PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 09-2478 Released: November 25, 2009 Office of Engineering and Technology Clarifies Use of Recently Published ASC C63® Measurement Standards for Compliance Testing of Intentional and Unintentional Radiators under Part 15 In order to ensure compliance with the technical specifications in Part 15 for intentional and unintentional radiators, the Commission’s equipment authorization program requires devices to be tested to show compliance with the applicable technical standards.1 The measurement standards used for these tests are contained in rule section 15.31 of the rules, 47 C.F.R. § 15.31. Section 15.31(a)(3) of the Commission’s rules states that certain intentional and unintentional radiators are to be measured for compliance using the standard published by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) C63® - Electromagnetic Compatibility, ANSI C63.4-2003, 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. ASC C63® has recently revised ANSI C63.4 (ANSI C63.4-2009) and developed a new standard specifically for intentional radiators operating in a wide range of frequency bands, ANSI C63.10-2009, American National Standard for Testing Unlicensed Wireless Devices. In this Public Notice, the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) provides guidance on the use of these standards for compliance testing. Over the years the Commission has issued a number of public notices, interpretations and advisories on measurement standards for intentional radiators to supplement the test procedures given in the ANSI C63.4 standard. This additional guidance has been necessitated by the growing number of intentional radiators being developed and the resulting number of questions from test laboratories seeking guidance on how to properly measure these devices for FCC compliance. To consolidate and simplify the compliance process, the Commission staff worked with ASC C63® and its members, including manufacturers, the Telecommunication Certification Body Council (TCBC), telecommunication industry representatives and test laboratory staff, to develop ANSI C63.10-2009 for use in the measurement of intentional radiators in a wide range of frequency bands. This new standard consolidates the various measurement procedures that the Commission staff has already allowed for intentional radiators and does not add any new requirements for compliance testing. Nonetheless, because ANSI C63-10-2009 does not cover all cases for intentional radiators, some cases may continue to be appropriately addressed by the ANSI C63.4 standard. OET has reviewed both the revised ANSI C63.4-2009 standard as well as the new ANSI C63.10-2009 standard and determined that the various clarifications and improvements in these standards will advance the Commission’s objective of ensuring compliance with its technical requirements as well as decreasing the burden on equipment manufacturers, thus allowing for the timely introduction of innovative new products. Accordingly, consistent with 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.241(b) and 2.947, OET will accept applications for certification of equipment tested either to the ANSI C63.4-2003 procedures or the revised ANSI C63.4- 2009 and new ANSI C63.10-2009 procedures. 1 47 C.F.R. § 2.901 et seq. (Subpart J). 2 In the case of unintentional radiators that are subject to 15.31(a)(3), measurements to determine compliance may be made using either the 2003 or the 2009 version of the ANSI C63.4 standard, and parties must identify which version they are using consistent with 47 C.F.R. § 2.947 (b). In the case of intentional radiators subject to 15.31(a)(3), measurements to determine compliance may be made using either the 2003 or 2009 version of the ANSI C63.4 standard or the ANSI C63.10-2009 standard, and parties must identify which version they are using consistent with 47 C.F.R. § 2.947 (b). The Commission will consider modifying its rules to reference the new measurement standards in a future rulemaking proceeding. Office of Engineering and Technology Contact: William Hurst (301) 362-3031 or William.Hurst@fcc.gov . -FCC-