[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20088-20089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09416]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 2 and 95

[ET Docket No. 19-48; DA 19-152]


OET Seeks Comment on Modifying the Equipment Authorization Rules 
To Reflect the Updated Versions of the Currently Referenced ANSI C63.4 
and ISO/IEC 17025 Standards

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission's Office of Engineering and 
Technology (OET) sought comment on updating the Commission's rules and 
procedures to reflect recent changes to two standards: (1) ANSI C63.4a-
2017 ``American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Radio-
Noise Emissions from Low-Voltage Electrical and Electronic Equipment in 
the Range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz, Amendment 1: Test Site Validation;'' and 
(2) ISO/IEC 17025:2017(E) ``General requirements for the competence of 
testing and calibration laboratories.''

DATES: Submit comments on or before June 7, 2019 and reply comments on 
or before June 24, 2019.

ADDRESSES:  Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.419, interested parties

[[Page 20089]]

may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated 
on the first page of this document. Comments may be filed using the 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). See Electronic 
Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998).
    [ssquf] Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: www.fcc.gov/ecfs.
    [ssquf] Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file 
an original and one copy of each filing. If more than one docket or 
rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers 
must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number.
    Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial 
overnight courier, or by first class or overnight U.S. Postal Service 
mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, 
Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
    [ssquf] All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for 
the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 
12th St. SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of 
before entering the building.
    [ssquf] Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, 
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.
    [ssquf] U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail 
must be addressed to 445 12th Street SW, Washington DC 20554.
    [ssquf] People with Disabilities: To request materials in 
accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, 
electronic files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or 
call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 
(voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).
    Documents are available for public inspection and copying during 
business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 
12th Street SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brian Butler at 
[email protected], or (202) 418-2702 of the Office of Engineering 
and Technology.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Office of 
Engineering and Technology's Public Notice in ET Docket No 19-48, 
released April 2, 2019. The full text of this document is available at 
https://www.fcc.gov/document/oet-seeks-comment-modifying-equipment-authorization-rules.
    ANSI C63.4a-2017 can be purchased from the Institute of Electrical 
and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), 3916 Ranchero Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 
48108, 1-800-699-9277, http://www.techstreet.com/ieee; (IEEE 
publications can also be purchased from the American National Standards 
Institute (ANSI) through its NSSN operation (www.nssn.org), at Customer 
Service, American National Standards Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, 
New York, NY 10036, telephone (212) 642-4900.
    ISO/IEC publications can be purchased from the American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) through its NSSN operation (www.nssn.org), 
at Customer Service, American National Standards Institute, 25 West 
43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, telephone (212) 642-4900.

Synopsis

    As background, the Commission's rules incorporate references to 
measurement and technical standards that have been established by 
standards-setting bodies such as American National Standards Institute, 
Accredited Standards Committee C63SC (ASC63), International 
Organization for Standardization (ISO), and International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The Commission's equipment 
authorization program for radiofrequency (RF) devices, for example, 
incorporates such references in Sec.  2.910 of the Commission's rules, 
47 CFR. These organizations periodically update their standards to 
maintain best practices in response to advancements in technologies and 
measurement capabilities. When these changes are of a substantive 
nature, the Commission uses the rulemaking process to evaluate whether 
the changes should be effectuated in its rules.
    By the Public Notice (Notice), OET sought comment on updating the 
Commission's rules and procedures to reflect recent changes to two 
standards: ANSI C63.4a-2017 ``American National Standard for Methods of 
Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low-Voltage Electrical and 
Electronic Equipment in the Range of 9 kHz to 40 GHz, Amendment 1: Test 
Site Validation'' and ISO/IEC 17025:2017(E) ``General requirements for 
the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.'' As detailed 
below, the Notice discussed the role of these standards in the 
Commission's rules and it noted the recent changes made by the 
respective standards bodies.
    ANSI C63.4a-2017. On November 11, 2018, upon publication of ANSI 
C63.4a-2017, ASC C63 requested that the Commission take the appropriate 
steps to reference it in our rules. ASC C63 also submitted a copy of 
the revised standard to the Commission in conjunction with its 
petition. As described in ASC C63's filing, the changes resolve certain 
normalized site attenuation issues (including the measurement of 
equipment under test that exceeds 2 meters in height) and make a 
variety of corrections, clarifications and modifications to parts of 
the standard. Accordingly, in the Notice, OET Commission sought comment 
on incorporating ANSI C63.4a-2017 into our rules.
    ISO/IEC 17025:2017(E). In ET Docket No. 13-44, the Commission 
updated its rules to reference ISO/IEC standards related to the 
accreditation of Certification Bodies and Testing Laboratories, 
including ISO/IEC 17025:2005(E). A new version of this standard was 
published in November 2017, but has yet to be incorporated into the 
Commission's rules. In addition to adding a definition of 
``laboratory,'' this version replaces certain prescriptive requirements 
with performance-based requirements and allows for greater flexibility 
in satisfying the standard's requirements for processes, procedures, 
documented information and organizational responsibilities.
    Additionally, ISO and International Laboratory Accreditation 
Cooperation (ILAC) recently issued a joint communique that re-confirms 
that a three-year transition period will be allowed for accredited 
laboratories to transition to the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025. While 
both ISO/IEC 17025:2005(E) and ISO/IEC 17025:2017(E) will be valid 
during this three-year transition period, accreditations to ISO/IEC 
17025:2005(E) will become invalid after November 30, 2020. OET sought 
comment on incorporating ISO/IEC 17025:2017(E) into the Commission's 
rules and adopting a three-year transition period, consistent with the 
ISO and ILAC joint communique.

Federal Communications Commission.
Julius Knapp,
Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-09416 Filed 5-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P