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Part 68: Transition Proposed for New TIA Standard; ACTA Implements Other ChangesThe Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has recommended a transition time for a proposed new standard that would relax some Part 68 parameters but would impose other, stricter, requirements. The standard, TIA-968-A, eases a number of regulated Part 68 parameters, but extends the frequency range for metallic out-of-band emissions from 6 to 30 MHz for voice band and local-area data channel (LADC) equipment. The technical criteria in the new standard replaces both TIA/EIA/IS-968 and TIA/EIA/IS-883. TIA-968-A is titled "Telecommunications EquipmentTelephone Terminal EquipmentTechnical Requirements for Connection of Terminal Equipment to the Telephone Network." The Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments (ACTA) received a letter from Sprint opposing its adoption of the new criteria because the standard specified no transition period for the standard's more-stringent technical requirements. Because some requirements are stricter, ACTA says a transitional period to the new criteria may be necessary. FCC had customarily included a transition period with its technical changes, ACTA says. TIA held an interim meeting in December to discuss the problem. According to Phillip Havens, chair of TR 41.9, the committee recommended that ACTA take the following steps to address the issue:
Until the issue is resolved, ACTA has withdrawn the standard, which was slated to be published December 7, 2002.
Haven says the committee also suggested that ACTA's public notice on the adoption of TIA-968-A explain this episode and provide the actual sunset date for TIA/EIA/IS-968 and TIA/EIA/IS-883. "We also suggested that ACTA keep all adopted technical criteria documents that have passed their sunset dates available for free download, preferably in a separate section of its Web site," he says. Modifications Good for Industry ACTA has made a few other adjustments that should ease the burden for terminal equipment manufacturers. One critical change is that the council will no longer require that a company's test procedures be submitted as part of the equipment's Part 68 filing. "The membership voted to delete the requirement on the basis that ACTA is required to make submitted information public," says Roland Gubisch, an ACTA lab segment representative. He notes that test procedures are often proprietary or contain proprietary details. ACTA has also withdrawn its new requirement that "all filings must be timely," which it had defined as to be "completed prior to the marketing of the terminal equipment." Instead, ACTA will issue a reminder that this requirement existed under Part 68 even before privatization and, therefore, it continues to apply. ACTA is not authorized to create new requirements even though it participated in the approval of the original notice, Gubisch says. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have implemented a dual-logo system to foster the creation of global technical standards. The agreement, signed at the IEC general meeting in Beijing last October, stipulates that IEC will evaluate new IEEE standards in electronics, telecommunications, power generation, and other electrotechnical areas. The IEC standardization management board will decide which IEEE standards complement IEC's technical work program after IEC and IEEE have identified which IEEE standards are candidates for IEC's standardization process. IEC technical committees will then publish these standards as IEC/IEEE dual-logo international standards, which any of the 122 IEC member countries can adopt as national standards. Under the dual-logo agreement, IEC and IEEE are required to share any maintenance activity performed on standards covered by the agreement. Both IEC and IEEE are confident that the dual-logo international standards will decrease costly duplication of testing. Both organizations believe the new standards will increase safety and quality throughout international technical industries. "Our cooperation agreement will broaden our international standards collection and ensure that valuable work undertaken by IEEE benefits the entire IEC community," says Ronnie Amit, IEC general secretary. "This agreement is one way we are responding to the call for processes that make standardization more efficient," he says.
Such cooperation sends industry a clear message that major technical
standards developers are creating global standards that eliminate
the duplication that can entail unnecessary costs. "It gives
countries and regions that hope to play a greater role in world
markets a complementary path for international standardization,"
says Judy Gorman, managing director of the IEEE standards association.
The cooperation also supports IEC's intent to "follow the position
expressed by WTO that asks for openness, transparency, due process,
coherence, and market relevance, among other factors, in global
trade," Amit says.
China and Singapore Sign MOUChina and Singapore have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that paves the way for products certified in either country to enter into the other without the need for recertification. China's Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) and Singapore's SPRING (formerly Singapore Productivity and Standards Board) signed the MOU on products regulated by China Compulsory Certification (CCC). SPRING stands for standards, productivity, and innovation for growth. Beginning last December, all products under CCC rules can be certified in Singapore and sold in China without CCC certification. Likewise, all CCC-marked products can be sold in Singapore without productivity standards board (PSB) certification. The only restriction is that the products must be made in either China or Singapore. "With this MOU, Singapore exports of controlled products can gain direct access to the Chinese market without having to undergo further conformity assessment," says Lee Suan Hiang, chief executive of SPRING. "This not only saves our manufacturers and exporters time and money, but also ensures speedy approval and faster time to market for their products," he says.
According to SPRING Singapore, the MOU is a step toward a mutual
recognition arrangement (MRA). Singapore currently has MRAs
with New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. This is the first such
MOU signed since China implemented CCC in May 2002.
Proposed amendments to the new waste electronics directives are making package labeling more complex, according to a new report. The report, "Green Labeling: Global Guide for Marketers in the New Millennium," notes that the new European electronics waste directives will require new labeling on electronics for recycling. The latest October 2002 draft adds more requirements. "Only English-speaking countries seem to even have clear green labeling guidelines, and only the United States and perhaps the UK have ever tried to enforce such guidelines," says Michele Raymond, publisher of the report. She says U.S. industry has shied away from ecolabels because the criteria can become obsolete quickly and may not reward innovation. However, many European and Asian countries see such labeling as a tool of soft policy. While use of an ecolabel will not help sell products in America, an appropriate in-country label can be helpful for marketing in the green countries such as Germany and Austria and the Nordic countries. The report covers mandatory labeling in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and summarizes ecolabel programs globally. It also provides analysis of some of the more complex issues, such as use of the Green Dot, and when and where green labels make sense. To obtain a copy of the report, contact Raymond Communications at 301-345-4237 or go to http://www.raymond.com.
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