[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 149 (Monday, August 4, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41879-41882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20398]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 2 and 15

[ET Docket 95-19; FCC 97-240]


Equipment Authorization for Digital Devices

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: By this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Commission responds 
to three Petitions for Reconsideration filed by the Information 
Technology Industry Council (ITI), Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), and 
Intel Corporation (Intel) regarding the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) 
procedure for the authorization of digital devices. This action is 
intended to clarify and improve the DoC process.

DATES: Effective September 17, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Engineering and Technology, 
Anthony Serafini at (202) 418-2456 or Neal McNeil (202) 418-2408.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, ET Docket 95-19, FCC 97-240, adopted July 
3, 1997 and released July 18, 1997. The full text of this decision is 
available for inspection and copying during regular business hours in 
the FCC Reference Center, Room 239, 1919 M Street, NW., Washington, DC. 
The complete text of this decision also may be purchased from the 
Commission's duplication contractor, International Transcription 
Service, Inc., (202) 857-3800, 1231 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20036.
    1. In the Report and Order, of this proceeding, 61 FR 31044, June 
19, 1996, the Commission adopted rules to streamline the equipment 
authorization requirements for personal computers and personal computer 
peripherals. Specifically, the Commission established the DoC procedure 
which allows digital devices to be authorized based on a manufacturer's 
or supplier's declaration that the device complies with the FCC 
requirements for controlling radio frequency interference. The DoC 
procedure requires laboratories performing compliance testing to be 
accredited under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation 
Program (NVLAP) developed by the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) or by the American Association for Laboratory 
Accreditation (A2LA). In the Report and Order, the Commission delegated 
to the Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology authority to 
recognize additional accrediting organizations and to make 
determinations regarding the continued acceptability of individual 
accrediting organizations and accredited laboratories. Further, in the 
interest of fair trade the rules specify that laboratories located 
outside of the United States or its possessions will be accredited only 
if there is a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) between that country 
and the United States that permits similar accreditation of U.S. 
facilities to perform testing for products marketed in that country.
    2. The Report and Order also adopted rules to permit the marketing, 
without further testing, of personal computers assembled from separate 
components that have themselves been authorized under a DoC. The 
Commission found that this approach would provide both flexibility for 
manufacturers and system integrators and adequate assurance that such 
modular computers will comply with the FCC technical standards. Testing 
procedures were adopted for CPU boards and power supplies. However, due 
to the difficulties associated with determining the shielding 
effectiveness of enclosures, the Commission did not adopt rules to 
authorize enclosures. To ensure that systems assembled from modular 
components would comply with the technical standards, the Commission 
adopted a two step test procedure for authorizing CPU boards. The CPU 
board must first be tested installed in a typical enclosure but with 
the enclosure's cover removed so that the internal circuitry is exposed 
at the top and at least two sides. Additional components, including a 
power supply, peripheral devices, and subassemblies, shall be added, as 
needed, to result in a complete personal computer system. Under this 
test, radiated emissions from the system under test may be no more than 
3 dB above the limits specified in section 15.109 of this chapter. If 
the initial test demonstrates that the system is within 3 dB of the 
limits, a second test is performed using the same configuration but 
with the cover installed on the enclosure. Under the latter test 
conditions, the system under test shall not exceed the radiated 
emission limits specified in section 15.109 of this chapter. If, 
however, the initial test demonstrates compliance with the radiated 
emission standards in section 15.109 of this chapter, the second test 
is not required to be performed. The system must also be tested to 
comply with the AC power line conducted limits specified in section 
15.107 of this chapter in accordance with the procedures specified in 
section 15.31 of this chapter.
    3. On July 16, 1996, the Commission's Office of Engineering and 
Technology (OET) issued a Public Notice taking steps to encourage the 
use of the new DoC procedure. The Public Notice addressed concerns that 
use of the DoC procedure would be hindered by the ability of NVLAP and 
A2LA to timely process the initial demand for accreditation by adopting 
a provisional transition period of one year for obtaining such 
accreditation. The Public Notice also addressed issues concerning the 
recognition of accreditors located outside of the United States. A 
laboratory would be permitted to submit documentation to OET's 
Equipment Authorization Division stating that it has filed an 
application for accreditation with an approved laboratory accreditation 
body and provide evidence that it meets all aspects of ISO/IEC Guide 
25. Such labs will be provisionally accepted by the FCC for a period of 
one year, until August 19, 1997, or until the application for 
accreditation has been acted upon, whichever is sooner. A laboratory 
that is denied accreditation by an approved accreditation body will 
lose its provisional acceptance. However, any DoCs that were issued 
will remain valid.
    4. Petitions for Reconsideration were filed on July 19, 1996, by 
the ITI, HP, and Intel. ITI requests reconsideration of the laboratory 
accreditation requirement for manufacturers' and foreign test 
laboratories to use the new DoC procedure. ITI feels that 
manufacturers' laboratories should not be required to be accredited 
before using the DoC process. Additionally, ITI argues that the 
accreditation requirement should not apply to foreign trading partners 
in countries that currently do not have similar accreditation 
requirements. The Commission believes that laboratory accreditation is 
a vital component of the DoC procedure and denies the ITI Petition for 
Reconsideration. HP requests reconsideration or clarification of the 
rules regarding use of the DoC procedure by laboratories outside the 
United States. HP feels that the mutual recognition agreement (MRA) 
requirement unreasonably discriminates against test labs located in 
foreign countries. The Commission finds that the rules do not 
adequately address the requirements for foreign laboratories

