[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 116 (Friday, June 15, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32580-32582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15127]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 15

[ET Docket No. 98-76; FCC 01-160]


Rules To Further Ensure That Scanning Receivers Do Not Receive 
Cellular Radio Signals

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document grants in part the petitions for partial 
reconsideration filed by Tandy Corporation and Uniden of America, Inc. 
We affirm our decision to require manufacturers to make scanning 
receivers more difficult to modify by making the circuitry 
inaccessible; relax the warning label requirements for certain devices; 
and clarify the compliance measurement rules.

DATE: Effective July 16, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rodney Conway, Office of Engineering 
and Technology, (202) 418-2904.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, ET Docket No. 98-76, FCC 01-160, adopted 
May 10, 2001, and released May 22, 2001. The full text of this 
Commission decision is available on the Commission's Internet site at 
http://www.fcc.gov. It is available for inspection and copying during 
normal business hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Room CY-
A257, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C., and also may be purchased 
from the Commission's duplication contractor, International 
Transcription Service, (202) 857-3800, 1231 20th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20036. Comments may be sent as an electronic file via 
the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

[[Page 32581]]

Summary of the Memorandum Opinion and Order

    1. In the Report and Order, 64 FR 22559, April 27, 1999, in this 
proceeding, the Commission adopted rules that require scanning 
receivers to include adequate filtering so that they do not pick up 
cellular service transmissions. In addition, the amended rules require 
that scanning receivers be designed so that their tuning, control and 
filtering circuitry are not easily accessible and that any attempts to 
modify the scanning receiver to receive cellular service transmissions 
will likely render the scanning receiver inoperable. Further, the 
Commission modified the rules to require that a warning label be 
affixed to scanning receivers to indicate that modification of the 
receiver to receive cellular service transmissions is a violation of 
FCC rules and Federal law. To further ensure that parties do not 
circumvent these requirements by developing a scanning receiver that 
tunes the cellular frequencies but automatically switches among only 
two or three frequencies, the Commission modified the definition of a 
scanning receiver to include receivers that switch between ``two or 
more'' frequencies instead of ``four or more'' frequencies. The 
manufacture or importation of scanning receivers and frequency 
converters designed or marketed for use with scanning receivers that do 
not comply with these new provisions were required to cease on or 
before October 25, 1999.
    2. In their petitions for reconsideration, Tandy and Uniden request 
that the Commission exempt scanning receivers that are built with the 
capability to receive only frequencies much lower than those capable of 
intercepting cellular signals from the circuitry inaccessibility 
requirement and the warning label requirement. Specifically, Tandy and 
Uniden state that scanners that only operate in the range of 30 MHz to 
512 MHz should be exempted. The petitioners state that the 
inaccessibility requirement is over-burdensome to both manufacturers 
and consumers because it will likely increase the manufacturing cost 
and make it impossible to make future repairs for those scanning 
receivers that do not have a tuning range of concern for intercepting 
cellular service. Further, Tandy and Uniden request that scanning 
receivers that tune at or below 512 MHz be exempted from the warning 
label requirement because it will require additional steps in the 
manufacturing process or require changes to the tooling equipment, with 
either option likely to increase production costs.
    3. We decline to adopt the requested exemptions of the circuitry 
inaccessibility requirement and the warning label requirement for 
scanning receivers that tune at or below 512 MHz. The fact that a 
scanner is intended to tune only below 512 MHz does not ensure that 
reception of cellular telephone frequencies will not occur. For 
example, a superheterodyne receiver is capable of receiving images at 
frequencies separated from the tuned frequency by twice the first 
intermediate frequency (``IF'') of the receiver. Within a scanner 
having a first IF frequency of 250 MHz, image reception of the 800 MHz 
cellular telephone bands could occur when the scanner is tuned in the 
300 MHz range. For this reason, some scanners that tune only up to 512 
MHz could potentially be modified to receive cellular telephone 
frequencies. Therefore, we will not exempt scanners from the circuitry 
inaccessibility and labeling requirements based on the 512 MHz 
frequency cutoff proposed by the petitioners. With regard to the 
petitioners' concerns about increased manufacturing costs and the 
inability to make future repairs, we find no other reasonable 
alternative to the inaccessibility requirement that will provide the 
same level of prevention of unlawful modifications. We find that these 
requirements are the best method available to continue to satisfy the 
requirement of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act 
(``TDDRA''), Public Law 102-556, that scanning receivers not be capable 
of readily being altered by the user to receive cellular service 
transmissions. We also note that in the R&O, the Commission allowed 
flexibility in the ways that a manufacturer may make tuning and control 
circuitry inaccessible in order to minimize any burdens imposed by the 
new rules. We also find that the rules imposed for scanners that tune 
only below 512 MHz are no more burdensome than for other scanners. We 
therefore reaffirm our finding that the rules adopted in the R&O 
represent the most efficient and least restrictive method to accomplish 
the Commission's policies and objectives and the statutory mandate of 
Congress.
    4. Tandy and Uniden request that the Commission reword the language 
contained in the labeling requirement to state that ``intentional 
reception or disclosure of certain radio communications may violate 
Federal law.'' Tandy and Uniden believe that this wording would more 
closely satisfy language contained in a bill that was pending in the 
House of Representatives at the time the petitions were filed. We note 
Congress did not pass H.R. 514 or any subsequent bill that would 
require a change in the warning label wording. Absent specific 
legislative action, we find that it would be overly burdensome to 
scanning receiver manufacturers to adopt any additional changes to the 
warning label at this time. In addition, we are concerned that the 
language proposed by Tandy and Uniden does not clearly state that 
modification of the device to receive cellular service transmissions is 
a violation of FCC rules and Federal law. We therefore decline to adopt 
the requested changes in the warning label wording.
    5. The petitioners further request that the rules be modified to 
permit the warning label to be placed on the outside of the device 
packaging material and in the owners manual as is provided for in 
Sec. 15.19(b)(3) of the Commission's rules for certain other devices. 
Tandy and Uniden state that some scanning receivers are so small or 
compact as to make the inclusion of the full label impossible without 
significant design modification. Uniden states that it would 
intentionally have to make the casing larger than is otherwise required 
for the enclosed device, resulting in considerable waste with regard to 
production materials, and inconvenience for the consumer who must 
handle and carry a unit larger than necessary. We believe that an 
exception of the labeling requirement can be made for small devices and 
are amending the rules accordingly. For devices that are so small that 
it is not practicable to place the warning label on the device, the 
warning label shall be placed in a prominent location in the 
instruction manual or pamphlet supplied to the user, and also on the 
container in which the device is marketed. The FCC identifier must be 
displayed on the device.
    6. Uniden is concerned that the adoption of a new definition for 
scanning receivers will require the filing of new applications for 
equipment authorization for devices that were not previously considered 
scanning receivers such as a typical weather band scanner. The 
Commission's intention of enacting a new definition of a scanning 
receiver was to prevent individuals from manufacturing a scanning 
receiver that scans fewer than four frequencies to circumvent our 
scanning receiver rules. It was not the intention of the Commission to 
change the definition of a scanning receiver to encompass receivers 
that have not been considered scanning receivers in the past. We agree 
with Uniden that receivers designed

