In the United States, commercial EMC regulation is heavily influenced by the FCC, especially its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). Many important rule makings and public notices that immediately affected EMC testing and that will have ramifications for EMC organizations in time were issued by the FCC in 1999. This article reviews some principal FCC rule makings and notices of that year and offers insights into their potential impact on regulated entities with EMC responsibilities.

On December 23, 1998, the FCC released this report and order that amends Parts 0, 2, 15, 25, and 68 of the FCC rules to provide the option of private-sector approval of equipment that currently requires approval by the commission. The private-sector approval organizations created will be called telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs).

This report and order also adopted rule changes to implement MRAs for product approvals with the European Union (EU), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, and other foreign trade partners. These MRAs will eliminate the need for foreign and domestic manufacturers to obtain approval from the FCC before marketing equipment in the United States by allowing them to use local private organizations for the service, thereby reducing the time needed to bring a product to market.

Another focus of the report and order was the establishment of an interim procedure to issue equipment approvals for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) terminals prior to domestic implementation of the GMPCS-MOU Arrangements. This action will benefit manufacturers of GMPCS terminals by enabling greater worldwide acceptance of GMPCS-related equipment.

 

DA 99-1640—Public Notice: Provides Further Information about Accreditation Requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs)

This public notice elaborated on the accreditation requirements for TCBs that were originally specified in GEN Docket No. 98–68.

TCBs are required to be accredited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce; but, as of February 2000, NIST has delegated the accreditation of TCBs to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI will be accrediting them in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 (1996—General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems and the appropriate FCC rules). Thirteen organizations in the United States had applied for TCB status by the time of writing and were to be audited for compliance with the appropriate standards. The FCC intends to announce the first group of TCBs by June 1, 2000.

Accredited TCBs can test several different general ranges of equipment subject to FCC certification: unlicensed radio-frequency devices, licensed radio service equipment, and telephone terminal equipment. Each must have exhibited capability to do the appropriate testing for whichever equipment classification(s) they have been accredited to approve.

TCBs will have a major impact on how telecom equipment gets approved in the future. Manufacturers are looking forward to faster turnaround times on their product approvals.

 

DA 99-890—Public Notice: Clarifies Rules for Marketing Cpu Boards

In this public notice released May 12, 1999, the OET clarified certain procedures that allow manufacturers to market central-processing-unit (cpu) boards as separate components. The notice states that cpu boards marketed separately are required to meet FCC standards that limit potential radio-frequency interference. Compliance with the emission limits must be determined prior to the marketing of the boards. Section 15.32(a)(2) of the FCC rules allows the manufacturer to market the cpu board together with the specific enclosure used for the test.

The notice added another option for the manufacturer: The cpu board may be marketed as a separate component as long as the following information is supplied with its installation instructions:

Cpu board manufacturers will continue to be responsible for compliance in cases in which assemblers or users have followed the appropriate instructions but the complete computer fails to meet the FCC's emission limits for digital devices.

 

ET Docket No. 99–231—Notice of Proposed Rule Making: Amends Part 15 of the FCC Rules Regarding Spread-Spectrum Devices

In this docket, the FCC proposed to amend the Part 15 rules regarding operation of nonlicensed spread-spectrum systems. The commission would change the rules applying to frequency-hopping systems operating in the 2.4-GHz band with a maximum output power of 1 W to allow for wider operational bandwidths. It also proposed to refine the methods for measuring the processing gain of direct-sequence systems.

Reply comments on the docket had been due by November 2, 1999, but with DA 99-2394 the FCC granted a 17-day extension of the deadline so that a thorough and meaningful response to the large volume of comments filed—many of which raised complex technical issues—could be prepared.

 

ET Docket No. 99–255—Notice of Proposed Rule making: Amends Parts 2 and 95 of the FCC Rules to Create a Wireless Medical Telemetry Service

Here, the FCC proposed to amend Parts 2 and 95 of its rules to allocate spectrum and to establish rules for a wireless medical telemetry service. The service would allow potentially life-critical medical telemetry equipment that now operates on a secondary basis, unprotected from interference, to operate on a blanket license on a protected basis.

The action was motivated by interference problems created by digital television stations coming on the air. The FCC and the Food and Drug Administration have taken steps in conjunction to ensure that hospitals are notified before digital TV channels begin. This gives hospitals time to modify any medical telemetry equipment that operates at the same frequency as the stations.

DA 99–2150—Public Notice: Warns Against the Manufacture, Importation, Marketing, or Operation of Transmitters Designed to Prevent or Interfere with Cellular Radio Communications

Released October 12, 1999, this public notice was in response to inquiries concerning the use of transmitters designed to prevent or jam the operation of cellular phones in hospitals, theaters, and other public locations. The FCC rules do not permit such jamming devices to be manufactured, imported, or operated within the United States.

The notice was issued jointly by the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology and the Compliance and Information Bureau. Both organizations emphasize that the regulations apply to all transmitters that cause interference with or prevent the operation of other radio communication systems.

 

DA 99–2244—Public Notice: Requests Information on Medical Telemetry Equipment Operating in the 450–460-MHz Band

In this notice, OET asked parties operating wireless medical telemetry equipment in the 450–460 MHz frequency band to assist the FCC by providing it with certain information about such operation, including the quantities, types, locations, and frequencies of equipment in use. The information was supposed to be received by the FCC by January 31, 2000.

Because hospitals and healthcare facilities use medical telemetry equipment to transmit patient measurement data such as pulse and respiration rates to nearby receivers, such facilities, under Part 90 of the FCC rules, are allowed to operate the equipment without specific authorization from the commission. As a consequence, the FCC has no records concerning the locations of medical telemetry operations in the 450–460-MHz band. The noticed OET request is intended to close that area of noninformation. Further details can be found at the OET's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/oet.

 

Conclusion

As the number of transmitters (cellular phones, for example) in the United States increases, the number interference problems between transmitters and mobile electronic devices is likely to increase. A lot of FCC activity in 1999 was devoted to heading off those foreseeable problems. EMC organizations in the United States can expect to see more emphasis being placed on dealing with the problematic interaction between legal transmitters and permissible electronic equipment.

 

Dan Hoolihan was formerly vice president of Minnesota Operations for TUV Product Service Inc. (New Brighton). He is the founder of Hoolihan EMC Consulting and a member of Compliance Engineering's editorial advisory board. He can be e-mailed at hoolihan@cornernet.com.