About the FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.

Organization 
The FCC is directed by five Commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 5-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. The President designates one of the Commissioners to serve as Chairperson. Only three Commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them can have a financial interest in any Commission-related business.

As the chief executive officer of the Commission, the Chairman delegates management and administrative responsibility to the Managing Director. The Commissioners supervise all FCC activities, delegating responsibilities to staff units and Bureaus.

FCC Certification
Depending on the type of equipment that the manufacturers have, FCC certification might be required. The two most common FCC Certifications requirements are FCC Part 15 and FCC Part 68.

Telecommunications equipment has to be tested and be in compliances with FCC Part 68. FCC Part 68 is the FCC Certification for connection to the telephone network. FCC has privatized some of the FCC Part 68 requirements. More information on regulatory compliance can be found at FCC Part 68

The other most common FCC Certification for most electronic equipment is FCC Part 15. FCC Part 15 covers unintentional testing and evaluation as well as low power un-licensed transmitters. More information on this can be found at FCC Part 15

Safety testing and certification is not a FCC Certification requirement. Local states, cities, counties, and municipalities regulate the requirement for safety certification. The Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) program is set up to cover safety certification. More information on this can be found at Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory

It is important that manufactures cover the FCC Certification for equipment before the equipment is offered for sale in the United States.

FCC Part 68
The 1996 U.S. Telecommunications Act requires the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) to review its rules every two years and repeal or modify any rules no longer in the public interest. This review in 1996 follows a worldwide telecom deregulatory trend designed to help trade. The FCC Part 68 approval process has been streamlined for FCC Part 68 approval of telecom terminal equipment. The FCC has distanced itself from any direct involvement in the FCC Part 68 terminal equipment approval process. Now the responsibility for FCC Part 68 approval has been delegated to industry and particularly to the Administrative Council for Terminal Attachment (ACTA). The following is an outline for the FCC Part 68 approval process.

The first step for FCC Part 68 approval is to ensure that the equipment has been designed to conform with the USA technical criteria in TIA/EIA-968-A and 47 CFR Part 68. These two standards outline the technical specifications for FCC Part 68 approval. There is a misconception that all of the technical requirements are located in the TIA-EIA-968-A standard. The FCC did retain some technical requirements in FCC Part 68, which includes, but is not limited to, the Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) and volume control (VC) requirements.

The second step is for a representative sample of the final product to be tested to the two standards to ensure FCC Part 68 compliance. To assist in the testing phase, the TIA/EIA/TSB-31-C document is a helpful guide. The manufacturer itself can perform this FCC Part 68 testing, or a recognized testing laboratory like CCL can perform the testing. For FCC Part 68 approval, the testing laboratory does not need to be accredited by any government or private agency. It is very common for the laboratory to have an accreditation by NVLAP or A2LA for FCC Part 68 testing. CCL does maintain FCC Part 68 accreditation by NVLAP.

After the successful FCC Part 68 testing, a formal test report is prepared. This test report should detail the testing results and summarize the findings in the FCC Part 68 compliance testing. The manufacturer or responsible party should keep the FCC Part 68 report on file to defend the FCC part 68 compliance of the equipment.

Once the FCC Part 68 test report is prepared, the manufacturer has two options. The manufacturer may prepare a Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC), or a Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) laboratory may review the FCC Part 68 test report. The review by a TCB laboratory will issue a FCC Part 68 TCB Grant. Either the SDoC or the FCC Part 68 TCB Grant must be issued as part of the total FCC Part 68 approval process.

Once the FCC Part 68 SDoC or the FCC Part 68 TCB Grant is prepared, ACTA must be notified. This notification is so the FCC Part 68 approved equipment will be filed in the public database of FCC Part 68 approved equipment.

The equipment is then labeled with the FCC Part 68 certification number. This FCC Part 68 number on the product ensures that the user is connecting an FCC Part 68 compliance product.

When all these steps are completed, the equipment is FCC Part 68 compliant to connect to the public switch telephone network.

FCC Part 15
The Federal Code Of Regulation (CFR) FCC Part 15 is a common testing standard for most electronic equipment. FCC Part 15 covers the regulations under which an intentional, unintentional, or incidental radiator that can be operated without an individual license. FCC Part 15 covers as well the technical specifications, administrative requirements and other conditions relating to the marketing of FCC Part 15 devices. Depending on the type of the equipment, verification, declaration of conformity, or certification is the process for FCC Part 15 compliance.