[[Page 32582]]

solely for the reception of National Oceanic & Atmospheric 
Administration (``NOAA'') broadcast weather band signals should 
continue to be exempt from the scanning receiver definition. The 
scanning receiver definition will be modified to include the weather 
radio exemption. We also note that scanning receivers designed solely 
for the reception of broadcast signals under part 73 of our rules or 
used as part of a licensed service, continue to be exempt from the 
scanning receiver regulations. In order to further clarify this in the 
definition, we are replacing the words ``licensed station'' with 
``licensed service.''
    7. We agree with Tandy and Uniden that the wording of the signal 
rejection ratio rule adopted in the R&O was not clear, Sec. 15.121(b), 
states that only cellular service signals that are ``38 dB or higher'' 
than the receiver sensitivity should be rejected. This was not the 
Commission's intended meaning for Sec. 15.121(b). As stated in the R&O, 
the Commission adopted the proposal from the Notice of Proposed Rule 
Making, 63 FR 31685, June 10, 1998, in this proceeding, which stated 
that scanning receivers must reject cellular service signals that are 
up to 38 dB higher than the minimum receiver sensitivity. Therefore, we 
will amend Sec. 15.121(b) so that it is clearly understood that 
scanning receivers must reject cellular service signals that are 38 dB 
or lower based upon a 12 dB SINAD specification.
    8. Pursuant to the authority contained in Sections 4(i), 302, 
303(e), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), and 405 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, it is ordered, that the Petitions for Reconsideration 
filed by Tandy Corporation and Uniden America Corporation, are Granted 
in part and Denied in all other respects.
    9. Part 15 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations are amended, 
effective July 16, 2001. Authority for issuance of this Memorandum 
Opinion and Order is contained in Section 4(i), 301, 302, 303(e), 
303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 304, and 307 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 154(i), 301, 302, 303(e), 303(f), 303(g), 
303(r), 304 and 307.

List of Subjects

    Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.

Rule Changes

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the FCC amends 47 CFR 
part 15 as follows:

PART 15--RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES

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

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302, 303, 304, 307 and 544A.

    2. Section 15.3 is amended by revising paragraph (v) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 15.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (v) Scanning receiver. For the purpose of this part, this is a 
receiver that automatically switches among two or more frequencies in 
the range of 30 to 960 MHz and that is capable of stopping at and 
receiving a radio signal detected on a frequency. Receivers designed 
solely for the reception of the broadcast signals under part 73 of this 
chapter, for the reception of NOAA broadcast weather band signals, or 
for operation as part of a licensed service are not included in this 
definition.
* * * * *

    3. Section 15.121 is amended by revising paragraphs (b) and (f) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 15.121  Scanning receivers and frequency converters used with 
scanning receivers.

* * * * *
    (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, scanning 
receivers shall reject any signals from the Cellular Radiotelephone 
Service frequency bands that are 38 dB or lower based upon a 12 dB 
SINAD measurement, which is considered the threshold where a signal can 
be clearly discerned from any interference that may be present.
* * * * *
    (f) Scanning receivers shall have a label permanently affixed to 
the product, and this label shall be readily visible to the purchaser 
at the time of purchase. The label shall read as follows: WARNING: 
MODIFICATION OF THIS DEVICE TO RECEIVE CELLULAR RADIOTELEPHONE SERVICE 
SIGNALS IS PROHIBITED UNDER FCC RULES AND FEDERAL LAW.
    (1) ``Permanently affixed'' means that the label is etched, 
engraved, stamped, silkscreened, indelible printed or otherwise 
permanently marked on a permanently attached part of the equipment or 
on a nameplate of metal, plastic or other material fastened to the 
equipment by welding, riveting, or permanent adhesive. The label shall 
be designed to last the expected lifetime of the equipment in the 
environment in which the equipment may be operated and must not be 
readily detachable. The label shall not be a stick-on, paper label.
    (2) When the device is so small that it is not practicable to place 
the warning label on it, the information required by this paragraph 
shall be placed in a prominent location in the instruction manual or 
pamphlet supplied to the user and shall also be placed on the container 
in which the device is marketed. However, the FCC identifier must be 
displayed on the device.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 01-15127 Filed 6-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-U