National Security Items Top FCC's May 22 Meeting Agenda
The FCC will consider rules growing out of last year’s “bad lab” NPRM during the commission’s May 22 meeting, Chairman Brendan Carr said Wednesday. Also on the agenda are foreign-ownership rules and an NPRM about spectrum for satellite broadband. Drafts will be posted Thursday.
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“The FCC has worked on a bipartisan basis to address the threats that foreign adversaries pose to America’s networks.” Carr said: “This month, we will be building on those efforts by voting on two national security items.”
The Consumer Technology Association, in particular, raised concerns when the regulator took comment on the lab proposal last year (see 2409050017). Carr worked with then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on an NPRM that was approved 5-0 last May (see 2405230033).
The FCC’s gear authorization rules “prohibit certain devices on the FCC’s Covered List, including new models of Huawei and ZTE gear, from being approved for use in the U.S.,” Carr said. "But there’s a potential loophole in the process. While the FCC now includes national security checks in our equipment authorization process, we have not had rules on the books that require the test labs conducting those reviews to be trustworthy actors.”
The order would prohibit testing labs from participating in the FCC’s equipment authorization process “if they are owned, controlled, or directed by entities that pose national security risks,” Carr said. The item also picks up on the Trump administration's push to move more business to the U.S.
A Further NPRM considers ways of boosting U.S. capacity to test and certify imported electronics, Carr said: “The FCC estimates that today roughly 75% of all electronics are tested in labs located inside China. Reshoring America’s testing capacity would be a good thing.” He noted that until last year, the FCC allowed the certification of devices through a Huawei-owned lab.
A second item seeks comment “on obtaining the information necessary for the FCC to publish a list of regulated entities that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary,” Carr said, noting that the issue has also been a concern in Congress. “While the FCC has long collected foreign ownership information about entities it regulates, there are gaps in our information collection.”
Also on the agenda is an NPRM that would look at opening the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands to satellite broadband. A 2023 FCC examination of opening the 42-42.5 GHz to wireless carriers met with a lukewarm industry response (see 2308310053). Meanwhile, satellite operators have argued for expanded satellite use of the 12.7 GHz band rather than repurposing it for terrestrial wireless use (see 2310260067).