Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted to adopt new rules that are expected to significantly narrow the agency’s recognition of certain test labs, telecommunication certification bodies (“TCBs”), and laboratory accreditation bodies (collectively, “Test Labs”) that are located outside of the U.S. and used for equipment authorizations.
The new rules build on previous FCC actions prohibiting recognition of so-called “Bad Labs” and will permit reliance only on Test Labs that are located in a “reciprocal economy” (i.e., jurisdictions that afford U.S. Test Labs reciprocal recognition). The new rules will establish a transition period ending December 1, 2028, after which all foreign Test Labs located in non-reciprocal countries will be barred from issuing FCC equipment authorizations and conducting related testing.
The Order states that the approximately two-year transition period is intended to give affected equipment manufacturers sufficient time to shift their testing to facilities in reciprocal economies. To avoid disruption, the new rules are expected to clarify that the ban will not affect equipment authorizations granted or applications received before December 2028.
The new rules define “reciprocal economy” as an economy with which the U.S. has a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) or comparable government-to-government reciprocity agreement with respect to equipment authorization, such as a Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) or Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (“ART”). Appendix D to the order adopting the new rules will identify sixty-two countries with which such agreements currently exist.
As with its earlier Bad Labs actions, the FCC cites national security as the general basis for its new rules. The new rules ground the latest changes in concerns about the integrity and reliability of test labs located in non-reciprocal economies, citing instances of fraudulent or inaccurate test results from formerly accredited labs.
The new rules will be accompanied by further proposals pertaining to the FCC’s equipment authorization rules on which the agency will be seeking comment. These further proposals include:
- Questions about whether the FCC should adopt a requirement to utilize the globally recognized Legal Identity Identifier to properly identify test labs, TCBs, and laboratory accreditation bodies;
- Proposals to strengthen the integrity of the equipment authorization program, including expanding the sources used to identify prohibited entities; and