One downside of a government shutdown—or the present partial shutdown that includes the FCC—is the inability of technology companies to obtain the FCC certifications they need to market certain kinds of new products. Good news: the FCC has reopened a website that makes it possible for most (not all) new devices to obtain their certifications.… Continue Reading
Changes to the equipment authorization rules the FCC adopted last July appeared in the Federal Register this morning and take effect today. Major changes include the option of putting required labeling on a device’s display screen, and combination of the former verification and Declaration of Conformity procedures into a new procedure called Supplier’s Declaration of … Continue Reading
Some FCC regulations are carved in stone, changing about as often as the rules of chess. But not the equipment authorization rules, which lay out the procedures manufacturers and importers must follow to market devices having potential to cause interference to radio communications. The FCC likes to revise and update these every few years. This … Continue Reading
Same action grants extra time for recognizing non-accredited labs. Of course you remember our recent post about the FCC’s change to its procedures for accrediting overseas test labs, and its grant of extra time for recognizing non-accredited labs. And of course you’ve been on tenterhooks (whatever they are) waiting for these changes to take effect. … Continue Reading
We recently reported on a request for comments in which the FCC is seeking input on how it should incorporate new ANSI-adopted measurement procedures into its rules. That request has now made it into the Federal Register, which establishes the deadlines for comments and replies. Take note: the periods are shorter here than in many … Continue Reading
Public notice seeks guidance on incorporating new ANSI measurement procedures. This is one of those items that will interest only a few readers, but will interest those readers a lot. Along with technical requirements for many kinds of devices, the FCC prescribes measurement procedures for assessing compliance with those requirements. Some of these procedures are … Continue Reading
Way back in December of last year the Commission re-vamped its equipment certification rules. It took six months for those revised rules to make it into the Federal Register, and another month for the rules to become effective. The effective date also marked the deadline for petitions for reconsideration of the December order adopting the … Continue Reading
When he reported on the FCC’s proposal to overhaul its equipment authorization processes, our colleague Mitchell Lazarus observed that, “[f]or an NPRM of this scope and complexity, the comment periods are brutally short.” He was not alone in that view. The Telecommunications Industry Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Consumer Electronics Association and the … Continue Reading
We recently reported on the FCC’s proposal to overhaul its equipment authorization processes. (Also as we reported separately just yesterday, that proposal includes provisions for possible expansion of the FCC’s e-labeling rules as mandated by Congress.) The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has now made it into the Federal Register which, as we all know, means … Continue Reading
Changes will update policies and procedures to accommodate developing technologies. Among the FCC’s many functions is one known to a small community of technical experts – and, of course, CommLawBlog readers: the equipment authorization program. These procedures seek to ensure that devices capable of emitting radio-frequency energy comply with the FCC’s requirements as to frequency, … Continue Reading
The FCC lab is finally getting out of the equipment certification business as the Commission makes important changes to its equipment authorization process.… Continue Reading
If you're thinking about filing reply comments about any the 20 or so comments that have been filed relative to the FCC's proposed overhaul of the equipment certification process, you're in luck.… Continue Reading
The FCC enforces its technical rules through a set of "equipment authorization" procedures to ascertain compliance. For the past quarter-century, the FCC has periodically streamlined these procedures and handed off authority to commercial providers. A new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking continues that trend.… Continue Reading