Verification is a procedure where the manufacturer makes measurements or takes the necessary steps to insure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards. Submittal of a sample unit or representative data to the Commission demonstrating compliance is not required unless specifically requested the Commission. Verification attached to the equipment a label showing that compliance is met.

Declaration of Conformity is a procedure where the responsible party makes measurements or takes other necessary steps to ensure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards. Submittal of a sample unit or representative data to the Commissions demonstrating compliance is not required unless specifically requested. The Declaration of Conformity attaches to the equipment a label showing that the sample has been tested and found acceptable by the responsible party.

Certification is an equipment authorization issued by the Commission, based on representations and test data submitted by eh applicant. Certification attaches to the units subsequently marketed by the grantee which are identical to the sample tested an FCC ID number to show compliance.

FCC Part 15 Subpart A contains specific information regarding testing and certification. Information like, scope of the rules and legal implications, definitions, prohibition against eavesdropping, labeling, and other sections.

Some more interesting descriptions used in the FCC Part 15 as listed in Subpart A.

Digital Device. “An unintentional radiator (device or system) that generates and uses timing signals or pulses at a rate in excess of 9,000 pulses (cycles) per second and uses digital techniques; inclusive of telephone equipment that uses digital techniques or any device or system that generates and uses radio frequency energy for the purpose of performing data processing functions such as electronics computations, operations, transformations, recording, filing, sorting, storage, retrieval, or transfer. A radio frequency device that is specifically subject to an emanation requirement in any other FCC Rule part or an intentional radiator subject to Subpart C of this part that contains a digital device is not subject to the standards for digital devices, provided the digital device is used only the enable operation of the radio frequency device and the digital device does not control additional functions or capabilities.”

Intentional radiator. “A device that intentionally generates and emits radio frequency energy by radiation or induction.”

Class A Digital Device. “A digital device that is marketed for use in a commercial, industrial or business environment, exclusive of a device which is marketed for use by the general public or is intended to be used in the home.”

Class B Digital Device. “A digital device that is marketed for use in a residential environment notwithstanding use in commercial, business and industrial environments. Examples of such devices included, but are not limited to, personal computers, calculators, and similar electronics devices that are marketed for use by the general public.

FCC Part 15 Subpart B is for unintentional radiators. The category of unintentional radiators includes a wide variety of devices that contain clocks or oscillators and logic circuitry but that do not deliberately generate radio frequencies emissions. Among the common unintentional radiators are personal computers, peripherals, receivers, radios, TV sets, and cable TV home terminals. FCC Part 15 Section 15.101 has a very informative table for unintentional radiators. Two levels of radiation and conducted emissions limits for unintentional radiators are specified in FCC Part 15 Subpart B. The two levels are Class A digital devices, the higher less strict limits, and Class B digital devices, the lower more strict limits. Manufacturers are encouraged to meet the Class B digital device limits.

FCC Part 15 Subpart C is for intentional radiators. The carious types of intentional radiators covered by Subpart C include cable-locating equipment, cordless telephones, remote control and alarm transmitters, field-disturbance sensors for opening doors, and spread-spectrum systems for wideband data transmission. Intentional radiators governed by FCC Part 15 Subpart C must either have a permanently attached antenna or provide a unique coupler to prevent the use of unauthorized antennas. The FCC Part 15 Subpart C rules for operation of radio transmitters for the most part are very detailed regarding fundamental field strength, power and/or power density, frequency accuracy, and permitted harmonic and spurious emissions.

FCC Part 15 Subpart D outlines the regulations for unlicensed personal communication service (UPCS) devices operating in the 1910 – 1930 MHz frequencies bands.

FCC Part 15 Subpart E sets out the regulations for unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices operating in the 5.15 – 5.35 GHz, 5.47 – 5.725 GHz, and 5.725 – 5.825 GHz bands.

FCC Part 15 Subpart G sets out the regulations for Access Broadband over Power Line (Access BPL) devices operating in the 1.705-80 MHz band over medium or low voltage lines. This section outlines the geographical area within which Access BPS operations are not permitted in certain frequencies bands.

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