FCC seeks to ban “bad labs” from certifying devices

New NPRM from FCC Will Propose to Align Test Laboratory Certification Regulations with Federal Secure Networks Law

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission will vote at its open hearing on a proposal to ensure that hundreds of labs that test and certify electronic devices for use in the United States do not pose a threat to national security.

It is a bipartisan move spearheaded jointly by FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr, the longest-serving Republican on the FCC.

In a statement, Carr noted that the FCC’s vote is based on the commission’s recent action to deny Chinese supplier Huawei’s request to allow its test lab to continue certifying equipment intended for the U.S. market – where Huawei equipment has been banned and work is underway to replace that vendor’s equipment in national telecommunications networks.

The FCC Act requires that all radio frequency (RF) electronic devices be tested and certified for use in the United States to ensure they comply with FCC standards for RF emissions, power levels, etc. Only authorized test laboratories and certification bodies can conduct such tests that cover tens of thousands of devices each year. As the FCC noted, testing lab eligibility criteria previously took into account the labs’ “impartiality and technical competence, not their credibility.”

However, on April 30, the FCC rejected an application by a Huawei-affiliated testing laboratory in Guangdong, China, to renew its status as an FCC-approved certification laboratory. The US agency also reviewed its list of approved labs and said it had identified others with “deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including entities linked to Chinese state-owned enterprises, entities involved in China’s military-civilian fusion apparatus through their apparent cooperation with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and even entities that are themselves actors of the PRC state. Over the past few years, these laboratories have processed thousands of applications for devices intended for the US market.

“Untrustworthy entities should not participate in the FCC’s equipment authorization process,” Carr said. “But Huawei is far from the only ‘bad lab’ approved to participate in the FCC’s equipment authorization process – there are others with deep ties to the (Chinese Communist Party) that could pose a serious risk to the security of our networks, including including entities that appear to be defense contractors for the Chinese army and even the state agencies of the PRC themselves. That’s why I’m glad we’re taking the step of proposing that the testing laboratories and certification bodies that review products before they are used in the U.S. are themselves trustworthy entities on which we can rely, including by excluding those with risky ties to the CCP. This latest action represents another significant step in our work to strengthen our networks against threats posed by foreign adversaries.”

The FCC said in its announcement that the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) it will vote on tomorrow will be based on “official security determinations made by the U.S. government, including the Covered List and the Department of Defense’s List of Chinese Military Companies,” and that it aims to “better align regulators (telecommunications certification bodies or TCBs) and test laboratories with the provisions of the Safe Equipment Act, which prohibits the authorization of equipment covered by this clause.”