Goto Section: 68.160 | 68.201 | Table of Contents
FCC 68.162
Revised as of October 2, 2015
Goto Year:2014 |
2016
§ 68.162 Requirements for Telecommunication Certification Bodies.
(a) Telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs) designated by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), or designated by another
authority pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition
agreement or arrangement to which the United States is a party, shall comply
with the following requirements.
(b) Certification methodology. (1) The certification system shall be based
on type testing as identified in ISO/IEC 17065.
(2) Certification shall normally be based on testing no more than one
unmodified representative sample of each product type for which
certification is sought. Additional samples may be requested if clearly
warranted, such as when certain tests are likely to render a sample
inoperative.
(c) Criteria for designation. (1) To be designated as a TCB under this
section, an entity shall, by means of accreditation, meet all the
appropriate specifications in ISO/IEC 17065 for the scope of equipment it
will certify. The accreditation shall specify the group of equipment to be
certified and the applicable regulations for product evaluation.
(2) The TCB shall demonstrate expert knowledge of the regulations for each
product with respect to which the body seeks designation. Such expertise
shall include familiarity with all applicable technical regulations,
administrative provisions or requirements, as well as the policies and
procedures used in the application thereof.
(3) The TCB shall have the technical expertise and capability to test the
equipment it will certify and shall also be accredited in accordance with
ISO/IEC 17025 to demonstrate it is competent to perform such tests.
(4) The TCB shall demonstrate an ability to recognize situations where
interpretations of the regulations or test procedures may be necessary. The
appropriate key certification and laboratory personnel shall demonstrate
knowledge of how to obtain current and correct technical regulation
interpretations. The competence of the telecommunication certification body
shall be demonstrated by assessment. The general competence, efficiency,
experience, familiarity with technical regulations and products included in
those technical regulations, as well as compliance with applicable parts of
the ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17065 shall be taken into consideration.
(5) A TCB shall participate in any consultative activities, identified by
the Commission or NIST, to facilitate a common understanding and
interpretation of applicable regulations.
(6) The Commission will provide public notice of specific elements of these
qualification criteria that will be used to accredit TCBs.
(d) External resources. (1) In accordance with the provisions of ISO/IEC
1706 the evaluation of a product, or a portion thereof, may be performed by
bodies that meet the applicable requirements of ISO/IEC 1702 and ISO/IEC
17065, in accordance with the applicable provisions of ISO/IEC 17065, for
external resources (outsourcing) and other relevant standards. Evaluation is
the selection of applicable requirements and the determination that those
requirements are met. Evaluation may be performed by using internal TCB
resources or external (outsourced) resources.
(2) A recognized TCB shall not outsource review and certification decision
activities.
(3) When external resources are used to provide the evaluation function,
including the testing of equipment subject to certification, the TCB shall
be responsible for the evaluation and shall maintain appropriate oversight
of the external resources used to ensure reliability of the evaluation. Such
oversight shall include periodic audits of products that have been tested
and other activities as required in ISO/IEC 17065 when a certification body
uses external resources for evaluation.
(e) Recognition of TCBs. (1)(i) The Commission will recognize as a TCB any
organization that meets the qualification criteria and is accredited and
designated by NIST or its recognized accreditor as provided in § 68.160(b).
(ii) The Commission will recognize as a TCB any organization outside the
United States that meets the qualification criteria and is designated
pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)
as provided in § 68.160(c).
(2) The Commission will withdraw the recognition of a TCB if the TCB's
accreditation or designation by NIST or its recognized accreditor is
withdrawn, if the Commission determines there is just cause for withdrawing
the recognition, or if the TCB requests that it no longer hold the
recognition. The Commission will limit the scope of equipment that can be
certified by a TCB if its accreditor limits the scope of its accreditation
or if the Commission determines there is good cause to do so. The Commission
will notify a TCB in writing of its intention to withdraw or limit the scope
of the TCB's recognition and provide a TCB with at least 60 day notice of
its intention to withdraw the recognition and provide the TCB with an
opportunity to respond. In the case of a TCB designated and recognized
pursuant to an bilateral or multilateral MRA, the Commission shall consult
with the Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR), as necessary,
concerning any disputes arising under an MRA for compliance with the
Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988 (Section 1371-1382 of the Omnibus Trade
and Competitiveness Act of 1988).
(3) The Commission may request that a TCB's Designating Authority or
accreditation body investigate and take appropriate corrective actions as
required, when it has concerns or evidence that the TCB is not certifying
equipment in accordance with Commission rules or ACTA requirements, and the
Commission may initiate action to limit or withdraw the recognition of the
TCB.
(4) If the Commission withdraws the recognition of a TCB, all certifications
issued by that TCB will remain valid unless specifically revoked by the
Commission.
