[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43535-43536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18186]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 2

[FCC 12-60]


Grantee Codes for Certified Radiofrequency Equipment

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document modifies the rules to remove the restriction 
that grantee codes must consist of only three characters. This action 
will permit the Commission to issue longer grantee codes, thus greatly 
increasing the supply of available codes and ensuring that it will 
continue to have new ones to assign to parties that wish to certify new 
equipment.

DATES: Effective August 24, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hugh Van Tuyl, Office of Engineering 
and Technology, (202) 418-7506, email: [email protected], TTY (202) 
418-2989.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order, 
FCC 12-60, adopted June 13, 2012 and released June 13, 2012. The full 
text of this document is available for inspection and copying during 
normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room CY-A257), 445 
12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text of this 
document also may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, 
Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554. The full text may also be downloaded at: 
www.fcc.gov.

Summary of the Order

    1. The Commission operates an equipment authorization program for 
radiofrequency (RF) devices under part 2 of its rules. This program is 
one of the primary means that the Commission uses to ensure that the 
multitude of RF devices used in the United States operates effectively 
without causing harmful interference and otherwise complies with the 
rules. RF devices that are subject to the ``certification'' procedure 
of the equipment authorization program must be labeled with an FCC 
identifier (``FCC ID'') that is unique to the device. This FCC ID 
includes a Commission-issued code identifying the grantee of the 
certification (``grantee code''). By this action, the Commission 
modifies Sec. Sec.  2.925 and 2.926 of the rules to remove the 
restriction that grantee codes must consist of only three characters. 
This action will permit the Commission to issue longer grantee codes, 
thus greatly increasing the supply of available codes and ensuring that 
it will continue to have new ones to assign to parties that wish to 
certify new equipment.
    2. Authorized equipment must be labeled to show that it complies 
with the rules prior to being imported into or marketed within the 
United States. The label for a device subject to certification must 
include an FCC ID that conforms to a format defined in the rules. The 
FCC ID consists of two parts: a three-character alphanumeric grantee 
code assigned by the Commission to the party that applies for equipment 
authorization, and a one- to 14- character product code selected by the 
applicant. Once a party obtains a grantee code from the Commission, the 
party may use the same grantee code, but must use a different product 
code, each time it applies for a new equipment certification from the 
Commission or a TCB. The Commission adopted a three-character format 
for grantee codes in 1979 and codified that format in the rules.
    3. Due to the large number of grantee codes that have already been 
assigned to manufacturers and other parties responsible for equipment 
compliance, the Office of Engineering and Technology anticipates that 
the Commission may run out of unassigned grantee codes in the near 
future. If that were to occur, parties that did not already have a 
grantee code would not be able to apply for certification of RF 
equipment. The Commission therefore finds it necessary to modify the 
rules to increase the supply of grantee codes to accommodate all 
parties that wish to obtain a grantee code and apply for equipment 
certification in the future.
    4. Specifically, the Commission is eliminating the requirement in 
Sec.  2.926(c) that grantee codes must consist of three alphanumeric 
characters, and it is replacing it with a requirement that grantee 
codes will consist of alphanumeric or other characters in a format 
specified by the Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology. The 
Commission is not codifying a particular grantee code format in the 
rules in order to allow the Office of Engineering and Technology the 
flexibility to modify the format in the future if necessitated by 
changing technology or other factors. The Commission also eliminated 
the text in Sec.  2.925(a)(1) that shows an example of a three 
character grantee code.
    5. While three characters was an adequate code length for grantee 
codes when the rules were originally adopted and for many years 
thereafter, the Commission finds that it is now necessary to permit 
longer codes to allow for a significantly greater number of possible 
combinations. In particular, the Commission notes that the Office of 
Engineering and Technology is planning to issue new five-character 
grantee codes in the format described in Appendix B of the Order. Using 
this code length and format, the Commission calculates that there will 
be approximately 8 million additional grantee codes. The Commission 
currently assigns approximately 1000 grantee codes per year, so even if 
the rate of assignment increases substantially in the future, the 
supply of five-character codes will last for many years. Parties that 
have been assigned three-character grantee codes may continue to use 
those codes indefinitely for future applications and for equipment that 
is already approved. The five-character codes will be assigned only to 
future applicants for grantee codes once the new rules are effective. 
The Commission is not changing the requirements for the product code 
format.
    6. The changes adopted in the Order do not require prior notice and 
an opportunity for comment under the Administrative Procedure Act 
(APA). Section 553(b) of the APA establishes exceptions to the notice-
and-comment requirement, and one of those exceptions is for cases in 
which the

