Goto Section: 68.160 | 68.201 | Table of Contents
FCC 68.162
Revised as of October 5, 2017
Goto Year:2016 |
2018
§ 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/ib
r_locations.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 , June 12, 2015]
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Subpart C—Terminal Equipment Approval Procedures
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Goto Section: 68.160 | 68.201
Goto Year: 2016 |
2018
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