLUS | UBR-PLUS-LTEA-B-T-PRM | Yes |
Happy to Help,
Marcus
@mldowling
Thanks for all the information, It’s been really intersting This remindes me when we had a client that owned their own central monitoring station for fire/life/safety alarms in the US and everything needed to be UL certified. It also involved a underwriters laboratories annual inspection that would look over documentation, redudency, live failover tests and devices to have the UL marks on all equipment, if it didn’t have one we couldn’t use that manufacture.