(5) A list of recognized TCBs will be published by the Commission.
(f) Scope of responsibility. (1) TCBs shall certify equipment in accordance
with the Commission's rules and policies.
(2) A TCB shall accept test data from any source, subject to the
requirements in ISO/IEC 17065 and shall not unnecessarily repeat tests.
(3) TCBs may establish and assess fees for processing certification
applications and other tasks as required by the Commission.
(4) A TCB may rescind a grant of certification within 30 days of grant for
administrative errors. After that time, a grant can only be revoked by the
Commission. A TCB shall notify both the applicant and the Commission when a
grant is rescinded.
(5) A TCB may not:
(i) Grant a waiver of Commission rules or technical criteria published by
the Administrative Council, or certify equipment for which Commission rules
or requirements, or technical criteria do not exist, or for which the
application of the rules or requirements, or technical criteria is unclear.
(ii) Take enforcement actions.
(6) All TCB actions are subject to Commission review.
(g) Post-certification requirements. (1) A Telecommunications Certification
Body shall supply a copy of each approved application form and grant of
certification to the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments.
(2) In accordance with ISO/IEC 17065 a TCB is required to conduct
appropriate surveillance activities. These activities shall be based on type
testing a few samples of the total number of product types which the
certification body has certified. Other types of surveillance activities of
a product that has been certified are permitted provided they are no more
onerous than testing type. The Commission may at any time request a list of
products certified by the certification body and may request and receive
copies of product evaluation reports. The Commission may also request that a
TCB perform post-market surveillance, under Commission guidelines, of a
specific product it has certified.
(3) The Commission may request that a grantee of equipment certification
submit a sample directly to the TCB that performed the original
certification for evaluation. Any equipment samples requested by the
Commission and tested by a TCB will be counted toward the minimum number of
samples that the TCB must test.
(4) A TCBs may request samples of equipment that they have certified
directly from the grantee of certification.
(5) If during, post-market surveillance of a certified product, a
certification body determines that a product fails to comply with the
applicable technical regulations, the certification body shall immediately
notify the grantee and the Commission. The TCB shall provide a follow-up
report to the Commission within 30 days of reporting the non-compliance by
the grantee to describe the resolution or plan to resolve the situation.
(6) Where concerns arise, the TCB shall provide a copy of the application
file to the Commission within 30 calendar days of a request for the file
made by the Commission to the TCB and the manufacturer. Where appropriate,
the file should be accompanied by a request for confidentiality for any
material that may qualify for confidential treatment under the Commission's
rules. If the application file is not provided within 30 calendar days, a
statement shall be provided to the Commission as to why it cannot be
provided.
(h) In the case of a dispute with respect to designation or recognition of a
TCB and the testing or certification of products by a TCB, the Commission
will be the final arbiter. Manufacturers and recognized TCBs will be
afforded at least 60 days to comment before a decision is reached. In the
case of a TCB designated or recognized, or a product certified pursuant to
an bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition agreement or arrangement
(MRA) to which the United States is a party, the Commission may limit or
withdraw its recognition of a TCB designated by an MRA party and revoke the
Certification of products using testing or certification provided by such a
TCB. The Commission shall consult with the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR), as necessary, concerning any disputes arising under
an MRA for compliance with under the Telecommunications Trade Act of 1988.
(i) Incorporation by reference: The materials listed in this section are
incorporated by reference in this part. These incorporations by reference
were approved by the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5
U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. These materials are incorporated as they
exist on the date of the approval, and notice of any change in these
materials will be published in the Federal Register. All approved material
is available for inspection at the Federal Communications Commission, 445
12th St. SW., Reference Information Center, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC
20554, (202) 418-0270 and is available from the sources below. It is also
available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call
(202) 741-6030, or go to:
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_loc
ations.html.
(1) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), IEC Central Office, 3,
rue de Varembe,CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, Email:
inmail@iec.ch,www.iec.ch or International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), 1, ch. De la Voie-Creuse, CP 56, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland;
www.iso.org; Tel.: + 41 22 749 01 11; Fax: + 41 22 733 34 30; email:
central@iso.org . (ISO 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.)
(i) ISO/IEC 17025:2005(E), “General requirements for the competence of
testing and calibration laboratories,” Second Edition, 2005-05-15.
(ii) ISO/IEC 17065:2012(E), “Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies
certifying products, processes and services,” First Edition, 2012-09-15.
(2) [Reserved]
[ 64 FR 4998 , Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at 66 FR 27601 , May 18, 2001; 67 FR 57182 , Sept. 9, 2002; 80 FR 33448 , Jun. 12, 2015]
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Subpart C—Terminal Equipment Approval Procedures
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Goto Section: 68.160 | 68.201
Goto Year: 2014 |
2016
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