[[Page 41880]]

and grants the HP Petition by clarifying the requirements and 
incorporating into the rules the July 16, 1996, public notice entitled, 
``OET Takes Steps to Encourage Self-Declaration for Computer 
Compliance'' (public notice). Intel requests reconsideration of the 
testing procedure for the authorization of CPU boards to either take 
into account the shielding effectiveness of enclosures or to disregard 
emissions from peripheral devices. The Commission agrees that emissions 
from peripheral devices should not adversely impact the testing of CPU 
boards and grants, in part, the Intel Petition for Reconsideration. 
Finally, the Commission amends the rules in several respects on its own 
motion.
    5. Accordingly, It is ordered that the petition for reconsideration 
filed by Information Technology Industry Council is denied. The 
petition for reconsideration filed by Hewlett-Packard Company is 
granted. The petition for reconsideration filed by Intel Corporation is 
granted as described above and denied in all other respects. Finally, 
it is ordered that part 15 of the Commission's rules and regulations is 
amended as specified below effective September 17, 1997. This action is 
taken pursuant to the authority contained in Sections 4(i), 301, 302, 
303(e), 303(f), 303(r), 304, 307 and 405 of the Communications Act of 
1934 as amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 154(i), 301, 302, 303(e), 303(f), 
303(r), 304, 307 and 405.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    6. As required by Section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 603, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA) was incorporated in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 
ET 95-19, FCC No. 95-46, 60 FR 15116, March 22, 1995. The Commission 
sought written comments on the proposals in the NPRM including the 
IRFA. No commenting parties raised issues specifically in response to 
the IRFA and a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) was 
included in the Report and Order in this proceeding. The rules adopted 
in this Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) provide clarification and 
further relaxation of the computer authorization process requirements 
adopted in the Report and Order. We therefore certify pursuant to 
section 605(b) of the RFA that the rules adopted in this MO&O do not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    7. The Commission will send a copy of this final certification, 
along with MO&O, in a report to Congress pursuant to the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 801(a)(1)(A), and to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 605(b).

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 2

    Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

47 CFR Part 15

    Computer technology.

 Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.

Amendatory Text

    Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 2 and 15 are 
amended as follows:

PART 2--FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS; GENERAL 
RULES AND REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for Part 2 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 4, 302, 303, and 307 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 154, 302, 303, and 307, 
unless otherwise noted.