[[Page 43536]]

Commission finds good cause for concluding that notice and comment are 
unnecessary. The rule changes adopted in the Order are minor in nature 
in that the Commission is changing the format of grantee codes that 
will be assigned in the future to prospective applicants for equipment 
certification, but is not changing any other requirements for equipment 
certification. Further, these changes will not have any effect on 
parties that have already been assigned three-character codes because 
they may continue to use them indefinitely. Thus, the Commission 
concludes that notice and comment are not necessary before changing the 
rules on grantee code format.
    7. The Commission finds that the benefits of the rule changes are 
significant because the changes will enable it to continue to certify 
equipment from new parties, thus expanding the range of devices 
available to consumers. The Commission also finds that the costs of 
these rule changes are insignificant because it is not appreciably more 
burdensome for a party to apply for and use a five-character code than 
a three-character code. There will be no additional burden on parties 
that already have three-character codes assigned because they may 
continue to use them indefinitely. Thus, the Commission concludes that 
the benefits of the rule changes are greater than the costs.
    8. The Commission is making the rule changes effective 30 days 
after date of publication of this Order in the Federal Register. The 
change in grantee code length necessitates a non-substantive change in 
the electronic FCC Form 731 that is used to apply for equipment 
certification. This change to the form does not require prior Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval, but the Commission will provide 
OMB with a copy of the revised form for their records. The Commission 
plans to begin assigning grantee codes with the new format no earlier 
than 30 days after the revised Form 731 is available, and it will issue 
a public notice announcing the date on which it will begin issuing 
five-character grantee codes.

Procedural Matters

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    9. This document makes non-substantive changes to previously 
approved information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. It will be submitted to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for information purposes.

Congressional Review Act

    10. The Commission will send a copy of this Order to Congress and 
the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional 
Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Ordering Clauses

    11. Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 4(i), 302, 
303(e), 303(f), and 307 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
47 U.S.C. 154(i), 302a, 303(e), 303(f), and 307 this order is hereby 
adopted.
    12. Part 2 of the Commission's rules is amended as specified in 
Appendix A of the Order, and such rule amendments shall be effective 
August 24, 2012.
    13. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
Reference Information Center shall send a copy of the Order to the 
Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review 
Act. See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 2

    Communications equipment, Reporting and recordkeeping.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 2 to read as follows:

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

0
1. The authority citation for part 2 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, and 336, unless otherwise 
noted.

0
2. Section 2.925 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  2.925  Identification of equipment.

    (a) * * *
    (1) FCC Identifier consisting of the two elements in the exact 
order specified in Sec.  2.926. The FCC Identifier shall be preceded by 
the term FCC ID in capital letters on a single line, and shall be of a 
type size large enough to be legible without the aid of magnification.
* * * * *

0
3. Section 2.926 is amended by revising paragraph (c) introductory text 
to read as follows:


Sec.  2.926  FCC identifier.

* * * * *
    (c) A grantee code may consist of Arabic numerals, capital letters, 
or other characters. The format for this code will be specified by the 
Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology. A prospective 
grantee or its authorized representative may receive a grantee code 
electronically via the Internet at http://www.fcc.gov/eas. The code may 
be obtained at any time prior to submittal of the application for 
equipment authorization. However, the fee required by Sec.  1.1103 of 
this chapter must be submitted and validated within 30 days of the 
issuance of the grantee code, or the code will be removed from the 
Commission's records and a new grantee code will have to be obtained.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2012-18186 Filed 7-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P