On December 17 FCC took another big step towards getting itself out of the telecommunications equipment approval business, in order to allocate resources to enforcement of its regulations. Docket 98-68 covers both wired and wireless telecom equipment de-regulation issues, an Adobe Acrobat file version of the docket is at
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/1998/fcc98338.pdf Text and Wordperfect versions also available on FCC's home page in the Headlines section. This action amends parts 0,2,15,25, and 68 of the rules to give manufacturers the option of obtaining equipment authorization from private entities for equipment currently requiring approval from the FCC. Telecommunication Certification Bodies, or TCBs, will be established "to function much like the Commission by certifying a product based on the test results of one representative sample." TCBs must "have the technical expertise and capability to test the equipment it will certify", although a TCB can accept manufacturer's data or data from subcontractors - the TCB will be responsible for subcontractor results. The Docket also adopts rule changes to implement Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for product approvals with the European Community (EC), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC), and others. TCBs will be private entities in the US, designated entities in other countries. TCBs will be accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 65 and ISO/IEC Guide 25. NIST will be responsible for accrediting TCBs, FCC will identify designated TCBs via Public Notice. Once TCBs have been established, FCC will no longer process or issue certifications for pc's and pc peripherals (new para 15.101) There has been no limit put on the number of TCBs that will be accepted. TCBs will be able to perform all the equipment authorization functions currently performed by FCC, with the following caveats and exceptions: - TCBs are not to impose their own requirements and conform test and certification procedures with FCC rules and requirements - TCBs will not be permitted to waive rules. Waivers and new or novel rule applications or interpretations will be done by FCC - Grantees of certification will remain the party responsible to FCC for product compliance - There are no restrictions for fees TCBs may charge for certifications - TCBs may process requests for permissive changes to certified equipment, irrespective of who originally certified the equipment - TCBs must perform periodic audits of equipment on the market they have certified to ensure continued compliance. - TCBs will not be allowed to authorize "transfers of control" on Part 2 grants of certification, only FCC can do this. TCBs will be allowed to authorize transfer of Part 68 grants. IMPLEMENTATION: The rules go into effect 90 days after Docket 98-68 is published in the Federal Register. The docket has a 24 month transition period for implementation of TCBs, FCC would like to implement sooner but a number of administrative tasks remain re documentation and accreditation issues. Since the 24 month transition period for MRAs began 1 Dec 1998, one can assume the TCB program will be in effect before 1 Dec 2000, although it is not explicitly so stated in the Docket. IMHO: The TCB program will cut certification times but costs are likely to remain the same. FCC contends competition among TCBs will reduce certification costs, but the TCBs will need to price their services to pay for the periodic equipment audits they are required to perform, and this will erode some or perhaps all of the anticipated savings. During the transition period, FCC will continue offer certification services. If I were a manufacturer with product to certify during this transition period, would I choose a rapid route to compliance knowing I would be subject to periodic equipment audits, or would I wait a few more weeks for the government to process the application and not have to worry about mandatory audits? There is still a lot of work and confusion ahead. With respect to intentional radiators (i.e. transmitters) the US standards seem well-defined and complete, but as yet the EU standards to which TCBs will be testing are not established. In other words, TCBs in the EC (TCBs are called CABs in the MRA, a TLA for Conformity Assessment Body) know what requirements they must meet for US certification, but the same thing cannot yet be said for US TCBs looking to sell products in the EU. Establishing the list will take time, since the US has one set of national requirements, and the EU at least 15 sets. The new rules state that FCC will not accept certifications from foreign TCB/CABs unless that country will accept certifications from US based TCBs for its nation's requirements. So, until these EU regulations are defined, it appears the only type of mutual recongnition that will occur will be for unintentional radiators, such as ITE equipment, and this is already in place. Happy New Year, everybody! Tom Cokenias EMC/Radio Approvals Consultant --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to majord...@ieee.org with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to ed.pr...@cubic.com, j...@gwmail.monarch.com, ri...@sdd.hp.com, or roger.volgst...@compaq.com (the list administrators).