    1. Section 2.909 is amended by redesignating paragraph (c)(3) to 
(c)(4) and by adding a new paragraph (c)(3), to read as follows:


Sec. 2.909  Responsible party.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Retailers or original equipment manufacturers may enter into an 
agreement with the responsible party designated in paragraph (c)(1) or 
(c)(2) of this section to assume the responsibilities to ensure 
compliance of equipment and become the new responsible party.
* * * * *
    2. Section 2.948 is amended by removing the note at the end of 
paragraph (d) and by adding paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2) and (d)(3) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 2.948  Description of measurement facilities.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) In addition to meeting the above requirements, the 
accreditations of laboratories located outside of the United States or 
its possessions will be acceptable only under one of the following 
conditions:
    (i) If there is a mutual recognition agreement between that country 
and the United States and that laboratory is covered by the agreement;
    (ii) If there is an agreement between accrediting bodies that 
permits similar accreditation of U.S. facilities to perform testing for 
products marketed in that country; or
    (iii) If the country already accepts the accreditation of U.S. 
laboratories.
    (2) Organizations outside of the United States that seek to become 
accreditors may seek agreements with approved United States accrediting 
bodies to mutually recognize the accreditation of laboratories. The 
Commission will review such agreements and will consult with the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative and other Executive Branch 
agencies before accepting them for purposes of the DoC procedure in 
order to ensure that the respective foreign countries accept United 
States accreditations and do not impose additional barriers upon United 
States companies. Accrediting bodies located outside of the United 
States will only be permitted to accredit laboratories within their own 
country for DoC testing.
    (3) To facilitate use of the DoC procedure, the FCC will accept a 
laboratory that submits documentation to OET's Equipment Authorization 
Division stating that it has filed an application for accreditation 
with an approved laboratory accreditation body and provides evidence 
that it meets all aspects of ISO/IEC Guide 25. Such labs will be 
provisionally accepted by the FCC for a period of one year (until 
August 19, 1997) or until the application for accreditation has been 
acted upon, whichever is sooner. A laboratory that is denied 
accreditation by an approved accreditation body will lose its 
provisional acceptance. However, any DoCs that were issued will remain 
valid.
    3. Section 2.1077 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (b)(1), 
(b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4) to (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5) 
respectively and by adding a new paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:


2.1077  Compliance information.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) Identification of the assembled product, e.g., name and model 
number.
* * * * *

PART 15--RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES

    1. The authority citation for Part 15 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 4, 302, 303, 304, and 307 of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 154, 302, 303, 304, and 
307.

[[Page 41881]]

    1. Section 15.19 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(1)(ii) to 
read as follows, redesignating paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) to (b)(3) 
and (b)(4) respectively and adding a new paragraph (b)(2) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 15.19  Labelling requirements.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) If a personal computer is authorized based on assembly using 
separately authorized components, in accordance with Sec. 15.101(c)(2) 
or (c)(3), and the resulting product is not separately tested:
* * * * *
    (2) Label text and information should be in a size of type large 
enough to be readily legible, consistent with the dimensions of the 
equipment and the label. However, the type size for the text is not 
required to be larger than eight point.
* * * * *
    2. Section 15.31 is amended by revising the first sentence of 
paragraph (a)(6) and paragraph (b), to read as follows:


Sec. 15.31  Measurement standards.

    (a) * * *
* * * * *
    (6) Digital devices authorized by verification, Declaration of 
Conformity, or for which an application for equipment authorization is 
filed on or after May 1, 1994, and intentional and other unintentional 
radiators for which verification is obtained, or for which an 
application for equipment authorization is filed on or after June 1, 
1995 are to be measured for compliance using the following procedure 
excluding section 5.7, section 9 and section 14: American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) C63.4-1992, entitled ``Methods of 
Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low-Voltage Electrical and 
Electronic Equipment in the Range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz,'' published by 
the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. on July 17, 
1992 as document number SH15180. * * *
* * * * *
    (b) All parties making compliance measurements on equipment subject 
to the requirements of this part are urged to use these measurement 
procedures. Any party using other procedures should ensure that such 
other procedures can be relied on to produce measurement results 
compatible with the FCC measurement procedures. The description of the 
measurement procedure used in testing the equipment for compliance and 
a list of the test equipment actually employed shall be made part of an 
application for certification or included with the data required to be 
retained by the party responsible for devices authorized pursuant to a 
Declaration of Conformity or devices subject to notification or 
verification.
* * * * *
    3. Section 15.32 is amended by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and 
(a)(2) to read as follows:


Sec. 15.32  Test procedures for CPU boards and computer power supplies.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) Testing for radiated emissions shall be performed with the CPU 
board installed in a typical enclosure but with the enclosure's cover 
removed so that the internal circuitry is exposed at the top and on at 
least two sides. Additional components, including a power supply, 
peripheral devices, and subassemblies, shall be added, as needed, to 
result in a complete personal computer system. If the oscillator and 
the microprocessor circuits are contained on separate circuit boards, 
both boards, typical of the combination that would normally be 
employed, must be used in the test. Testing shall be in accordance with 
the procedures specified in Sec. 15.31.
    (i) Under these test conditions, the system under test shall not 
exceed the radiated emission limits specified in Sec. 15.109 by more 
than 6 dB. Emissions greater than 6 dB that can be identified and 
documented to originate from a component(s) other than the CPU board 
being tested, may be dismissed.
    (ii) Unless the test in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section 
demonstrates compliance with the limits in Sec. 15.109, a second test 
shall be performed using the same configuration described above but 
with the cover installed on the enclosure. Testing shall be in 
accordance with the procedures specified in Sec. 15.31. Under these 
test conditions, the system under test shall not exceed the radiated 
emission limits specified in Sec. 15.109.
    (2) In lieu of the procedure in (a)(1) of this section, CPU boards 
may be tested to demonstrate compliance with the limits in Sec. 15.109 
using a specified enclosure with the cover installed. Testing for 
radiated emissions shall be performed with the CPU board installed in a 
typical system configuration. Additional components, including a power 
supply, peripheral devices, and subassemblies, shall be added, as 
needed, to result in a complete personal computer system. If the 
oscillator and the microprocessor circuits are contained on separate 
circuit boards, both boards, typical of the combination that would 
normally be employed, must be used in the test. Testing shall be in 
accordance with the procedures specified in Sec. 15.31. Under this 
procedure, CPU boards that comply with the limits in Sec. 15.109 must 
be marketed together with the specific enclosure used for the test.
* * * * *
    4. Section 15.101 is amended by revising the table in paragraph (a) 
to read as follows:


Sec. 15.101  Equipment authorization of unintentional radiators.

    (a) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Type of device              Equipment authorization required  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TV broadcast receiver............  Verification.                        
FM broadcast receiver............  Verification.                        
CB receiver......................  Certification.                       
Superregenerative receiver.......  Certification.                       
Scanning receiver................  Certification.                       
All other receivers subject to     Notification.                        
 Part 15.                                                               
TV interface device..............  Certification.                       
Cable system terminal device.....  Notification.                        
Stand-alone cable input selector   Verification.                        
 switch.                                                                
Class B personal computers and     Declaration of Conformity or         
 peripherals.                       Cerification.                       
CPU boards and internal power      Declaration of Conformity or         
 supplies used with Class B         Certification.                      
 personal computers.                                                    
Class B personal computers         Declaration of Conformity.           
 assembled using authorized CPU                                         
 boards or power supplies.                                              
Class B external switching power   Verification                         
 supplies.                                                              

[[Page 41882]]

                                                                        
Other Class B digital devices &    Verification.                        
 peripherals.                                                           
Class A digital devices,           Verification.                        
 peripherals & external switching                                       
 power supplies.                                                        
All other devices................  Verification.                        
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[FR Doc. 97-20398 Filed 8-1-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P